Cheery's path to fulfilment - finishing the DIY, looking after myself, appreciating the garden 🌻

themadvix

Belated Happy Birthday to Mr Cheery!

I hope you're having a productive screen-free day and the hangover isn't too bad.

rtandon27

Cheery - you are brave to use an app like that! - I'd be super annoyed not to be able to choose what to access & when!!!

missymoo81

Hey cheery! Love the sound of the app! I hope you got lots done!  I too have a hammock! I love mine, just for escaping the world although DD seems to love it as much as me and sometimes I go to get in it and she’s already happily ensconced! 

greenbee

I have a mesh hammock that I bought (and used) when travelling in Central and South America. I love it, and find it very comfortable   Then again, it's a double. 

Cheery_Daff

rtandon27 said:

Cheery - you are brave to use an app like that! - I'd be super annoyed not to be able to choose what to access & when!!!

Thanks all! 😊

It was actually quite good having everything blocked - I've been quite tired today and would definitely have spent far too long scrolling through nonsense and wasting one of my precious days here alone. 

As it was, I was mildly annoyed I couldn't check the weather forecast, or click on an email link to log in to see the new mortgage rates, but that was it. If I'd been desperate I could have logged in on the laptop of course, but I didn't. Instead, I...

✅ did an aquarobics class
✅ took a big bag of clothes to the charity shop
✅ picked up petrol for the lawnmower
✅ picked up tile adhesive for the kitchen and paint for the front door
✅ had a sneaky cafe trip by myself 
✅ spent a couple of hours mending the wall where the cows have been getting in (not finished yet - have botched a temporary barrier for tonight and it's first on the list for tomorrow)
✅ made tea, with leftovers for lunch tomorrow
✅ did a load of washing, which miraculously dried despite it looking like it was going to rain all day
✅ had a small nap 😂
✅ did the flylady weekly home blessing hour podcast (so put away lots of stuff, changed the sheets, hoovered, dusted, wiped, mopped, emptied all the bins)
✅ spent 15 mins wiping out kitchen cupboards
✅ sorted some photos
✅ wrote a blog post
✅ got the IPL machine out and made a start on one leg (I've been neglecting this and it's never going to work if I only do it once a fortnight 🙈)
✅ finished one book and started another

So all in all a nicely successful day, if quite tiring 😂

Got tomorrow to myself too, although just the day, not the evening. Need to...

⭐ finish the cow wall
⭐ washing on and dried
⭐ 15 mins in craft room
⭐ fit the tiles on the kitchen floor (just a small patch under a radiator, but a bit awkward, hence being put off for so long 😂)
⭐ check new mortgage rates
⭐ YNAB
⭐ finish putting away holiday washing
⭐ maybe another blog post 

That'll do. Cow wall is priority, followed by tiles - I'm anticipating the tiles job will turn out to be more complex than just 'lay tiles on completely flat ground'- already i can see the ground is uneven, some bits need chiselling out, and half of the tiles need cutting, so inevitably that will take five times longer than planned, but I'm determined to get it done this week!

Right, best get to sleep 😊 Back soon with mortgage calculations... from memory last time we had 17 options to choose from and it was quite fun working out which to go for!

themadvix

That was a super productive day Cheery! I think I need to investigate this app…

Cheery_Daff

I think there are a few - this one's StayFree. Simple to use - I've spent a couple of weeks just acting normally with it tracking me, and being suitably horrified, I've now set some limits Only for yesterday and today though while I'm here alone. However, having got loads done, I might continue! 

First of all though, I am NOT here in defiance of the app I am on a legitimate quest to decide on a new mortgage fix! And, like last time, I have several options - ten, in fact. I'm going to write them out here like I did last time, in case it helps anyone else deciding. 

There are several that say 'interest only' - presumably they sell you some kind of annuity product at the same time to pay off the lump sum as they're not any cheaper! Can't see anything in the brief 'see more' bits of info, and I'm not going for interest only anyway, so that'll have to remain a mystery... 

Right, new post with options... 

Cheery_Daff

NEW MORTGAGE FIX

All starting 1st Nov 2024. Mortgage will be £159,100 (28% LTV according to their estimate of current house price). 18 years 6 months left (if we go on that long!)

