...A new door opens

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5115532

Hi there.

Well, this is my second attempt at a mortgage diary. The first one kind of died a death after a good start, although the actual money saving, and overpaying did continue.
The last one died, in part due to the wife having almost zero support for clearing the mortgage, and then further on the breakdown of the marriage.

So, on to pastures new. We are currently in the process of splitting up. The timing seems appropriate for starting a new diary, as yesterday, after several months of searching, I signed for a shiny new home. Completion is due around October/November. Im not going to lie, the size of the mortgage is a bit scary, and even in the current heatwave, I have had 2 days of cold sweats. Haha.

We are both still living in the marital home, until wife sorts money out to buy me out. Hopefully, this is in the next week or two, and then its back to my mum and dads for a few months. Im kind of dreading this, but at the same time, im incredibility grateful, as it will allow me to save quite a bit of money towards furnishing the new house.

Im leaving our home with a lump sum of £50000, and she is paying £2000 from my credit card. The deposit (15%) and costs are basically going to eat up £47900, leaving me £2100.
I have around £500 in savings, plus £270 in back pay due next month. Moving back to my mums should allow me to save around £1000 per month, and allow me to buy some things for the house in the mean time. I also have some funds in my company SIP which are available to sell if needed, around £1500 at the moment, and increasing by £300pm.

Im not going to do a SOA right now, as im pretty much in between lives right now.

The new mortgage is a 2 years fix at 1.59%, 85% LTV for 26 years. (70!!) and im lending £242500, which, frankly, is terrifying. But I want to move to a new area, and the market there is very challenging, and expensive. Good houses sell in a matter of hours, and everything is overpriced IMO, but thats how the market works.

My medium term plan is to round up the mortgage payment from £946 to £1000 as my standard payment. Its an easy overpayment, that after a few months I wont even notice, and I do like a round number. Things will be a little tight until Nov 2018, as I leased a car which is now way too expensive. It was perfectly fine with a joint income, so serious downsizing next year will free up around about £250pm, and still leave me with a nice car.

I also need to build up an emergency fund. The initial target is £1000, which if im honest, is nowhere near enough, and a big target. Im a pretty bad saver. Always have been. Give me a debt to manage, and im fine. Long term target will be £5000.

I have a few debts to clear, nothing horrific, about £3900 on 0%. If that can be gone by completion, that will be a nice thing to have.

After that debt is gone, the mortgage will be getting more focus. I tend to do a bank sweep around 5 days per week currently, which going forward will be paid monthly from the mortgage.
I intend to look at ways to increase my income a little without solid time commitments, which I can also earn without paying tax, as im already a high rate payer. If possible, I would love to be able to earn £50 per month, via cashback, vouchers, surveys and whatever means I can.

I would love to hear from you guys how you boost your incomes, and tips and tricks for those little savings.
(i have produced this on 4 hours sleep in 3 days, so bear with me)