And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Looks like a very sensible head/heart compromise. To me PP.
yellow stickers all the way.
When we were at uni one of our friends worked for mr Sparks, their staff shop is awesome, we ate like kings on a pauper's budget on an evening after she'd finished her shift.

Have a great mse day

Its amazing what you can save isn't it? I don't do it that often but if I have to go for one thing I try and time it for about 7.30 which is when the real bargains can turn up :money:

bexster1975 wrote: »

Hello again

Your SOA looks very reasonable. I don't know how many of you there are ( or I've forgotten from OP!) or how many cars you run. Nothing jumps out as ridiculous to me tho ( well, maybe the mortgage- but what can you do!) I think half and half re: pension/overpaying is a great idea. I'm afraid I'm not a big pension fan. I see the tax/financial incentive, but the locked away until 55 min. is a huge disadvantage. I'm am reconsidering my current pension position as I'm about to become a 40% tax payer and at this point not contributing to my current work pension is more than foolish. I invest in S and S ISAs quite heavily now, as I do not want to have al my cash stuck if I'm in need. The freedom of no mortgage was my main motivation. All other bills can be trimmed to some extent once mortgage is gone, so you are more able to use your money the way you choose ( or work less if that's your choice). Good luck today sorting your bills.

Bexster

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply
There are three of us and I have one economical car as I do have quite a long drive to work and this helps to keep down my petrol costs.
You're right about the mortgage - love my new 10 year term but the repayments are certainly:eek:The pension/OP question is a really tricky one and after endless deliberation I'm still dithering in the middle! I'm not usually that flaky but I'm honestly not sure what's best and I really don't want to make a silly,costly mistake. Luckily for me I'm not too far from 55 so my pension fund won't be locked away for long ( if I keep repeating how 'lucky I am then I might start believing it:rotfl:).

My current thoughts are meandering around OP options. A bit like the pension route when its OP its effectively gone. Although I do have an emergency fund the last few years have taught me to expect the unexpected so I'm currently considering offsetting my overpayments instead which would make me mortgage neutral rather than mortgage free. As I'm unsure I've decided to offset my OP until the end of the year when my thoughts may be clearer.

So, next steps ;

Offset a total of £2400 for July and August :eek:
Pay one off bills that are due in August
Have a frugal holiday
Celebrate successes however small

MSE triumphs :j

Line dried 3 loads if washing ( and put it away rather than leaving in in the basket for a week:o - thanks for the tip/kick up the pants museumworker!!)

Carbonara for dinner using cooking cooking back, basics spaghetti, hm garlic bread and accompanied by ys salad
Got a pile of ys veg for pence
£30 eBay sale
Went for a run - just free exercise for me from now on
Took my own coffee when out and about
Leftovers for lunch
Have written a daily 'to do' list

Now need to get off my !!!! and tackle said list

PP x

bexster1975 wrote: »

Hello pp

I think off setting is a great idea. I did it for a long time. You can't really lose, most of the time I was earning more in savings interest on the offset than I was paying on my fixed rate mortgage. ( wasn't able to get an actual offset as FD bank need you to earn £50,000 p.a - go figure). It means if you need the cash, it's there. I think some people don't like them as it requires discipline not to dip into it. I never worried about that as I kept it in a separate account and had an additional emergency fund so it would have needed to really hit the fan for me to dip into it.

Good luck with the list, don't make the holiday too frugal, have a lovely time.

Bexster

Thanks Bex, its always nice to get a second opinion, I can sometimes drive myself quite mad with ifs and what ifs.
You're right that the danger is dipping into the offset pot but I'm generally quite disciplined with things like that. I like to think those that love me would call me focussed (rather than obsessive, pig headed, bonkers etc. :rotfl:)

I've had a really nice day and having the luxury of time to just potter around at home is something I've thoroughly enjoyed.
I've made some progress on my list although a few items will have to form part of tomorrow's:o

Today's MSE triumphs

Joined TCB and took out a credit card to grab £47.25 cash back. I'll cancel it once I've banked the money

Taken the time to look around at landlord's buildings insurance rather than just renewing and then wishing I'd got my act together. Renewal was £232 but got better cover for £142 and I've got £57.25 cash back pending :j. Feel a bit embarassed that I've clearly been over paying for years.

Batch cooked all my ys veg into curry, soup and veggie moussaka. I've still got a cabbage to deal with and all I can think of is coleslaw so might do a bit of googling

Set up my offset stuff so I can OP straight into it from my current account. My mortgage provider has my mortgage and offset saver online so I can easily see any progress (or not!) which I'm hoping will motivate me.

Had a lovely, long chat with a dear friend who I don't see enough of using my free landline calls

Went for a run - I'm aiming for three a week plus a decent walk plus 1_other activity as the mental and physical benefits make all the effort (and its a real effort sometimes ) worthwhile.

Take from home coffee whilst out and about .

Leftovers for lunch

Steak pie and hm wedges using leftover pie filling and pastry from the freezer.


Still to do

Go through tax return
Travel insurance
Clean car :eek:
Check date of dental appointment
Finish some outstanding admin for work

Off for a cup of tea whilst watching the last episode of The Loch:)

PP x

shangaijimmy wrote: »

A few days late but in terms of OP v Pension it go for a 33%/33%/33% approach. 33% to debt (only mortgage for us), 33% to savings (pension currently about 17%, holidays, kids uni etc...) and then 33% to living costs (cars, food, spend etc...).

Hi Jimmy, thanks for stopping by. I love your diary
I think finding finding what works for you and you're is key if your going to sustain your efforts and you are certainly doing that!

Jessy103 wrote: »

Hi PP. Well done on the cashback! I have a suggestion for your cabbage! Have you ever tried Irish Colcannon? I don't have it with bacon because I'm a veggie but I cook some veggie sausages for me and some meat sausages for DH to go with it. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2649/colcannon

Hi Jess and thank you, that looks yummy:A

Its so nice to have people popping in, makes me feel better about rambling away to myself :rotfl:

PP