Slow and steady wins the race (we hope!)
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So I have let this blog lapse a little bit, but I have been keeping up with the overpayments according to plan, so hopefully I won't be told off!
There is still a lot of uncertainty around the future of my role at work, but I am trying to remain positive and see it all as an opportunity rather than letting it overwhelm me.
Savings haven't quite followed the progress of the mortgage,. Do you ever have months where you just seem to haemorrhage money? I've had a water leak in the house, needed a new battery on the car and an unexpected verts bill. Hoping that is my run of three bad things done for the year now.
Savings stats at the start of April
£880.98 in emergency fund
£886.47 in House/DIY fund
£356.48 in car fund
£2,123.93 Total"It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Everything is ticking along slowly. Still no clarity on work restructuring, the start of our consultation has been delayed for the third time now.
Mortgage overpayments remain low while I concentrate on paying off the debt from replacing the kitchen whilst it remains at 0%.
I've had to take £350 out of my savings to cover holiday overspend, but am due a bonus of £900 so hopefully this will prop up the savings in June
Savings stats at the start of May
£398.27 in emergency fund
£933.86 in House/DIY fund
£481.80 in car fund
£1,813.93 Total"It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Hello everyone, money shuffle day is here again. Having a bit of a wobble this month
I think it's going to be make or break time for my relationship. I thought we were on the same page re. goals and timescales, but partner seems to be dragging his feet and the last thing I want is to end up resenting him. Hopefully it's something we can work through, but having already had an eight year relationship with a commitment-phobe, and being the wrong side of 30 I'm feeling the pressure to get on with life and not keep drifting along.
Work wise, we've been told consultation will start in the middle of July, so no too much longer to wait thankfully.
Set myself the challenge of making an extra £100 of income in May, and smashed it by making £223.30! I submitted expenses for some volunteer roles that I do and sold a couple of items of clothing that were just lurking in the back of the wardrobe.
Going to try and carry this on for June, and off to a flying start with £45 in the bank from a referral on here for switching energy suppliers.
Am still negotiating cash settlement with my insurance for the water leak I had in March. my quotes have come in at just over £5k and they are offering £3k. Why is nothing every simple?!
Savings stats at the start of June
£1,341.55 in emergency fund
£864.12 in House/DIY fund
£638.10 in car fund
£2,843.77 Total
Mortgage today is a nice round £128k and i have already transferred £125.84 to my holding account ready to pay off the mortgage tomorrow, bringing the balance for 30 June to £127,600 (give or take a few pence which I will tidy off later in the month)"It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Hi all, June was over in the blink of an eye! £136.68 of extra income made through a combination of cashback, overtime and decluttering sales.
No progress with insurance, apparently it is with the surveyor for a final time.
Savings stats at the start of July
£1,623.71in emergency fund
£672.37 in House/DIY fund
£794.40in car fund
£3,090.48 Total
£36 overpaid to mortgage today and just dipping into the £126,000's, but interest added will see it settle at £127,300 by the end of the month."It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Hello forumites, August Payslip is here, no overtime this month, but I managed to make £221.75 in additional income away from work, through CC cashback, surveys and claiming my event expenses.
Cash settlement for insurance is finally agreed, and the plasters will be here next Wednesday to start work on the room. I haven't transferred the cheque into savings, I am holding it in a separate account to ensure I don't overspend on the works, hopefully will have enough to buy the tiles for the kitchen too, but that means I will be doing the decorating work.
Savings stats at the start of August;
£2,611.62 in emergency fund (but some planned expenditure from here next month)
£694.17 in House/DIY fund
£815.70 in car fund, but tax, insurance and MOT due over the next couple of months
£4,121.49 Total
Just a small overpayment planned for August to round down to £127,000 - £8k paid off in 23 months isn't going to set any records, but building good habits for the future!"It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Hello diary readers. September update is a little early as I'm away this coming weekend. This month i made an astonishing £423.43 in additional income away from work, through CC cashback, surveys and claiming my event expenses. This did mean that i have been away every weekend in August, but as my hobby is seasonal I thought I'd take the opportunity to earn some pennies claiming mileage where I could and accepted every request to volunteer that came through.
