The Little Cottage by the Sea

Rhyddid2026

That is the dream isn't it? To get that healthy balance.
Well done on the pension, very sensible!

BrimfulofSascha

Good morning loves,

It's very nearly pay day and almost new mortgage day. I feel like it's been months waiting to be able to update all my figures. 

I have over spent in my spending pots this week, DD needed some things for art GCSE work, a small grocery shop and some new bulbs and fuel for the car. I'm £112 over for the month. I know what my issue is. I spend too much at the start of the month, live like a pauper at the end of the month which sees starting the next month on the back foot and the cycle continues. I don't know how to avoid this for the rest of this year. Home insurance and car insurance are due as well as Christmas. I know I'm going to go over my budget because I don't have pots for these things. I just need to do some damage limitation. 

Creating sinking funds/pots has got to be a priority.

Part of this is going through old spends, and monitoring spends with minute detail over the next couple of months, so I know what I actually need, instead of setting a limit of some low spend I would like to spend knowing deep down it is unrealistic.

Again it's all about balance, there is no point in going super frugal and not being able to stick to it and then having a blow out. I did say at the start of this diary I would concentrate on the CC and let the loan run. But the loan is £490 a month, so what I have been doing is saving overpayments while the CC's are 0%. I've managed to put away almost the value of the loan, I should be able to do the balance come pay day(due a bit of a bonus). So I am going to pay that off on payday. That will leave me with 4 payments of £107 on the little loan and c.£18k on CC. all of the CC debt is 0% with 0% periods running out between Feb 2026 and Mar 2027.

Once the big loan is paid off my minimums (CC's and small loan) are £487 until Feb 26 and then £380. anything outside my bills/spends/sinking funds will be put into savings. A token £100 into raising the EF, the balance each month into an easy access that will be split between overpayments on the CC's when the 0% run out, and house improvements/repairs.

On the house repairs, the front door is done. Invoice arrived today so will pay that off in the next couple of days from savings. Next on the list is replacing the bathroom window, it's the only window that hasn't been replaced by the previous owners (wooden and single glazed velux, rotting and leaking). Then following that I NEED to replace the 30 year old boiler. It does work, and I love having a hot water tank as the pressure is amazing, but they can't get parts to repair and service it any more. I have contacted a couple of companies about the window for quotes. Google is no help with costs ranging from £500 to £1500!!! The boiler £3200-£4k. although I will probably look to pay £1k deposit and 0% finance that over the year as I don't want to totally strip my savings. I should be able to do both these things by spring. Then the next big jobs are new flooring throughout downstairs and updates to the kitchen (will be moving the boiler from here to the airing cupboard and I need to update some appliances and the worktops which are damaged, would also really love a dishwasher) I estimate all this will cost £5-£6k. so that is £9-£11.5k. ouch. The kitchen and flooring may have to wait until I'm debt free and it is fully saved for.

I also want to save for a couple of trips (I want to keep some normality for DP and DD) The marathon I am training for is in a European city, so I need to save flights and hotel (DP will obviously pay his half) I would also like to save for a girls trip for me and DD to celebrate the end of GCSE's. The big trip I promised her will probably have to wait to be a celebration of the end of A-levels. I can hear the eyes rolling of those reading this. It looks like I'm expecting too much from my money, haven't changed my spending habits, or I'm very privileged and clearly earn enough to have not have any actual money worries. I get it. I'd think that too if I were reading this, It's one of the reasons I have never done a SOA.
I grew up very poor and became a single parent earning just £12k a year. I do know what it is like to choose between heating and eating. My salary has doubled in the past 6 years alone due to doing my qualifications while working and parenting, and many multiples of that 12k salary. I know I spend the way I do partly so that I don't get judged as being a young, struggling, single mother, but also, I've worked so bloomin' hard to get to where I have, with no respite and I deserve to have nice things. But, all people deserve nice things, just not at the expense of their future selves.
So two holidays when I have a fat wedge of CC debt is stupid, but the reality is this would have been 5-6 trips a couple of years ago. Can I ever justify it because it's better than terrible, my debt is serviceable and without interest, probably not, but here we are. 

Guilt brings shame, and shame results in negative spirals, negative spirals mean spending binges. I will not feel guilty for maybe taking longer to pay debt in order to have a safe, comfortable home and making memories with DD. I just need to try and do this in the most sensible, balance way.

Well done to anyone who managed to get to the bottom of this tome.

L&L
Sascha

BrimfulofSascha

Just had DD final school photos through. 27 whole English pounds for one print of the class photo and one print of her individual photo! madness

flamingo22

You shouldn't feel guilty for those holidays and making memories, this is your debt and your life and you do what suits you and nobody else. My DD has had 3 holidays this year and one with us, I won't ever stop my children doing things because of my debt.
You've just reminded me to buy my DD's school pics 🙃

BrimfulofSascha

Good evening Loves.

How is everyone doing?

I'm with the sea creature energy provider. According to their website I was in the top 10% of green energy users in my area last week. The new door definitely makes downstairs feel warmer so the heating is still off. I WFH today so I did put the little gas fire on for a couple of hours for the first time this season. I figure it's less efficient than central heating, but more efficient to heat the room I'm using than to heat the whole house. Low energy use also helped by using the airfryer more than the oven, and not owning a dishwasher or tumble dryer. The house is going to feel so toasty when I finish insulating and boarding the integrated garage and replace the leaky bathroom window. I keep getting emails about having solar panels fitted and how much money I'd save, but I don't use enough energy to make it worthwhile because the amount they say I'd save is more than what I actually pay.

