It’s not interest it’s indexation. It’s tied to inflation. If you knew about it then it was easy to see coming, but obviously if you didn’t then you didn’t.
It is possible to index negatively and reduce the balance but pretty unlikely with todays economy.
It’s applied once per year at the start of June so any voluntary repayments are best made before the last week of May. The repayments you make through the year as wage deductions aren’t put against your balance until after you do your tax return.
I tapered right off and didn’t drink anything for about two years. Covid lockdowns and everything being closed made me romanticise the idea of going to a pub and having a nice cold beer. Once I was able to again it was glorious.
Now I drink occasionally but it’s mainly either one or two with a meal or socially. Importantly I drink when I want to and I don’t want to - I won’t.
When I wasn’t drinking, I didn’t really have any issues. Most of my friends don’t drink much which helps. Soft drink or alcohol free beer are good options. Or water. Or coffee. Whatever. I once ordered a cup of tea while everyone else was drinking alcohol. It was great.
It helps if you’ve got a driving purpose for not drinking. Mine was weight loss. Drinking was counter-productive to weight loss so it seemed like a backwards option.
I use Spotify and my Navidrome/Substreamer setup for music. Apple Podcasts for podcasts. I tried Spotify for simplicity but the amount of ads offended me, especially given I have Premium.
Mainly work and driving for music, work for podcasts. Sometimes music at home but rarely for any extended period and if I do, it’s usually a record.
At some point in a car’s life you ask yourself “is this worth getting fixed?”. The answer is often no for minor cosmetic damage and they tend to mount up.
I used to be pretty negative and aggressive until I realised that if I talked to anyone else the way talked to myself I would get hit.
Now I’m simple and encouraging. Generally a nice little “come on” followed by a simple “you’ll get through it”, “not long now”, “you can do it”, “it’ll be alright”. That sort of thing. If I ever had a coach for anything that’s how I’d want to be pushed.
It’s such a fun little song.