Moving on with things

Willowtree222

Balance is key. If you restrict too much, it can have the opposite impact.

I agree with ES,  a lot of that would be cut if you couldn't afford it. EF would be a lot less than you are thinking. You cpukd get the 6 month emergency fund and then add the discretionary items to it as you keep building. 

enthusiasticsaver

Given your situation re your income and how you are paid I would focus more on your interest only mortgage after the CCs are gone than building a cash EF which may not be needed in your situation. After all eventually it will need repaying so what was the plan when you took out interest only rather than repayment?  A classic 6 months expenditure  EF is mainly for those at risk of redundancy or  those who don’t have sick pay which isn’t you really. We don’t fit into that category either. We are retired living off defined benefit pensions and our investments (no state pensions yet as we are not yet at our normal retirement date). For us to lose our income our pension schemes and the global economy would have to collapse which is unlikely and comes with guarantees/protections. 

We don’t have an emergency fund linked to our income. Ours is to cover any large unavoidable expenses. Our income now is around £5k a month and we don’t let our cash reserves go below £10k. I would think for you having a big cash reserve would be an inefficient use of your money but totally get why you would want it as financial security. Your accountant would probably tell you to put it in your pension or stocks and shares ISAs. Personally and for those of us who own their own homes being mortgage free would be the preferred option. Or a combination of all three. 

RelievedSheff

I'm tending to agree with the others on this one Alt. Yes has some savings set aside for unexpected bills, but in your situation where the complete loss of your wage isn't likely, then putting the extra money towards the interest only part of your mortgage makes far better financial sense.

Being mortgage free will free up so much more spare money for you each month that you can then put towards savings or investments as you see fit. Your biggest monthly expenditure is your mortgages. The sooner they are gone the better and the less interest you will pay.

On a completely separate note. Glad to hear that you are feeling better in time for the bank holiday weekend. Now we just need the weather to improve!

warby68

I get wanting to start saving to prove you can do it and build a good habit but in any doomsday scenario for you there are assets (property) to fall back on if need be to generate cash as well. I would say you perhaps need a couple of months' income equivalent to give you easy breathing space while you decide on the bigger strategy if things are going pear shaped. Even then, that could be safeguarded in the business too rather than out of your personal money now.

I'd be inclined to start with the £2k pm you currently earmark for debt repayment and let it build up a bit and then consider converting your interest only mortgage element to repayment ( even if only in your head) and send that across as extra. Once you get used to that then there is also an optional lower mortgage repayment still available should things tighten. With your worries for your family having an unencumbered home is a great goal. Or even one with enough equity to rehouse in a not too drastic way. I assume you have some life/critical illness cover which also addresses some of this risk.

Then I think you could save for smaller specific items to reinforce the saving/cash up front behaviours eg the next lot of decorating or new flooring 

Iamouttheotherside

Good Afternoon Alt,

I have just logged in to catch up and had 91 new posts on your thread!  I genuinely don't have the time to read them all but I have skimmed through your posts, you have done amazingly well, you are truly a changed person.

Debt free by November 2024, I never thought it would be that soon and your life also be transformed, you've put a huge smile on my face to read such good news and positivity.

Congratulations -  I will keep reading, in the meantime, have a lovely weekend and stay on the path!

alt80

Past midnight I'm wide awake after 11 cups of coffee today, used to drink this much coffee most days but don't anymore, just didn't notice today and !!!!!! annoyed now ha. Glad I've massively cut it down after finding it was the caffeine that was making me !!!!!! every half hour. First NHS GP I went to years ago told me to cut out/down caffeine and alcohol, should have listened, instead I lost it with him and spent silly amounts of money travelling to London to see specialists who I lied to saying I didn't drink anything but water and not to excess, ha. I half laugh about it these days but it was a waste of thousands and really it should have been a warning to get treatment as it was a time that I was using a lot, I knew I was addicted then when I look back; I recruited a load of staff because I knew I wasn't coping mentally idk I couldn't admit to having lost control I don't suppose. The money / time I wasted after that I still have a hard time coming to terms with despite everything the pros say.

We went away, should have been a relaxing long weekend but our son was like a !!!!!! moody 14 year old the whole time. God !!!!!! help us when he does get to that kind of age, ha. I had far too much to drink on Saturday which, with hindsight, didn't help anything just made things worse and !!!!!! my sleep further.

@daisy_1571 thank you. Yeah, the hindsight / regrets I think you're right everyone has them to one extent or another. Regarding mortgage debt, we are talking about my family home, which, in my case anyway, I will not realise money from. I would be loathed to sell it and if I were to it would be for something more expensive still. On the other hand you are right in that it is, of course, an asset.

