Plodding determinedly up a 300k mountain!
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So, my grandmother attempted to exchange yesterday but it failed and they are trying again on Monday. It's been a really smooth process so far, I can't remember exactly when she put her place on the market but grandad's funeral was February and it was a while after that. Completion is pencilled in for the 8th which I can't get off work, but we are going up next weekend to help out with anything she needs before moving. And to say goodbye to the house that I spent so much of my childhood in - I think I'm sadder about it than she is.
This morning we trudged (on foot because I didn't want to pay for the tube and we need the exercise) to finalise the details for our kitchen. I am so unbelievably excited and hope to use this to sustain us through all the saving we need to do.
The final quote including moving the doors, rearranging the radiators and upgrading our fusebox (on top of the kitchen!) was 13k. Not cheap, but having done our bathrooms by sorting everything ourselves I wanted this done by professionals and not having to order the parts separately. (And it didn't work out much cheaper).
When we got back I shifted £5k into an ISA which is now labelled "the kitchen fund". We are booked for February 2018 so we have six months to save.
Having evaluated our finances - our take home pay minus all set essential bills / outgoings is around £2700. Both OH and I do shift work so it varies a little from month to month. I reckon that if we are careful we can put £2000 each month into savings and will have £1000 extra for inevitable extras that come up during the fitting process. For now I'm going to continue putting our £600/month rent on the mortgage as an OP but will stop later in the year if we need to.
I have a big birthday coming up next summer and we are determined the last four repairs will be done by then. (From a list of 50 when we moved in. We are doing well!)
Current Balance: £251,900.000 -
Hi Michelle!
Just been reading through your diary, well done! - You have some sound plans and goals set which is brilliant!!
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Hi Michelle,
Just read your diary, what an amazing job you are doing! Keep up the good work
Currently starting to think about my new kitchen so fully appreciate how exciting it is! Very stressful here though as reconfiguring the whole house at the same time. Looking forward to seeing how it all goes & have subscribed x 0 -
Thanks penny*pincher! I am naturally a planner and it's the easiest way to keep OH and I on the straight and narrow.
Hey pinkpixie. Kitchens are a big job on their own, adding a new house configuration sounds like a lot of stress. But I'm sure it will be worth it afterwards!
So, another month and another mortgage payment. I rounded it to the nearest £100 and dropped the rent money into the mortgage lake.
Three moneysaving positives for this week, so am feeling quite happy.
#1. We have a free oven! My grandmother completed on her flat this week and so we collected her oven at the weekend. One of OH's coworkers helped take the old oven to the tip for free.
#2 We bought some of the ASDA own brand cat food for our fluffball just to see if she would eat it. It's 16.7p/packet instead of the 22p we were paying and they're 4g bigger. It was a hit! She gobbled it down and we've switched to the cheaper brand. Chalk one up to the non-fussy cats.
#3 I had a bad experience with my waxing salon last month so decided to have a go at waxing myself. It was far more successful than previous attempts and and has knocked my waxing costs down to £5/month instead of the previous £15. Now looking into epilators for when we have a bit of extra cash lying around. Every little helps, right?
Current Balance: £250,700.00
Kitchen Savings: £2,500/£13,000
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We put down our 10% kitchen deposit this week, so we're all set for February 2018. Even though it's a while in advance the company agreed to honour the quote despite normal price rises in November if we put down 10% now. It does mean we have a date agreed and are committed to this happening!
It also means we've given our lodgers their notice. We've asked them to leave by 31st December and have agreed to refund any rent (less their share of the bills that month) not used if they go part way through a month. Was a little nervous as they're friends and this can be awkward but they both took it well and are going to stay until December as they are unlikely to find £300/month rent in London. It'll be a big change, but while I enjoy their company and the rental income certainly helps, we are looking forward to having the house back to ourselves and not having to pick up after other peoples. We may look at short term lets or maybe air bnb in the future, but I think we will avoid long term lodgers after this.
This week I've been spending a lot of time at the gym. I've finally managed to get a physiotherapy appointment on the NHS and am working on muscles in my knee to get it back in shape. Have started the couch to 5k program and am on to week 2. Very happy. Have dropped 4lbs of the 2 1/2 stone that I've picked up since the knee started giving me issues 18 months ago too. Very happy to see that exercise is knocking the weight off so quickly!
