SmlSave MFW diary - where to start?

taka

I know is lovely here too! I wish it was Friday! Hope its like this next week when I'm off work!

SmlSave

Friday today! :T

2nd NSD :T

Hope you all have a good weekend and the weather is good where you are.

p.s. just to warn you I'm cooking up a longish post about the big OP aim of this year duh duh duh!

Tesco_points_addict

SmlSave wrote: »

Friday today! :T

2nd NSD :T

Hope you all have a good weekend and the weather is good where you are.

p.s. just to warn you I'm cooking up a longish post about the big OP aim of this year duh duh duh!

Are you working on this all weekend whilst the sit is down? A juicey instalment for us to come back too??:D

TPAx

evab_2

waiting..........................................................................................................................................

SmlSave

I did warn you it would be long.... (I'm not sure its juicey thou TPA)

The Mortgage stands at £108,800ish and allows us to overpay by 10% in January. As this works out to about £10,600 in Jan 2010 it’s doubtful that we could op by the full amount but I would ideally like to aim for an op of £5,000. (minimum)

Our fixed rate of 5.44% finishes on the 9th March 2010 and in the current market our house could be priced anywhere from £103,000 up to £108,000. If this stays the same or if house prices go down even further our chances of remortgaging could be difficult especially at a decent rate.

… or any rate at all! From a dip into the mortgage sites the most they’ll lend is 90% but we can always hope that if we kept with the A&L they might be a bit flexible.

My Halifax 7% Regular Saver finishes in September and should have a respectable £2,000 in it, which will then be put in my ISA. This means that there should only be £3,000 left to reach an op of £5,000.

The ISA’s will, taking into account the £2,000 to be put in September, allow us to put in £5,200 which would be wonderful if we could. OH has been steadily been putting in £300-£500 a month into our savings account so £3,000 by January is a feasible amount. It’s possible that, with OH saving £500 a month, we could potentially save the full ISA allowance of £5,200. However I believe this to be unlikely as ‘something’ always turns up!

The Wedding is budgeted to cost £6,000 and thanks to family members and OH’s savings we currently have these funds in an instant access ISA (£3,600), current account (£878.50) and we’ve already spent £1,521.51.

The Windows average quote last year was £3,000 for 4 windows and French doors. It’s scary how much water our borrowed dehumidifier takes from our rooms. In one hand we can and have survived with the damp for two years but in the other its not very nice, will add value to the house and needs to be done eventually.

I’m tempted to save and get the two front windows replaced this year as the bedroom window is truly the worse one for damp/condensation. If we guessimate that the two front windows will cost £1,000 and our savings look amazing in September (we have say £4,500) I will really want to get them done.

The Living on £5,000 a Year challenge is going well with our grocery budget being our biggest saving. These savings are going towards DIY in general as we hope to have the garden finished this year and to start decorating the study and bedroom.

Save the Change All change under 50p in my purse (and OH’s wallet when I get my hands on it) goes in the whisky bottle which has been mentioned before. There’s currently over £25 in there which will go into my OP fund.

A new tin has been bought in which all £2 coins are going in, one which can only be opened with a tin opener. I’m debating whether, once it’s full, to use it to OP, DIY or let our hair down with the money. I guess I’ll decide on the day we open it.

TA DA!

Tesco_points_addict

Wow...well done!

TPAx

StuartGMC

Excellent progress all round.

Usually getting as many doors and windows replaced at once is the most cost effective; in addition to saving on heating, reduced condensation etc it should improve security of your home. Definitely worthwhile and you can see it as part of the property investment just like an OP.

gallygirl

StuartGMC wrote: »

Excellent progress all round.

Usually getting as many doors and windows replaced at once is the most cost effective; in addition to saving on heating, reduced condensation etc it should improve security of your home. Definitely worthwhile and you can see it as part of the property investment just like an OP.

Which is all very well Stuart but it doesn't look good on the spreadsheet
:rotfl:

setmefree2

well done on all that :T

SmlSave

So I write this long post.... and go awol I have eaten lots of choc (still more to go), went shopping (new £20 jumper), finished tidying and paving the garden and have mainly been stressing about the wedding invitations and honeymoon weekend.

Thanks for all the 'well dones' everyone and if we have the money Stuart we will do all the windows at once, if we have the money...please,please,please..:A

I'm off to catch up on everyones diary's...