Aiming to be mortgage free before I am 62!

LadyWithAPlan

Well done on paying off the solicitors, you can focus forward now

These OPs are fabulous!

Tahlullah.H

Hope everything is ok TBD.

Tiredbutdetermined

Tahlullah.H said:

Hope everything is ok TBD.

Aww, thank you for checking in.

Everything seems very hectic at the moment. Last term was exhausting and very much all work, no play and being on the verge of exhaustion!
This term is going to be very hectic too so I am trying to be kind to myself in the Easter holidays but I don’t know if I am genuinely unwinding or not doing things and driving myself to the edge! I slept well but I had 3 nights before of increasingly horrendous sleep, cumulating in Monday ‘evening’ laying in bed trying to sleep and not managing to drift off until 6.50am then only managing 30mins!!!

My daughter is wonderful but expensive. She has qualified for English finals with her gymnastics but entry was £55. You can then imagine my panic when they decided tumble squad were going to need an updated competition leotard for £90
She has been a star and we sold some of her outgrown leotards on Facebook marketplace and we have £85 profit towards it so that removes the sting!

My ex-husband’s loft bag of tat has gone on eBay. Everything sold, mostly for peanuts and I underpriced postage so we made very little but at least I no longer have it staring at me, cluttering up the house.

I feel a bit grumpy that I am not making as many overpayments to the mortgage from my emergency fund but I need to give myself a massive slap for that thinking. I wanted to be able to pop in a £500 overpayment every 2-3months when my Emergency Fund balance tipped over £1000. However, I wanted to future proof my budgeting by minimising the effect of my current 2.19% fixed rate ending in January 2024 so I increased my monthly payment to fit with current SVR payments so I actually overpay by £240 every month but as part of my standard payment.

My emergency fund is supposed to sit between £500-£1000 so I have got myself stressed and down because it dropped to £110 at the end of last month. However my EON account had a debit balance so they wanted to up my monthly payment from £33 to £270 so I used £274 of my EF to bring the balance back to zero and allow them to only change my payment. To £150 a month.
We also had a cordless dyson and a handheld shark. Both had died so I needed a new one. I got a fab cordless shark, which fulfils the role of both dead hoovers so that was another £200 from the EF. 

I need to stop beating myself up over the EF as I am quite proud I could just pay Eon £274 with no hassle or panic and also old me would have popped the shark on the creation buy now pay in a year at a whopping % rate so it is a win.
I also noticed my EF savings and holiday fund ISA are on pitiful interest rates, which I can’t really do much about as the EF needs to be really easy access plus be very in and out. The holiday balance is in my ISA but is due to be paid in May so it wouldn’t have made sense to move that. It has holiday spending money building in there too but the holiday is only 18 weeks away now (eeek! I need to sort out the diet and exercise!)
I have opened a digital saver with 6% interest but it only allows me to pay in £150 per month so that is £75 that is coming from what would have gone into the EF and holiday fund.


I have had a very lovely break from the side hustle over the Easter holidays, which has been very nice in terms of self care and relaxation but not so great financially!
Now that I have the solicitors paid in full, I am using some of the money to pay for my daughter’s braces, which are £117 a month for 14 months (interest free of course!). The rest are going into premium bonds, which I know make it highly unlikely I will ever get a return with low investment but I love the hope and dream. I have started building to £175 a go for premium bonds so I get £100 for me and £25 for each of the kids. It isn’t much but I have £200 and they have £50 each so far. I feel super proud that I have started saving something for them but I dread to think how little impact it will have against things like learning to drive, buying their first car or a house deposit but it is something.

I really need to update my diary more often so my posts are less long winded! I also tend to think I am off track but, actually, I am doing well

Tahlullah.H

I think it's easy to beat yourself up about what you haven't achieved and what you could have done differently.  Could'ha, would'ha, should'ha.  But look at what you have achieved.  You are managing to put money away for your kids.  That in itself is to be cheered on.  Small amounts grow over time.  Perhaps you could look to putting the money into a stocks and shares isa?  They do say the stock market outstrips savings long term.

Despite all the turmoil and upheaval, you are still here, standing and fighting.  You have paid down your debt and are looking long term into reducing the mortgage.  That's a great achievement!

Tiredbutdetermined

I do need to look into stocks and shares ISAs. I feel like I am just going to end up with tiny pots of money all over the place!

The ex husband seems to be in full tool mode at the moment and seems to be enjoying rubbing the kids faces in the fact that he, his girlfriend and her kids are living our old lives. It is brutal for the kids but mildly amusing for me as he is just plodding away in his old ways and thinking he is a legend but living a life beyond his means.