Current Balance: £250,700.00
Kitchen Savings: £2,500/£13,0000 -
A new era has begun! One of our lodgers has given notice that they're moving out in a week. They had a friend who's flatmate needed to move and the landlord agreed to it if they could be replaced by mid-September. It would have been better for us both if it had been a couple of months down the line, but these things happen. Now that one is leaving, I am really hoping that the other lodger (who in all honesty I would rather had left first) will follow suit.
This week we got an email from British Gas (along with a good portion of the MSE board I suspect) that our tarriff is ending and the new one is a 55% increase. So I will be taking them up on my option to change suppliers and have started investigating alternative options. I am hoping that MSE will pull another collective switch out of the bag though.
Current Balance: £250,700.00
Kitchen Savings: £2,500/£13,0000 -
Hi Michelle, just spotted your dairy and thought I'd say hi
Sounds like you have a good balance of overpaying, living and getting work done on the house. It's a long slog with a big mortgage but you will get there in the end!2022 MFW 67 - 33 month challenge to clear mortgage, month 17 completed and and extra 2 knocked off 🙂MFI3 No.120 -
Hi Michelle, just spotted your dairy and thought I'd say hi
Sounds like you have a good balance of overpaying, living and getting work done on the house. It's a long slog with a big mortgage but you will get there in the end!
Thanks newgirly! I hope so - while I want to pay off ASAP, we're also a young married couple who need to try and enjoy life too. It's inspiring to see other people finally get to the end.
As a goodwill MSE gesture, I picked up a few empty boxes at work at took them home for lodger #1. Lodger #2 has made some noises about looking for new places next week but I'll be surprised if they actually make a move before the winter.
Bank Holiday and while I have managed to wangle the weekend off, OH is stuck on overtime due to Notting Hill (emergency service worker family issues) so I have headed back to my parents/grandmother. Spent yesterday helping my grandmother around her new home and taking her to Ikea (I know, on a Saturday) to get some new lights because she doesn't like the ones that came with her new place. She loved the ones that were there when she viewed it but the owners swapped them out for standard light bulbs when they left.
She took me for lunch at a local place that does a bowl of soup, a panini (including gluten free!) and a non-alcoholic drink for £6. Then as a thank you for "letting her take me out to lunch" she sent me back with some treats from the local bakery, and a new bathmat she'd bought me in Ikea. A bit embarassing as I honestly don't mind helping her and thought her treating me to lunch was more than enough.
Her cleaner phoned yesterday because my grandmother took her to the same place last week after she'd finished cleaning and insisted on paying for both of them. She wanted to reassure us that she wasn't taking advantage of my grandmother. Which was good of her, but I know my grandmother - she's not one to let someone walk all over her. And as long as the cleaner is happy to keep her company then it works out for everyone.
Applied and paid for our holiday visas yesterday! Both the application and the money was easily accepted and we're good to go. Have been sorting out our clothes and siphoning things that are on their last legs into a pile to come with us for one last wear before they get chucked. OH was down to one pair of work socks and we managed to pick up 10 pairs for £10 so not a bad week spending wise.
Current Balance: £250,700.00
Kitchen Savings: £2,500/£13,0000 -
Lovely three day weekend is over and back to work. Work is screwing with my sleeping pattern lately, last night I fell asleep at 8pm and was up at 4. But my movements woke the cat and she crawled under the covers for a cuddle/to abuse my warmth.
Payslip came through today and 10 hours of my overtime last month was approved. So tomorrow's payslip should be quite nice!
Did our shopping in Iceland on Monday - picked up a voucher in the Metro for £5 off if you spend £30. Bought some joints and other slightly more expensive bits and pieces that came to £31.
Current Balance: £250,700.00
Kitchen Savings: £2,500/£13,0000 -
You are going great guns at the Mortgage Michelle09 well done!!
Good luck with the lodger situation bet it'll be great to have the house back even a little earlier than expected!
MF planning for the simple life :beer::j0
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