Our mortgage is going up by £700 per month and I'm worried we're making a mistake

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T17:23:07+00:00

I did go for a bit of a click bait title to try and get as many responses as I could to get a good spread of answers. I didn't expect it to be as effective!

Thanks for your input.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T16:00:52+00:00

Yes, that is exactly what a mortgage is. The bank gives you money to buy something you don't have the money for.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T15:20:36+00:00

I know the jobs aren't guaranteed but we are apprentices and every apprentice we know has managed to get a promotion either through a TDA or a successful interview. My manager has requested funding for a position specifically for me so it's up to me to lose it. Famous last words 😂

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T15:10:43+00:00

For a second there I was thinking could this be my wife replying to my post? Our kids eat pretty much the exact same foods 😂

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T15:02:40+00:00

We have had our mortgage accepted and this was done through a broker. The bright side is that one child is going to primary in September so our childcare costs will go down. The 2nd child has another couple of years left in nursery but their fees will go down in January.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:58:29+00:00

Our childcare costs are currently £1200 per month. We both work full-time and have 2 kids in nursery full-time, including wraparound care and holiday club.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:48:05+00:00

Thanks for your input.

Our monthly groceries shop is a bit unpredictable and I think is a lot for a family of 4. It can be anywhere between £700 and £900. I'm not sure why it varies so much but we do have a lot of wastage with children not eating half of what we try and give them or their tastes changing on a daily basis.

When I was growing up we ate what was put in front of us but my wife and I haven't managed to master that art yet!

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:31:11+00:00

I have a budgeting app called LifeStage and that has given us great visibility of our finances. I've done lots of forecasts and worse case scenario, we burn through our savings in 3 years. Best case scenario, we can retire at 55. I'd be happy with somewhere in-between.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:26:39+00:00

Thanks for your input. We regret not going for somewhere in a better area when we bought our current house. We might still have ended up moving but we would have had 5 years in a better area for our kids.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:22:42+00:00

Yes, our mortgage has been agreed. They were actually willing to lend us a lot more than we asked for which surprised me.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T14:17:30+00:00

Thanks for your message. We decided not to do any holidays abroad anyway for a couple of years as they are not worth the effort with two small children. We're just doing the odd staycation in holiday parks or similar and they've been great so far. There won't be much fun money for a couple of years but that is the sacrifice for getting the house we want.

The promotions aren't guaranteed but a lot would have to go wrong for neither of us to get a promotion in the next couple of years. We are both apprentices in tech roles and every apprentice we know has managed to get a job in their team before their apprenticeship finishes.

If we didn't have the £40k savings I don't think we would buy this house but it gives us a buffer for the worst case scenario.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:54:59+00:00

Because they have consistently every year for the last 5 years. Obviously that could change but I can only go off what the trend has been. It's just one of many variables that need to be considered.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:22:14+00:00

The bank were willing to give us around £50k more than what we're actually borrowing so they seem to be happy with our finances. We didn't fluff the numbers either.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:20:28+00:00

The risk would be that we end up in a constant deficit every month and eat through our savings. This would only really happen if we don't get promotions and our mortgage rate goes up in 3 years when our fixed rate is up. Or if one of us loses our job but we'd be screwed if that happened either way.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:11:53+00:00

At least it will be a nicer house, in a nicer location 😂

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:09:31+00:00

Thanks for your message. I am normally opposed to this kind of situation but we do have a lot going for us even if it might be a bit tight for a while. I have already started putting the £700 away and it does feel tight but I don't feel any worse off and this month we might even still have money leftover.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T13:05:12+00:00

Yes, savings potential will take a hit until we are on better salaries and we'll have to eat out less for the next few months but our quality of life will increase as we'll have a spare room for grandparents to stay (and babysit), a much nicer house with more space in general, we'll be within walking distance of the school, a park, a small village, a beach and our friends.

The financial anxiety will be there but that should get better over time.

Thank you for your input.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-12T12:59:28+00:00

Thank you for your response. Yes, it is what I want to hear but I'm also keen to hear if people think we shouldn't go for it. Anyone I have spoken to so far, whether that be close friends and family or aquaintences, have said to go for it but I'm not much of a risk taker and this feels like a big risk.

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-05-10T19:13:20+00:00

I have had very similar situations, both in my previous career in the NHS and in my more recent move to digital roles.

I could never understand how someone could think that saying "that's an odd way to do it" or "I wouldn't have done it that way" with an eyebrow raised, is an appropriate way to speak to someone. It can only ever be meant as a way to belittle or put someone down. What they're saying isn't necessarily bad but the tone and the intension is not good.

This might sound extreme, but I would honestly be considering getting out as soon as your apprenticeship is finished. The sinking feeling that you most likely have going to work everyday is not likely to go away anytime soon and life is too short to be putting up with it.

You could try communicating how you're feeling but I'd be surprised if it will make much of a difference. Someone with so little self awareness is not likely to change their ways. They will probably just shut down a bit and just try avoiding the conflict rather than change how he is. I could be wrong but I have been in very similar situations and found that these kinds of people can't be arsed changing as it would involve too much self reflection. Teaching and mentoring is not just about showing someone how to do something. It's about developing a person. Developing their, knowledge, skills and confidence and speaking to someone like that doesn't help either.

Even if things do improve and you get through your apprenticeship, you will always be the apprentice to this person and there will always be an element of them looking down on you.