I used to love driving, that's what winds me up about it so much now. I wasn't exactly well or in recovery when I more or less stopped driving because I kept having panic attacks behind the wheel. Tbf it's not that I don't ever drive anymore or that I can't, I just prefer not to.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm trying to do with my son tbf. I need to have a think about the surplus over the coming months, I know. 

@Willowtree222 thank you, I know you're right - if I had to there is room to cut back on the non essential stuff. Need to think about not just trying to do something arbitrary to prove something to myself really.

@enthusiasticsaver the io component was meant to be temporary whilst rates were high and we could port the low interest rate. At the point that fix ends (2026), I was going to throw the lot onto a repayment. Not sure now will have to see where the deals are, I wont fix if rates aren't low (doubtful) and I'm considering io. I have a number of potential methods of repayment including the back up of back ups - the resi portfolio. Will make a proper post at a better hour. Need to think about the EF, 100%.

@RelievedSheff mate tbh the idea of not having a load of !!!!!! credit card balances seems unreal to me never mind the potential of owing my home outright. Just the thought of no longer owing a card debt idk its like Im looking at someone else, not me. I know it probably reads ridiculous but it is what it is.

@warby68 I know you're 100% right and that was my initial plan tbh I got this idea that I need to prove to myself I can do this, even if its not the best thing for me. Idk why, it's stupid really.

The thought of my wife having to move for financial reasons if something happened to me breaks my heart. I have given her instructions and would like to think she would be ok but rn it wouldn't be ideal. One of the reasons I'm committed to the gym rn and getting fit again. Life cover is a bit of a problem for me because I can't really just lie about never having ever touched drugs. 

I would love to be able to have the kitchen / bathroom fittings upgraded although I'm reluctant to take more finance for it whether secured or unsecured.

@Iamouttheotherside thank you, I hope you are good busy, iykwim. I am having a bit of a bad night / week ha but I have learned addiction and chronic stress / anxiety are pervasive, it won't just shift entirely, always there in the background !!!!!! waiting for its moment, also learned its moment passes too. Every night turns to day as my mum says lol. Generally things are getting better, I'm still on the path and all I wish is I got on it earlier but doesn't everyone and I'm here now at least. Back to work / gym tomorrow, however I feel I will show up, that's half the battle.

alt80

No !!!!!! sleep whatsoever but I have at least dealt with the cards.

May 24

Card Balances

CC1 ………………….........................................……….£10,335 (0% for 13 months)

CC2 ………………………..........................................….£0 (Cleared)

CC3…………………………............................................£0 (Day-to-day card, spent a bit over, wife over on clothes tbh I should ask her to give it a rest for a couple of months really. No balance accrued but less off CC1 than I would have liked)

CC4 ………………………….......................................... £0 (Bye!)

Total Card Balance…………..........................................£10,335

Total Reduction in May….£1,780

Need to do better next month. 

Cherryfudge

Your cc reduction for May is more than I earn in a month, so from my perspective that's a tidy sum gone, caput, vamoose!

Tongue in cheek - you could put some of the coffee expenditure (around £2.50 yesterday?) towards the cc? Say a saving of £2 a day, £730 a year... your June cc reduction could then be around £1,840. But seriously, I'd be much more worried if I thought you were regularly having 11 coffees a day. That on its own is a steep and slippery slope. I'm a coffee-holic but when I linked it to anxiety, lack of sleep, nausea and feelings of doom and gloom, I knew I had to cut back. You will be feeling the backlash today of yesterday's intake, and if you make an inventory of all the spin-offs from that, it's a good reason to limit it to mornings, or whatever works for you.

More than that - ask yourself why you resorted to coffee yesterday? What's going on underneath that drove that? It's none of my business, but for your sake if you can isolate the relevant factors and find a work-around (and get your wife in on the scheme), you may sleep better in future.

By the way, I read often and don't post, but it's been a delight seeing how far you've come. Your insights into your past and present selves and all the work you've put in do you credit, and climbing out of a pit that deep gives you a strength of character that many of us will never have. I know you'll probably always have to keep an eye on yourself, but you're more aware of that than any of us. The substances stole a lot from you, but not the skills needed to build up a business, and you've added to that in your journey in terms of building your family, your self-awareness and probably lots more.

RelievedSheff

There are some alright decaff coffees you could try instead.

RelievedSheff

Your card balances are doing great. Not be long before they are gone.