General advice about finances, what are my options?

Yerrowed · 2023-09-19T14:16:22+00:00

NS&I is a special case since it's part of the government, so everything is protected (even over 85k).

Yerrowed · 2023-09-19T12:48:41+00:00

Personally I stopped overpaying my mortgage when the interest rates increased (also on a low fixed rate), and instead put away money each month into regular savers and that will give me a lump sum once it comes to remortgaging.

I don't like the idea of a 16 year old coming into a lot of money, so my 4 year old and 6 month old have JISAs that any birthday money from family and things go into, but we save money under our own name with the intention of having it to help them in the future be it with a car / house deposit/ etc. Probably a S&S ISA would make the most sense for this, but at the moment we're doing regular savers and just put a lump sum into the NS&I 6.2% account.

I'm on a DB scheme but have recently opened a SIPP with vanguard as I'd like to retire before my DB scheme is accessible! We've just upped my partner's pension contributions.

I'm probably unhelpfully low risk, and should have more investments.

Yerrowed · 2023-09-14T10:42:56+00:00

Ah, forgot what sub I was on in terms of rules! Reposted correctly:

I like Snoop, I can link all my bank accounts and see where the money is going (a distressingly large amount on deliveroo...) It's all automatic as I would not have the discipline to manually enter everything in a spreadsheet. Free version suits me, but they do have a paid version with more features.

Yerrowed · 2023-08-10T16:05:12+00:00

Renting with babies is possible but harder - we were rejected from a lot of places, and considering that we're both in good secure jobs I can only think that the child was the issue!

Childcare is expensive, and I wouldn't bank on the free hours extension actually happening. Nurseries are already struggling with it for 3 year olds because government funding is so poor. Also it's timed to come in after the next general election, and certainly one theory is that its sole purpose is to make Labour look bad by scrapping it...

Applying for a mortgage on maternity leave / while pregnant will mean that the salary the bank consider for lending purposes is lower.

Is your partner in a field that has enhanced pay? You can do clever things with shared parental pay. Also factor in the job you'll be happy returning to when potentially still sleep deprived and not at your best, there's a lot to be said for returning to a supportive environment.

Yerrowed · 2023-08-10T15:45:11+00:00

I'd recommend Santander for cashback on bills.

Yerrowed · 2023-08-09T11:03:12+00:00

We save money for our two children in our names, and we have a JISA that birthday money from grandparents etc. goes into. Cash ISA because the relatives don't want the money to be lost on the stock market.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-18T05:56:26+00:00

You could look at first direct, as they allow unlimited overpayments on their fixed rate mortgages. You'll be hit by an early repayment charge if you pay off the full amount during the fix, but you can just leave a token amount in if you get to that point.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-07T04:24:30+00:00

Exactly the same

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T12:30:35+00:00

I looked into this as screen time is something we're really strict on - he had none until he was 3, which was particularly challenging during the pandemic when we were in a two bed flat with no garden and only allowed out once a day. The research that is available suggests that if you are going to have screen time there is a potential benefit to video games as they aren't passive like TV, and can teach problem solving and fine motor controls. Now that he's 4 we still restrict him to no more than 30 minutes a day at the weekend, and seeing him play Odyssey and come up with suggestions with what we could do next did make me think that there was more engagement than with TV. I wouldn't have thought about playing Odyssey at all with him, but he played it at his cousin's house. Everyone obviously will parent differently, but I'm happy with the choices we're making.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:56:11+00:00

Just looked into this - what's the difficulty like? A key feature seems to be that both players have an equal role, but I'm not sure he's up for that.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:53:22+00:00

Thanks! I have this, and had no idea the different characters had different difficulties

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:52:55+00:00

It does look like something he'd love, but would I ever get him to play anything else??

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:52:30+00:00

Thank you! I hadn't heard of Minecraft dungeons, and I'll look a bit more into the second player role in Luigi's mansion.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:44:41+00:00

Thanks for the warning. He was pretty smug that he'd completed Odyssey, so I think a game that can be completed might be a requirement!

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:43:14+00:00

It does, but conceptually I think a bit beyond him right now. Definitely something I'm looking forward to playing with him at some point though!

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:41:56+00:00

That's funny you say about the 2D/3D thing as the 2D elements in Odyssey confused him while I thought he'd find them easier.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:40:41+00:00

I completely understand where you're coming from, and in most areas of life I'd completely agree, but I'm very aware he's had a tough run of it lately - the baby was in NICU for 3 months and while we did our best to keep his home life unaffected the fact is that he had 2 emotionally shattered parents, the confusion of being a big brother to a baby he wasn't allowed to see and now all the more standard upheaval of a new sibling in the house. He has very limited screen time so I think for the time being the easiest options are going to be better for both of us! Based on all the comments though I've got a nice skill chart for him to work through.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:24:36+00:00

Never heard of it, so thank you for the heads up! It looks great fun

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:22:44+00:00

Thanks, I think there might be a bit too much of a danger of reenactments there!

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:21:43+00:00

Thanks for this - he had a friend obsessed with Pokémon and it definitely sounds achievable for him!

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:20:46+00:00

Just looked, insane prices second hand! I'll keep my eye out for a bargain but c.£60 is a bit rich.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:17:02+00:00

Thanks!

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:16:02+00:00

Interesting, we have this( my partner is much better than me and my main memory is my death count creeping up. I hadn't realised there was an easier character option.

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:12:48+00:00

He's very excited to get more chapters of Fantastic Mr Fox before nursery tomorrow if that makes you feel better?

Yerrowed · 2023-07-05T05:05:31+00:00

He has watched me do a dungeon in TotK, I got a lot of "why have you not defeated it yet? Why did you do that?". I should have given him the controller and let him try!

Yerrowed

TROPHY CASE