Strange times
When my husband was made redundant in 2008, my wage was less than a third of what it is now and we had a mortgage. We had no gym membership, we had a relatively expensive house to run compared to our wages. But we adjusted and 9 weeks later, he had a job offer with the company he has just been made redundant from.
When it looked like we may be in the same position a year later, I had to ask for a fair wage – for every pound my male colleagues made (many with less experience than I had) I got 80p! A five minute phone call fixed that. I had a 2nd promotion in six months later. Which, career-wise, got me to this point.
It’s a different game this time round. We have no mortgage, we have spent money over the past 10 years paying off the mortgage and getting the house to be cheap to run. It meant we didn’t do too much on the holidays but on my wage, we can keep everything comfortably running along and have a holiday a year.
The house is cleaned by my man over the week, so we have had fun this weekend.
Of course, he’s too young to retire, 16 months off being able to draw his old work pension. So he is looking hard for a new role. But if he doesn’t, maybe it doesn’t matter. There’s enough to do in the house to keep him out of trouble. Gym membership means he can keep healthy.
Life is so different once you’re kids have left home and the mortgage is done. We’ve owned our cars since new and the motorbikes, so they have been maintained. No loans, no rentals that need to be maintained.
A chance conversation
changed everything for me. A colleague who’d joined the company the same month I had, had waited two years before buying his house for cash. Now, I’d already worked out how much in interest my house was going to cost – a mortgage for £55,000 paid for 25 years at £325 was going to be £97,500.
I looked into the details and when we combined our earnings and got a new mortgage, I was focused on paying off (after establishing some savings – 3 months of your living wages is an absolute minimum) what-ever was left at the end of the month.
Our last mortgage was for £250,000 and we paid it off in 10 years. We upgraded our heating system in three stages: thermostats, radiator valve controls, heat pump. We got a smart home. We upgraded the cooker and hob,
Sounds idyllic, but you’re not exactly an average wage earner…
No, having had the redundancy in 2008, I focused my career on an independantly comfortable life.
It doesn’t mean we’ve kept everything the same. Every decision is conscious. I haven’t changed my suppliers, but we are making smarter choices. Cooking from scratch instead of buying ready meals saves around £20 a shop! Vegetarian two meals a week saves around £20 and is better for our hearts and waist-lines.
We were paying £90 a month for Sky TV – that’s £1,080 a year! That’s not including the power for the set top boxes. Switching to Now TV saves £70 a month or £20 a week. We’re in the same position, able to watch the shows we’re interested in for much less. Do not pay for the sports channels – find a local pub that has the shows you care about on their screens. A drink an evening is way cheaper than the best part of £70 quid a month, after all.
Aye, but we haven’t mentioned the elephant in the room, have we? The heat pump…
An interest free credit card allowed us to buy the heat pump in July. Since then, not only have we cut our carbon footprint to 0.3 tonnes per annum, but we’ve saved about 200kWh a month on average and that’s not compared to the gas we’re not using. Our heating and water with gas cost 13,375kWh a year. We should come in under 4,000kWh – but of course we’re not going to see that for a year.
Unlike gas, much of our water heating won’t cost us anything as we have solar panels. Any further panels we add, will help recoup those costs much more quickly. A big enough, insulated water tank means plenty of hot water on tap for all our needs. Because our dish-washer heats its own water, we might be one of the few places where hand-washing costs in!
So long as I keep my job, we should be more than OK. Our house, living as we do today costs less to run than my pension will be. My husband’s pension is as much. It feels like we’re going to be OK.
We’re not drinkers or smokers, we’re not extravagant in our tastes or habits. I still regularly wear clothing I bought when I was 16. My car is 14 years old in December.
What more do I need, please? I am going to have good food, cheap heat, and able to save at the end of the month. I have a good partner who loves me.
Posted: September 22nd, 2024 under 42, Driving off the grid.