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redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 7:37PM

New name, new diary, new approach! I regularly read, and sometimes post, on the diaries of others but haven't started one myself as it is such a public thing to do. Anyway I need to stop drifting and get our finances back on track before we run out of cheese.

Family is:
Me - PT, self employed, bit of this bit of that. Currently on a PT contract with a few months to run.
OH - generally works as a consultant and has a famine or feast income. On a rare direct employed contract at the moment
DC - two boys

Biggest challenge is a huge mortgage, taken out in the days of huge lending and post retirement mortgage dates. Stuck on high SVR as we haven't managed to both be in secure employment at the same time for years. The plan was to overpay and reduce the term but life got in the way a lot.
10 years of chipping away at it may mean we can now try to remortgage but the barriers are two debts that I need to deal with so that they do not impact on affordability.

Debt 1 is a student loan, £840 left at £94 per month - 1.5% interest (maybe?)
Debt 2 is a 0% credit card, £2500 with over a year left to run. This is a carry over from the last famine, and has been reduced from a total that was closer to 15k.

We do have a couple of months mortgage in savings, but that is the 'emergency job switched off fund' and is generally untouchable.

OHs works full time and his wages cover the mortgage, and basic outgoings. Its up to me to generate the income for overpayments and debt clearing . I have to work round the boys as we don't have family local or any childcare in place.

This diary is to try and keep me on track, before the big red lever turns the mortgage off. If we can remortgage, even with reducing the term to his retirement date, it knocks £200 a month off our payments which is a huge amount of leeway next time the famine hits.

redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 7:49PM

I have started by looking at what we have committed as outgoings, checked where we are out of contract etc. All the non essential DDs got switched off in the last crisis so it is bare bones stuff. I generally manage to pay the insurances and car tax in one sum to avoid interest, and did some serious shopping around when they came due a few weeks ago which has paid off.

1. Gas/electric/water - checked, no better for moving. Water is metered. Gas/electric is on a smart meter. I cringe when anyone has a shower as a result.

2. TV - licence only, no paid for services. Nobody really watches TV, its all you tube on the computers or something. I watch the odd thing on iplayer when I am ironing, so no massive sky contract for us

3. Broadband, in contract and on a really good deal anyway. 8 months to run, will shop round at the end as it hasn't been very reliable

4. Mobiles - high spend are for us, but we both use ours for the business/self employed stuff. He is out of contract in a few weeks so can sort that, and I have switched off the end of contract portable broadband that was the emergency back up. I may regret this given point 3 - no internet = no work = no wages.

5. Food - high spend. Pets, fussy eaters (me!) and it all adds up. Needs tackling, I used to cook a lot and was frugal/old style but it goes out of the window when I am working.

6. Fuel - both swapped to more economical cars just before the last famine. Still a high cost but not 16 mpg anymore. Work different hours, and in different directions so car each is not negotiable. I am minimising non essential use, must not food shop ten miles away, three times a week out of sheer boredom.

redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 7:52PM

Next, looked at the assets we have to see if they could be working any harder.

Its all at the best rates available without faffing about more than it is worth. I am debating using the bit that is at 0.5% to pay off the student loan immediately but I don't like touching the savings.

Its in different places and half in each name in case of computer failures, or human incidents. Its not simple to just dip into it either, or its too easy to just borrow some when you run out of money before you run out of month.

redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 8:02PM

Next thing is 'up your income' Splendid.

I currentty have three projects on the go.

1. My core skill set, via an agency, PT for a few months. Its a set project so it will end shortly but they may give me more work in the future
2. Online, home based work that is very tedious. SE so taxable. Minimum 10 hours per week or they will stop my contract. How many things pay over minimum wage that let you work from home at 3am if you want to?
3. Writing, has yet to generate any income, but it wont until I actually start publishing things. Project 1 is helping me road test some of this work.

I also do the usual bits and bobs of surveys (PA/PCR mainly) and swagbucks which generally gets used for treats.

Need to think about opportunties, and a plan for the future so that there isn't another financial famine round the corner.

redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 8:16PM

That's enough background, so what have I done today that is MSE?

I worked an extra shift, so 5 hours pay which will hit the bank next week.
I chased a contested refund that has been rolling on for weeks. I think they try and get you to drop things out of sheer exhaustion sometimes.
I've done a couple of hours of the tedious home based thing.
Bought reduced bread so that the boys have some for toast instead of raiding the cupboards tomorrow
Fed myself and the boys on scraps of the roast chicken rather than drag something out of the freezer. Luckily they like couscous so its easy enough. Must also remember that they happily eat pasta too.

I'm slightly embarrassed at how minor my problem is compared to what some of the other diarists are dealing with but I need something to help me focus.

UncannyScot · 31 July 2017 at 8:50PM

Hello and welcome to a fellow TP fan

You are in great company here and we are all here to help each other.

So, here, have a scone and a cuppa and get stuck in

redofromstart · 31 July 2017 at 9:43PM

Thanks, cake is always welcome. Dwarf bread less so.

GeorgianaCavendish · 1 August 2017 at 11:15AM

Welcome!

I love your username and thread title, hope you've got the FTB engaged!

redofromstart · 1 August 2017 at 3:31PM

Thanks Georgiana, your user name made me fritter a whole 50p in a charity shop to buy a book about her. She was someone I knew of and had always meant to read more about.

Mine! Waah!

GeorgianaCavendish · 1 August 2017 at 3:43PM

redofromstart wrote: »

Thanks Georgiana, your user name made me fritter a whole 50p in a charity shop to buy a book about her. She was someone I knew of and had always meant to read more about.

Mine! Waah!

Ahh, is that the book by Amanda Foreman? I thought that was fantastic

redofromstart · 1 August 2017 at 3:49PM

Right, progress today:

1. Paid external work, 5.75 hours, a whole 45 minutes of overtime.
2. No work available on tedious which is good in terms of free time but bad in terms of money

Forgot my purse and has to use the emergency cash from the car to get enough fuel to get home, but at least went to the cheap stupidmarket one and maximised my £8.02. Found purse, put in work bag. must replace emergency cash in the morning.

Cashed in on Swagbucks so voucher on its way.
The refund I chased yesterday came through, £78.50. I am going to move this into my pot for student loan clearance. Need to unlink the bank card and shift the cash out of paypal before the cheeky baskets at the web service provider invent something else to bill without authority.
Quidco - no movement on overdue money. Is it just me or is nothing getting confirmed at the moment? Chased and got the usual fluff answer. V annoying.

To do:
Check student loan balance and get a settlement figure.
Use PAC on new PAYG data sim for mobile broadband, on 4th August so that I don't have to give EE 30 days notice even though the contract has ended!

Dinner - who knows? Maybe pork and mushroom stroganoff (delia) on courgette ribbons or white fish and roasted veg. Have the stuff in to do this but not sure who is about and degrees of fussiness. Whatever it is it needs to be from the freezer. Did a list the other day and you could feed a cast of thousands for several months. 14 packs of sausages, 12 packs of mince, 7 whole chickens, 5 packs of white fish for example. I think its a comfort blanket, but actually its a lot of money tied up even if it was all a 'bargain'.

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