A healthier way to chase dopamine

Lolina

@AntoMac that's very true, I'm trying not to beat myself up too much because like you say, I am finally aware rather than burying my head in the sand, and that's a very important first step.

Lolina

Hmmm I've been pondering some big decisions today. A couple of things need sorted with the house all of a sudden, and it's thrown me into a panic as I don't have the funds to repair them at the minute…

The first was my neighbour coming over today to tell me that I should maybe think about cutting back the buddleia in my tiny front yard. I was wondering why, as I thought it's so pretty and good for pollinators - then she pointed out that it was growing out of my wall and was what was causing the corner pillar to crumble and break. I had noticed that, but thought it was because someone had hit it or something - and I'm also not sure whether it's my property or belongs to the adjoining property (mid-terrace house). Anyhow, now I know that it's my buddleia that is causing it, I will have to get it fixed - and I don't have the funds to do that.

The next thing was that I went into my bedroom and turned on the light switch, and it made the most alarming crackling noise and the light wouldn't go on. Being a bit slow on the uptake, I turned it off and then back on again and the crackling continued to hiss at me. The wiring in this house is ANCIENT and I badly need more plug sockets etc. How am I going to afford this? Anything to do with electricity terrifies me, so I really want to get it fixed.

So now I'm wondering should I try to borrow some money against the house, to pay off some (or all) of my debts and have money to fix these problems, along with a lot of other niggling little things.

I don't even know if this would be possible, would I even be considered with all these debts. My outstanding mortgage is £36,656, fixed at 4.18% until August 2032, and I have just over ten years left on the term. Would it be absolute madness to even consider this? Would it be worthwhile?

The alternative is to keep going the way I am and try to make an extra £500 a month, which would cover the credit card repayments. I have no idea how I would do that though.

Aaaaaggggghhhhhh!!!!

in_need_of_direction

speaking as one who had a £38k mortgage creep up to £165k through consumer credit and repair add ons, I’d say definitely don’t do it. When my mortgage was at its highest, I also had over £30k credit card debt. Ok, I get that urgent repairs are needed but the budleia issue may not be as expensive as you think. Rather than panicking about the unknown costs, can you get some estimates? Am I right in thinking that you’re NI based? If so, it’ll be a few weeks before these come in. In the meantime, go round your house and unplug every unnecessary item there is, even if it means you plug back in for occasional use.
Also, even if your house needs rewired, it may be that an electrician could do a safe interim fix on the switch.

Maybe set yourself a target to save £20 a week purely by eating from the freezer or to list 3 items to sell each week. Start small but make sure the gains go to the house repair pot. Neither of these suggestions should adversely impact your current lifestyle.

Also, consider surveys,etc. I get roughly £10 a month that I take in either transfers to PayPal or m&s vouchers. You had mentioned a possible pay increase in august, that’s less than 2 months away. In the meantime, get rid of as much of the plant as you can and, if safe to do so, start digging out the roots. The better sight someone has of the problem, the more accurate the estimate. If you want to keep it for the pollinators, stick a cutting in a container. Believe me, it’ll grow. Last year I had ro get one removed as it was growing in my chimney.

AntoMac

Sorry if things feel a bit overwhelming for you at the moment. Being a homeowner has pros and cons. A big downside is that you as a homeowner are responsible for your repairs and upkeep.
Before getting too down on yourself there is also a big upside. Your monthly mortgage payment is likely a lot lower than a monthly rental payment would be. You have done well to built up a good deal of equity in your property, your outstanding balance is not huge, and one day you will own your house outright and there will be no monthly mortgage.
Appreciate that doesn’t solve your immediate challenges BUT hopefully you can at least give yourself some credit for getting as far as you have in owning your home outright.

Back to your more immediate issues…. You mentioned that you have accumulated loads of ‘stuff’, much of it unopened, and that you would look into selling some of it to raise a few pounds. Have you started with that yet? If not, why not start that sooner rather than later? Nothing to lose by trying to sell a few bits and see what happens.

Now, the issue of the buddleia and the electrics. A current unknown is how much they will cost to fix. Does the buddleia need an expert. Can you just dig it out and kill the roots etc? Without seeing it it’s hard to tell, not that I’m an expert anyway. If you aren’t up to it physically do you have family nearby who could help, or at least offer an opinion? Maybe even see what the neighbour who pointed it out thinks?

Also, your electrics could be anything from a full wire to a much less costly fix. Our lights kept blowing (also an old house) but the actual fix cost much less than I feared…a few hundred pounds rather than thousands.

Once you have a better idea of costs you can more easily take your next step. Your mortgage provider could well advance you some extra borrowing, particularly if your repayment history is good. They might be prepared to extend the term so as to not increase your repayments. I am not for one minute saying that would be your best option at all, but the more information you have, the better informed you will be before making a decision.

My own mortgage allowed overpayments without penalty which I loved, as I could chip away little overpayments as and when I could.

I’ve probably not told you anything more than you already know. Just some food for thought and hopefully once you have an idea of the actual costs you’ll be better prepared to decide your next step.

AntoMac

@in_need_of_direction replied before I’d finished my post. Some very good advice there too 👍️

peb

You say you have a full freezer. Could you meal plan either for all of July or, do a week at a time with a maximum of £10 a week top up for whatever fresh food you need.

Lolina

@in_need_of_direction, @AntoMac, @peb - thank you all so much for the insight and advice, I can't express how grateful I am for both the advice and also the feeling of not being alone in this! Thank you!

I think I am maybe dissuaded from trying to add to my mortgage. I can imagine how easily it would spiral out of control if I haven't confronted the root issue of my spending habits.

Yes, I have a lot of things I could sell and the only reason I haven't listed anything yet is procrastination and laziness if I'm honest. I will get onto that, get some quotes as suggested to see what kind of numbers I'm looking at, and give myself a meal plan challenge for this month.

Truly - thank you all again. I feel like I've a bit of a plan now 😊

in_need_of_direction

how did you get on eating from the freezer? What’s this week’s meal plan looking like?

Lolina

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067137#Comment_82067137

Hi, well I've made a bit of a dent in it (metaphorically, not literally haha) but still not been very organised about planning meals so it's all been very spur of the moment. A lot of, shall we say, 'interesting' combinations and not overly healthy necessarily. It does feel good seeing the space open up though, and feels good to be a bit more conscious about spending money on food.

I've roped my brother into starting a healthy eating/exercise regime with me, starting tomorrow, so we have overnight oats ready and then will plan our meals together for the week. It's a bank hol tomorrow here so we'll shop then. He knows I'm trying to save money as well as lose weight, so it's nice to have someone to keep me accountable on both fronts :)

AntoMac

it’s good to have your brother alongside to help with motivation and accountability. Are you noticing any reduction in food costs yet and if so are you putting that saved money somewhere safe or paying a bit extra off one of the cards?