My downstairs has been re plastered and paint has been purchased. Aiming to have the first room completely decorated by the end of September (sounds a long time away, but will only have evenings to do the work).
Savings stats at the start of September;
£2,227.64 in emergency fund (but some planned expenditure from here next month)
£694.24 in House/DIY fund (not including the cash settlement figure for the water leak)
£17 in car fund as paid up front for insurance and break down, plus MOT and service completed recently
£2,935.88 Total
Stretching myself to a £123.13 over payment to round my capital balance down to £126,600. £8,400 paid off in two years
I would have liked this to have been £10k, but I did end up having to replace the kitchen, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I need to remember this is a marathon not a sprint. "It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Hello diary, updating figures early again as we head into October
I was £8.71 short of my target of making an additional £100 for September, but that's still an extra £91.29 into the coffers which I can't be anything but pleased about.
Decorating has gone smoothly, just the skirting boards to purchase and fix in the living room, then that room is complete. Then stairs to carpet, kitchen to tile & paint and fingers crossed that's the house done ready to put on the market.
Tentatively looking to move next spring...
Savings stats at the start of September;
£2,235.39 in emergency fund
£566.76 in House/DIY fund
£248.30 in car fund as paid up front for insurance and break down, plus MOT and service completed recently
£3,050.45 Total
Planned over payment of £33.27 to round my capital balance down to £126,300, and on track to be in the £125k bracket by Christmas!"It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
You've done really well.
As a now 52 year old I wished I'd had your foresight to pay my mortgage down at your age!!
Keep trucking on :-)0 -
Thank you Working Mum, it does feel like a slog at times I must admit, but I am just trying to think of the flexibility it will offer further down the line.
Happy Halloween Diary!
Smashed my additional £100 money making target with £193.11 extra made in October. However, I am struggling to come up with ways to sustain this over the winter months, so this may be the last big bonus until the spring. I'll still keep plugging away with the surveys though, every little helps!
Nothing to update on the decorating front, work has taken priority - we are in the middle of restructuring and I have been invited to interview for my current position :rotfl:
Savings stats at the start of November;
£2,312.50 in emergency fund
£587.45 in House/DIY fund
£194.60 in car fund
£3,094.55 Total
Planned over payment of £21.34 to round my capital balance down to £126,000. The balance today is £126,300 exactly, so when my mortgage payment is taken tomorrow, I will officially be in the £125k club, with interest just pushing me back up to £126k by the end of the month.
I can't really believe i have managed o pay off £9k of the capital balance already."It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0 -
Rather late with my start of December update. Hope everyone is feeling suitably festive?
Restructuring nearly complete at work and I got appointed into my first choice role on the same salary. Feels like a huge weight has been lifted.
Only managed to make an additional £54.22 in November, but I'm pleased with this as most of the month was stress and interviews.
Savings stats at the start of December;
£3,115.95 in emergency fund
£579.73 in House/DIY fund
£40.90 in car fund
£3,736.58 Total
Made an over payment of £131.42 to round my capital balance down to £125,600.
I am considering paying off one of my credit cards using £1,800 of my savings, rather than transferring the balance when the 0% interest period ends. On the one hand I like the security of having cash in the bank, but on the other now I know my job is secured I need to think about making myself more attractive to mortgage providers in case the right house becomes available in the spring..."It’s all about balance, do you see? Balance is the trick. Keep the balance and—” She stopped. “You’ve ridden on a seesaw? One end goes up, one end goes down. But the bit in the middle, right in the middle, that stays where it is. Upness and downness go right through it. Don’t matter how high or low the ends go, it keeps the balance.”0
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