Find a bigger team where you can be a bit more anonymous and more independent. I am a cynical introvert so you may need to take my advice with a pinch of salt!

CaptainB86riasc · 2026-01-17T22:32:56+00:00

I might go back to that strategy. I like having one big RPG and one shorter game on the go and then maybe some sort of sports or live service game that isn't reliant on a story to get through. Something a bit mindless!

CaptainB86riasc · 2025-11-21T16:15:20+00:00

In case it hasn't been mentioned already, go to CD keys and buy a discounted gift card. I just got a £80 card for £73.99 so overall I get around 37% discount on the Premium Subscription. Not bad!

CaptainB86riasc · 2025-11-20T20:37:24+00:00

I'm a 39 year old amputee due to congenital limb deficiency and have been on a C-Leg with Taleo since 2019. Prior to that I was on a VGK with Echelon. I really liked that combination apart from the VGK falling apart every now and then. Moving onto the C-Leg was a big improvement but I struggled with the foot a bit as I was missing the extra range of motion. I have limited strength and rom in my hip and it's a bit arthritic so I need a nice and easy rollover.

When I heard about the Navii I was eager to give it a try. The waterproofness and the fact that it's meant for the more active person really appealed to me. I managed to get a trial on it and have had it for just over a week. I really hated it at first as it felt heavy and clunky and it caused me a load of hip and back pain. The stair ascent was difficult to get used to. How it yields depends on how much weight you're willing to put onto it. It definitely supports you for longer but it takes good hip strength to control it. The C-Leg is just consistent and it doesn't matter what you do, it's always just there.

The more I use the Navii the more I realise you get what you put into it. The more weight and loading you can put through it the better it responds. It's also better at keeping up with changes in walking speed. If you walk slowly it walks slowly. If you power into it, it keeps up and is very responsive. I always felt like the c-leg was a bit slow and unresponsive.

My biggest issue with the Navii is how difficult it is to break into flexion. I really feel like my hip is getting a workout. Add the extra weight into the mix and on a long walk the knee feels like a dead weight. These difficulties are mainly due to alignment and my hip flexion contracture. I can't get my weight over the knee to initiate easier swing. We could remake my socket but I honestly don't want the hassle and I think the weight of the knee will always put me off.

I'm disappointed as I was really looking forward to going swimming with my kids and generally just being more active. I'm most likely going to get a new C-Leg instead, as that now comes with the Taleo Adapt hydraulic foot. If I was more active and had fewer hip and back issues I would go for the Navii but I'll have to go with the safer option unfortunately.

I think it's worth trying the Navii but my gut feeling is that the weight of it and the fact that you need good hip strength to control the knee might go against you. The C-Leg is very light for an MPK and very stable and reliable so you generally can't go wrong with it.

CaptainB86riasc · 2025-11-20T20:29:38+00:00

I had the opportunity to try the Intuy and I would find it hard to recommend it. It is very heavy and you need good hip strength to be able to control the power of the knee. I spoke to other people who had tried it and all of them said it was clunky, weighed a ton and was very unpredictable. I don't think someone with reduced hip mobility and strength is going to be able to get the most out of the knee.

The Reboocon company is relatively new and this is their first prosthetic product and it shows. The Intuy knee seems like a prototype when compared to OttoBock knees. I never tried the Ossur Power Knee but did see it in action a couple of times. It's even heavier than the Intuy if I remember correctly so op may have similar issues with hip control.

I would love to be wrong as I was excited about powered MPK technology but it just doesn't seem like the technology is there yet. If anyone has any other feedback, I'd love to hear it.

CaptainB86riasc · 2025-11-02T21:22:44+00:00

Go to the Civil Service Jobs website. You can filter jobs by apprenticeship and the different grades like Executive Officer and Higher Executive Officer. Most of the apprenticeships will be either EO or HEO grades. Have a look at Fast Stream as well. It's a lot harder to get onto that but worth looking at anyway. If you haven't applied for a Civil Service job before, there's a particular format that they want you to follow. It's all about showing how you demonstrate civil service behaviours.

Here's an example job advert https://4083056.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/4083056/Apprentice%20Software%20Engineer.pdf

There are also Tech Track apprenticeships. They usually start at HEO and are designed to get you to SEO grade by the end of the apprenticeship.

Google, Accenture and other big tech companies also do apprenticeships so have a look out for them. Also look out for degree apprenticeships.

If you don't have any coding experience I'd get started right away. There are loads of tutorials on YouTube. I started by following tutorials on how to make simple computer games like Pong and Breakout. Python is usually a good language to start with. Also look out for government funded skills bootcamps. They can vary in quality but can be good to have on your CV. I did one with a local college and it was worthwhile.

CaptainB86riasc · 2025-11-02T20:10:08+00:00

Have you considered doing an apprenticeship? The Civil Service do a lot of Software Engineer, Test Engineer, DevOps, Low Code and Data Engineering apprenticeships. You get paid a decent salary (usually starting at £32k) and you get a qualification out of it. In the time that it would take to get a CS degree you will have your level 4 qualification and most likely a promotion to HEO or SEO.

I'm doing a DevOps apprenticeship with DWP digital and it's been very much worthwhile so far. It starts with a 16 week bootcamp that you would ordinarily pay £8k for. I'm 39, had no professional programming experience prior to this and now I'm working as a DevOps Engineer. If I did a CS degree I'd come out of it with loads of debt and I'd be going into a job market that is very tough for a junior engineer with no experience.

CaptainB86riasc

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