Settling in for the long haul

joedenise

Sorry if I'd misunderstood.  I'd get the EF up to £1,000 as a start and then check with the loan company whether it is worthwhile overpaying as quite often the interest is added on at the beginning so you won't really save by overpaying.  If it isn't front loaded then overpay that first.

At the end of the day your mortgage is going to be the lowest interest rate.

May be worth using the snowball calculator to see how best pay things off and in what order so that you make best use of your money.

Dakota_Rose

Thank you for your thoughts. I will definitely prioritise getting the EF back to £1k. 

I’m in the first year of a 5-year personal loan (4 years come April) so it likely is worth making those repayments if and when I can. Anything I can do to reduce the term, I will. That would be £400 a month freed up to save/spend on home improvements. 

Dakota_Rose

Have had a morning out today visiting a nearby stately home with a tour and cream tea to finish. Not something I have ever done before but it was our gift to my mum for Christmas. It was great - like stepping in to the Downton Abbey set. The weather is absolutely freezing and I would have hibernated at home had it not been pre-booked and paid for. 

Still a lovely time had and nothing spent. Back home in the warm now to enjoy my mortgage for the rest of the day

Honeysucklelou2

Sounds a nice morning out!

Dakota_Rose

@Honeysucklelou2 it really was! Thank you for stopping by. 

I have returned to Prolific for surveys and have completed a few little ones. I’m a bit uncomfortable with some that have landed on my page though - several wanting quite personal information and access to apps/videos/photographs, so I’ve avoided these ones.

Dakota_Rose

I know I’ve been trying to do too much in terms of overpayments and savings pots and already feel a relief at simplifying my plan. Up till now it has felt like too little, too late.  

So, with a renewed focus on my emergency fund, (the advice to grow it back to £1000 is sensible - I’ve needed it once, I’ll need it again) I have decided to combine my £500 emergency fund pot with my mini-savings pot, which didn’t have a clear purpose. The savings account it’s in reduces in interest if accessed more than 3 times in the year, so I really want to keep that untouched for the time being.  Total now stands at £631/£1000. 

Artyfarty86

Looking forward to seeing how you go @Dakota_Rose!  I agree that an EF sounds like it should be a priority and sinking pots for things you know will come, like birthdays or car services, to avoid debt for them? 

Dakota_Rose

Absolutely @Artyfarty86 my monthly amounts going into birthdays, holidays and car pots will continue. I was just spreading myself too thinly after that point with what was left I think. 

Appreciate you stopping by 😊 

Honeysucklelou2

That’s a good combination…closer to the £1000 EF. Great start!

Dakota_Rose

A quiet day on the financial front. Nothing new to report as we get to that point in the month when all that’s to wait for are direct debits to come out as expected. I clear each one from my spreadsheet as they go to check the balance is in line with what I’d planned for. Very sad I know, but it’s these little actions that have helped us transform our finances over the past few years.

Nothing spent; just work today. Mondays are never the easiest and they’re always nice to get out of the way.