Dinner was defrosted Bolognese from last weeks batch cook, with pasta. Had to pop to the village shop for milk and I think I'll make it to payday without any drama.

Run 3/52 of marathon training done. Will need to run tomorrow to keep up with my plan I don't want to I'm cold and feeling lazy, but February will be pure pain if I don't stick to the schedule.

I have one more day of work before 3 days annual leave and I can't wait. Yay to no alarms. I'm not going anywhere or planning any spends. I will run, and do some 'free' DIY (stuff I can do without having to buy supplies) I think I'll start with stripping paint from the banister and stairs. The paint is peeling and I can already see that some genius once painted it in blood red gloss! Not sure if I'll leave it stripped wood, paint it white, or a mix of stripped wood rails and white spindles/posts. Will definitely leave it stripped until the window and boiler are done. I don't want it getting chipped when there are workers ripping stuff out. I'm also going to pull together a house upgrade plan, costed with quotes from local companies. 

Currently all my saving sits in one place but I think I need to separate x amount for EF and the rest that will go towards debt overpayments and house improvements.

I do feel like I have made progress this year both monetary and mentally. Not going to lie, not doing all the fun things has been pretty sad/boring, but on the other hand I feel so much less stressed knowing the end is near. I hope the debt pay brain switches well to saving and mortgage freedom.

Love and Light
Sascha

BrimfulofSascha

Good morning Loves,

I swear remortgaging is proving more stressful than being a FTB. there's just such little communication. There's been nothing done on the tracker since 2nd September (when they got a redemption statement from my old lender). I messaged a week ago to be told "A member of the team will begin to review your case shortly and set up the completion date for you". I requested the remortgage to start 30th October in line with my old 5 year deal ending. that's only 6 working days away, so far no last minute credit checks, no updated redemption statement, no confirmation of completion date. Is it usually like this? Wish I'd just stayed with my old lender at this point, not sure dealing with conveyancers was worth saving 0.2%!

Payday tomorrow, so I should be able to start looking at my figures.

Annoyed at myself for postponing my run as it looks to be raining all day, 7 miles of mile repeats in the wet and wind is not going to be fun!

have a good Thursday

L&L
Sascha

vampirotoothus

Hi well done on the new door, I had one fitted in the summer after 10 years here and it already makes a huge difference. The bathroom window shouldn't be too expensive, but it obviously depends on the size, get a couple of quotes, ask on local FB groups for recommendations (or use the door people?)
With regards to the boiler, if you are planning on moving it, do that at the same time as renewing it. Boilers are much more compact now and can easily be hidden in a kitchen cupboard, so could it stay in the kitchen? Then you wouldn't have the cost AND upheaval of moving it. Also, don't worry about financing it (0% if you can), it is a need, not a want and I think forms part of the house structure (you can't take it if you move).
Good luck V x

BrimfulofSascha

vampirotoothus said:

Hi well done on the new door, I had one fitted in the summer after 10 years here and it already makes a huge difference. The bathroom window shouldn't be too expensive, but it obviously depends on the size, get a couple of quotes, ask on local FB groups for recommendations (or use the door people?)
With regards to the boiler, if you are planning on moving it, do that at the same time as renewing it. Boilers are much more compact now and can easily be hidden in a kitchen cupboard, so could it stay in the kitchen? Then you wouldn't have the cost AND upheaval of moving it. Also, don't worry about financing it (0% if you can), it is a need, not a want and I think forms part of the house structure (you can't take it if you move).
Good luck V x

Hi V,

The bathroom window is a velux window so window companies won't touch it, it needs a roofing company, and scaffold(maybe) which is why it's so expensive...and probably why it has never been replaced.

I will absolutely be getting the boiler moved at the same time as replacing it. I'd rather not keep it in the kitchen, it's near the window so blocks the light a bit, plus most of the plumbing for the current system is already in the airing cupboard as it is a closed pressure system, so it isn't a big job to move it apparently. But I will need to make good the kitchen wall and ceiling were the current one is.
If I can get 0% I won't count it as debt as I'll have the savings to offset, but the time value of money means paying it over time makes it cheaper then paying up front, even excluding the interest earned by the offset savings.

We are slowly getting there.
S

doingitanyway

BrimfulofSascha said:

Guilt brings shame, and shame results in negative spirals, negative spirals mean spending binges. I will not feel guilty for maybe taking longer to pay debt in order to have a safe, comfortable home and making memories with DD. I just need to try and do this in the most sensible, balance way.

Well done to anyone who managed to get to the bottom of this tome.

L&L
Sascha

I got to the bottom and was rewarded by your insightfulness 

liselle

Very nicely put and absolutely right! My ex ran up huge debts, (long story but I ended up paying them back over several years.) A few years in, he began to pay me, sporadically,towards re-paying those debts. He seemed to think that every penny I had should be thrown at the debts.But, like you, I felt very strongly that my children should have happy memories of days out and seaside holidays ; they’d been deprived for long enough.