I am so proud of who I am now. The credit card was paid off over a year ago and using it doesn’t cross my mind. The loans are all paid off and I actually save. 

We get to go on a really wonderful holiday that just wouldn’t have been a possibility when I was married and I am so proud I have saved for the full balance a few months in advance. New me rocks!


However, it isn’t all positive. I was stupid enough to take my 15year old daughter into Primark for ‘socks’. Ended up with 3 big carrier bags of ‘essentials’ and am now wondering if I can survive until payday by eating nothing but belly button fluff!

Tahlullah.H

I am certain that somewhere on this forum is a great recipe for belly button fluff!

One blow-out once in a while is acceptable, even if it does leave you wondering about your next meal.  You don't do it all the time and as long as the items purchased will be used, don't worry about it.  You already know you won't do it again.

Orangetoes

Loving your diary. You are doing so well!! Fellow teacher here, so cheering you on even more. 

Tiredbutdetermined

Tahlullah.H said:

I am certain that somewhere on this forum is a great recipe for belly button fluff!

One blow-out once in a while is acceptable, even if it does leave you wondering about your next meal.  You don't do it all the time and as long as the items purchased will be used, don't worry about it.  You already know you won't do it again.

I will have to hunt down those recipes. I need to lose some weight before holiday so belly button fluff might kill two birds with one stone!
Orangetoes said:

Loving your diary. You are doing so well!! Fellow teacher here, so cheering you on even more. 

Thank you. I think I am in need of a few cheers at the moment!


I am absolutely shattered to say I have only been back at school for a week. It has been quite a week though! 

I am plodding away but I feel like my strategy and drive has become a little fuzzy! 

My emergency fund is still recovering from the eon payment and new vacuum cleaner so no overpayments to the mortgage.
Stepping back from the overpayments has actually given me a bit of a chance to think strategically about my ‘spare’ money. I tend to get very one visioned around things and when I became debt free last summer my mortgage free strategy of overpaying was a no-brainer. Savings interest did not exceed my mortgage rate.

My mortgage is on 2.19% for another 8months but my digital saver has a rate of 6%. I can only pay £150 a month into it but that pot of money can build to be useful either to offset by remortgage time.
My trying to build premium bonds is a bit aimless at the moment as I have too little to hold much hope of a win but I quite like having some hope! 

I looked at stocks and shares isas but I don’t feel like I currently have enough to make that worthwhile but once the holiday is paid and done then that savings pot could have more potential.

I had an email that my clearscore credit score has gone up. I know it doesn’t mean much but it gave me a bit of a buzz. My Experian score is perfect already 😇 

savingholmes

You are making good progress overall. At least you had an EF where you didn't previously. You are over-paying your mortgage. You can only juggle so many financial goals at once. Be kinder to yourself. You're doing great.

Tiredbutdetermined

Just updated my signature and excited that next months mortgage payment/overpayment will take the balance under £160K. 

This month also boasts the pretty impressive figure that I can now say I have reduced my mortgage balance by £17,000 in the last 2 years. I was chuffed with that until I looked up this time last year and realised I have reduced my balance by £13,500 in the last year. My overpayments and little inheritance contribution have had a fab impact. I am excited for August when I can see the impact from just little old me and my overpayments! 

I am still plodding away with the make £2023 in 2023 challenge and am currently on £939.20. I am harsh with my side hustle money only counting if I earn over £600 extra a month, which I haven’t yet in 2023 due to illness, bank holidays and school holidays but exam season should blast the hustle money up.

I have paid the holiday balance, which is great but I no longer have the buzz of seeing a huge sum of money sat in my ISA!  

My emergency fund is still looking pitiful but I am looking forward to making it worse by paying for my home insurance upfront next week. I love being able to do that and save on the increased cost of monthly paying.

I have totally overstretched myself with exam marking again this year but it will be great to be able to put more towards holiday spending money and rebuild the emergency fund back to a state where I can start making more £500 mortgage payments every couple of/few months again. 

I am still plodding with the little premium bond purchases as I am an eternal optimist!

My car is on a PCP
I haven’t really counted that as a debt because my lovely ex husband left my with a Fiat 500 on a PCP that didn’t fit myself and my 3 teenagers in properly so I needed to change to a car that fit us all in slightly better.
I would like to start saving towards the ‘balloon payment’ if my car is still a reliable option at that point. I quite like that I am already sort of doing that over various accounts but I need to keep my eye on interest rates as my ISA isn’t very competitive and now I don’t need as easy/short term access I need to look around a little