Ding! Ding! All change, please... (now replaced with new diary on MFW)

Baileys_Babe

Well done on the mortgage application, sounds like a good choice.

jwil

Sounds like a great mortgage, hope the application goes smoothly.

Jellytotts

Oh sounds like a great mortgage, we have an "unlimited overpayments" tracker one which has been a godsend and allowed us some fairly hefty OPs over the years, it was portable too so it's moved with us which was handy.  We will be clearing it and clanging the mortgage free bell once this sale/purchase go through which has always been the dream.  MF by 50 having only got back on the property ladder in 2012 isn't a bad position to be in.

starnac

Mortgage sounds great. Well done for finding it. Sounds like it's all going smoothly so far. Fingers crossed it'll stay that way. 

Please let me know how you get on with HRT. I am also hitting that time of my life. I've had a pretty hard time lately and finally broke down crying to my PT (a long time friend) and told her I was losing my mind. She has been doing a lot of training on menopause and suggested some herbal remedies for me to try. Well the difference is amazing. I intend to keep taking these for now as they seem to be working but I have no issues with investigating HRT in the future so I'd be interested to know how you get on with it.

EssexHebridean

joedenise said:

Agree with @Cheery_Daff - sounds a great mortgage.  Didn't get a mortgage like that until the last couple years before we paid it off.

If we are approved for that one it will be the cheapest mortgage deal we have ever had - our original rate was 5.39% IIRC - and the lowest rate we had in the 13 years of having one before was 4.3-something % - can’t recall the exact detail. Of course that was our final 5 year fix and we had to put up with watching everyone else’s rates plummeting at that time! 

joedenise

EssexHebridean said:

joedenise said:

Agree with @Cheery_Daff - sounds a great mortgage.  Didn't get a mortgage like that until the last couple years before we paid it off.

If we are approved for that one it will be the cheapest mortgage deal we have ever had - our original rate was 5.39% IIRC - and the lowest rate we had in the 13 years of having one before was 4.3-something % - can’t recall the exact detail. Of course that was our final 5 year fix and we had to put up with watching everyone else’s rates plummeting at that time! 

We had the same problem!  We took out a 2 year fix at 14% (eek!) as rates were rising.  They went up to 16% but then fell back to 12% before our fix ended!  It's horrible watching rates fall when you've fixed at a high rate.  We took out a tracker at 2.5% above base rate but when the rates went down to 0% and stayed there the BS reduced the rate to 1.5% so still a very low rate.  Was glad when the mortgage was finally paid off - that was back in 2016, the same year that DH retired.

savingholmes

@starnac I've found HRT beneficial. What I wish I'd known earlier is that there are different strengths of tablet / patch. I didn't know that and as a result had more issues with sleep and other things than I need have done. My mood has also been more stable since I increased the dose.

EH - sounds like a good rate for you - especially as you can still prioritise overpayments. There are some savings rates that are higher which could also be an option.

Sounds like you are having great fun with your beer festival and your voluntary work. Enjoy your holiday when it comes.

starnac

savingholmes said:

@starnac I've found HRT beneficial. What I wish I'd known earlier is that there are different strengths of tablet / patch. I didn't know that and as a result had more issues with sleep and other things than I need have done. My mood has also been more stable since I increased the dose.

That's interesting to know and just the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you for sharing that 

Cheery_Daff

starnac said:

savingholmes said:

@starnac I've found HRT beneficial. What I wish I'd known earlier is that there are different strengths of tablet / patch. I didn't know that and as a result had more issues with sleep and other things than I need have done. My mood has also been more stable since I increased the dose.

That's interesting to know and just the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you for sharing that 

I think I've shared this before here, so apologies if you've already seen (and apologies to EH for the hijack!)

I started on patches (combined with mirrna coil) in Jan - felt better but still not great, but since switching to gel a few weeks ago, I've felt better than I have in ages!! It's the same dose too - it seems some people just suit one thing better than another so definitely worth playing around. Sounds like you're sorted for the time being anyway. 

We've been spoiled with our mortgage rates, and I suspect we're in for a shock 🙄 Took ours out at 1.8%, fixed for 2 years, and now we've got a 5 year fix at 2.24%. Ends Sept 2024, so let's hope things have calmed down a bit by then, although I think we've been fortunate with unusually low rates.

When Mr Cheery first bought our last house in 1990, I think his mortgage was about 14% 😱 and I think my sister once did a 10 year fix at about 10% or something - very vexing watching everyone else's get cheaper....

EssexHebridean

Morning all - Cheery absolutely no need to apologise - we need to be talking about this stuff more IMO!  I've got three months worth of the current patches, and I think I am noticing more energy for sure which is great. If I feel there are still things that need improvement after a couple of months though I'll definitely be looking to speak with the Dr again though so see what tweaks we think need making. Hopefully by that stage I will also know whether I'm having any issues with the fibroids around the higher oestrogen levels. 

Yesterday ended up as quite a chilled day in the end - I said we'd achieved quite a lot earlier in the weekend didn't I - and when it came down to it we realised that we had indeed achieved pretty much everything that was on the list as needing doing. MrEH's car needed tyres checked and a clean though - and that was where we ran into a bit of a hitch as one of his valve caps had quite literally stuck solid and couldn't be removed. He tried, I tried. We squirted some WD40 onto it, left it for 5 minutes and then tried again but it simply wouldn't budge. He has some fancy metal ones which look great, but apparently this is something that can be a problem with them. The only remaining option was to take it to the tyre place - we were hoping to use our usual independent one, but they were closed so Kw1kf1t it was. Needless to say on a BH Monday they were also busy so he had to leave the car with them - we were finally able to get it back just before they closed - with a new valve in the offending tyre. Bless them though - as it was only one they didn't bother raising a charge at all which was fab. I have now ordered a pack of the standard plastic valve caps from the Big River site (£1.99 for 16 - bargain!) and those will be being fitted to all 4 tyres this evening! Dealt with getting it cleaned on the way back from there so all now done ready to head off thank goodness. MrEH will fuel up on the way home this evening as well so we'll be ready with no delays tomorrow night. 

Freezer 1 is now quite incredibly rammed but Freezer 2 is off and defrosted - I'll need to pop a folded tea-towel over the door to wedge it open a bit to allow airflow as otherwise it'll get a bit manky inside. (And because of where it is it's easy for it to get knocked closed accidentally otherwise.) Tonight's tea has ended up being curried parsnip soup as that was in a big tub and so created enough spare space by it's extraction to allow MrEH to get the lunch rolls he made yesterday in there! I will probably need to some up with something to add in to that though as I've got no bread to go with it - I'll probably stir through some cooked pasta, and there are mushrooms that need using so those will get cooked and scattered over the top. It'll be tasty enough I'm sure!

This evening's plans are to get the boot of MrEH's car packed as far as we can - so clothes, the hamper and the other random bits that get shoved in the boot. We always work the same way - the boot, once packed, won't be opened again until we get across to the islands, so everything we need for the journey itself will go into the body of the car. That includes sleeping bags and pillows for our first two nights in the glamping pod too. Working this way avoid drawing attention to the fact that the boot is chock full with stuff! (And it also means it can be packed far more efficiently as we don't need to be able to get at anything in it until we're over there). We'll have a bit of stuff to do on the voluntary role but that is likely to be just emails to answer - so easily enough done. 

NO spending aside from fuel in the car now planned until we head off tomorrow - I can do my money shuffle though as Mr Boss has paid me a little early so that means I can get that done without needing to think about wifi etc. Handy! I have also zeroed off the CC aside from one transaction of MrEH's which he will transfer the money for later in the week.