For comparison, we're currently on 2.26% (5 year fix), paying £919.99 a month. Original end date Feb 2043, current end date March 2042. 

Some continue on eg 0.75 below the SVL for another year or so, but I'm not going to get bogged down in that much detail as I'll be switching then anyway. 

1. ONE YEAR - 6.99%, £99 fee - £1279.06 a month, APRC 8%, total payable £301,753 (leaving off pence here for everyone's sanity!)

2. ONE YEAR (interest only) - 6.99%, £99 fee - £1279.06 a month, APRC 8%, total payable £301,753

3. TWO YEARS - 4.69%, £799 fee - £1073.30, APRC 7.3%, total £291,487

4. TWO YEARS - 4.86%, £0 fee - £1087.84, APRC 7.3%, total £291,438

5. TWO YEARS (interest only) - 5.34%, £999 fee - £1129.49, APRC 7.5%, total £294,548

6. TWO YEARS (interest only) - 5.59%, £0 fee - £1151.52, APRC 7.5%, total £294,644

7. FIVE YEARS - 4.46%, £799 fee - £1053.79, APRC 6.4%, total £275,072

8. FIVE YEARS - 4.99%, £0 fee - £1099.04, APRC 6.6%, total £279,256

9. FIVE YEARS (interest only) - 5.19%, £999 fee - £1163.39  (this may be slightly wrong, I've missed a digit out on my paper notes and now it won't let me log back in), APRC 6.8%, total £282,137

10 FIVE YEARS (interest only) - 5.39%, £0 fee - £1133.88, APRC 6.9%, total £283,022

Thinking in next post... 

Cheery_Daff

Right, some decisions. 

We're NOT going interest only, which rules out these: 

2. ONE YEAR (interest only) - 6.99%, £99 fee - £1279.06 a month, APRC 8%, total payable £301,753

5. TWO YEARS (interest only) - 5.34%, £999 fee - £1129.49, APRC 7.5%, total £294,548

6. TWO YEARS (interest only) - 5.59%, £0 fee - £1151.52, APRC 7.5%, total £294,644

9. FIVE YEARS (interest only) - 5.19%, £999 fee - £1163.39  (this may be slightly wrong, I've missed a digit out on my paper notes and now it won't let me log back in), APRC 6.8%, total £282,137

10 FIVE YEARS (interest only) - 5.39%, £0 fee - £1133.88, APRC 6.9%, total £283,022

NOT fixing for only one year, which rules out this: 

1. ONE YEAR - 6.99%, £99 fee - £1279.06 a month, APRC 8%, total payable £301,753 (leaving off pence here for everyone's sanity!)

So that leaves us with four options - two or five years, and fee or no fee: 


3. TWO YEARS - 4.69%, £799 fee - £1073.30, APRC 7.3%, total £291,487

4. TWO YEARS - 4.86%, £0 fee - £1087.84, APRC 7.3%, total £291,438

7. FIVE YEARS - 4.46%, £799 fee - £1053.79, APRC 6.4%, total £275,072

8. FIVE YEARS - 4.99%, £0 fee - £1099.04, APRC 6.6%, total £279,256

Anyone got a crystal ball??

Given the rates are so similar, I'm tempted to go five years again - that takes us just past Mr Cheery's state pension age, at which point we can start making considerable overpayments. It also gives us certainty until then. My job isn't currently at risk, but there's a lot of upheaval in the sector, and I'll likely want to drop down from four days a week to three at some point in the next five years so having this fixed seems good. 

In terms of monthly payments: 

3. TWO YEARS - 4.69%  - increase of £153.31

4. TWO YEARS - 4.86% - increase of £167.85

7. FIVE YEARS - 4.46% - increase of £133.80

8. FIVE YEARS - 4.99% - increase of £179.05

Hmm. I'll get an increment in my wages in August, not sure how much yet, but it's usually around £70-£100 a month so that will cover some of it. 

slm6002

I always prefer a longer fix.  You cant predict if things will go up or down but as long as you can afford and are happy with the payment, it means you can plan for longer with no surprises along the way