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1 mortgage, 2 babies, 3 years to be MF, 4 goodness sake!- weezl's diary

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  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    Was just thinking Weezl

    you will be mortgage free before ferg starts school(or nursery).........................thats an amazing accomplishment

    That's what we're dreaming of shaz:D then DH can work 4 days a week, and I won't have to commute for 3 hrs a day, when I'm not on maternity leave that is :)

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    shaz do you guys cut bread that thick too? How does it go in your toaster? :rotfl:

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • LilacPixie
    LilacPixie Posts: 8,052 Forumite
    Weezl I am still in shock that you have managed to clear more than my entire mortgage in such a short space of time. Can I ask about your income? Is it considerable?

    I have worked out that you have clear over 65k within 2 years which is amazing no matter what your incomings are but i was trying to get a feel for just how amazing.

    Me/we earn 45k ish a year gross so around 38k net so there is no way that we could live and pay over the equivilent of almost 33k to mortgage. I am sure there are huge savings to be made with our utilities and food budget but we have some residual debt too like student loan/graduate loans etc.

    I guess what I am basically asking is how low are your household runing costs?? For everything from food to household items, insurances for home and utilities?? I am trying to work out how low I can realistically go with things.
    MF aim 10th December 2020 :j:eek:
    MFW 2012 no86 OP 0/2000 :D
  • weezl74 wrote: »
    That's what we're dreaming of shaz:D then DH can work 4 days a week, and I won't have to commute for 3 hrs a day, when I'm not on maternity leave that is :)

    OOhh sounds like you've plans for more little ones to join the boys. :D

    I do think its sensible to make the cutbacks now when the children will be too small to really notice. It has got harder as mine have grown older as there are so many more things that require money and they are more inclined to feel the loss of not being able to do many of the things other youths take very much for granted.
    Fortunately, my youngest is very homely, as is his best friend, and they seem to enjoy the simpler side of life. His big brother is another story! :rolleyes:

    MAY GROCERY CHALLENGE   £0/ £250

  • weezl74 wrote: »
    shaz do you guys cut bread that thick too? How does it go in your toaster? :rotfl:

    Lets just say when the toaster goes on the smoke detector goes off!! :rotfl::rotfl: generally thogh we have bread and jam/marmalade i have about 100 various jams in stores all made from free(foraged) , home grown or reduced fruit it has essentially cost me 35p a kilo (ie the cost of the sugar) :T hoping to score lots of reduced citrus stuff post xmas as marmalade stocks running low

    Also experimenting with Kefir and yoghurtmaking but uni keeps getting in the way!!:rotfl:Keep telling myself only 18 months to go !!!

    Shaz
    *****
    Shaz
    *****
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    edited 11 December 2009 at 5:40PM
    LP, Gulp, here goes :oI feel a little concerned posting all my details on t'internet cos you don't know who is reading!

    But in a nutshell, my basic part-time wage from 2007 to now has never exceeded £15,500 p.a. DH in his best year earnt £36000. So our best year was around £51000 which I agree is very good. At the moment, I am on much reduced earnings due to maternity leave, and beginning another period of maternity leave very soon.

    Hopefully that takes the heat off anyone trying to do big over-payments on smaller incomes :)

    However I also know that for DH to be able to do his job we pay 3000 a year in professional costs, and he also needs to have a car, so I guess that brings our real earnings down a little.

    We have always tried to run the smallest cheapest car we can and so have always had a 1 litre corsa, which only with the arrival of Fergus has become a 5 door model.

    We now allow a max of £110 a month for food, health and toiletries fergus has formula so he can't do 50p a day, but we try:D

    £40 for fuel

    fixed price phone, broadband deal £32

    £50 a year clothes

    total yearly presents including christmas, £300

    charity giving £40 a month

    life insurances £33 a month, recently reduced from £120 a month now our pensions service has increased

    diy and house £20 a month

    gas/electric 52-62 per month.

    everything else comes out of a fun budget of max of £140 per month, mobile top uups, hobbies, drinks out, entrance fees, mum and baby groups, works christmas meal.

    So since that's all we spend we are able to throw everything else at the mortgage.

    We both took on extra work too, overtime, emergency work and I set up a small web design company. I also transcribe interviews (low money but can work from home...)

    hope that gives an idea of how we do it. I guess our friends/families do think we lack luxuries, but I really feel we don't lack anything important and it's better to shift this big mortgage so we can both feel free not to earn so much IYSWIM?

    Love Weezl x




    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    OOhh sounds like you've plans for more little ones to join the boys. :D

    I do think its sensible to make the cutbacks now when the children will be too small to really notice. It has got harder as mine have grown older as there are so many more things that require money and they are more inclined to feel the loss of not being able to do many of the things other youths take very much for granted.
    Fortunately, my youngest is very homely, as is his best friend, and they seem to enjoy the simpler side of life. His big brother is another story! :rolleyes:

    :rotfl:I'd like 4 babies, DH thinks 2 is plenty. Watch this space for who wins :)

    I completely agree about reducing costs now. I have read threads on here where parents are spending £200 on a 10 month old's first christmas. I am convinced that fergus will be more excited by the wrapping paper and a cardboard box! I am giving him a ball pool tho, acquired from a car boot sale for £3 :o:D

    Shaz that's a great idea, do you mean christmas clementines and satsumas etc? I think I'll join you in that :)

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • taka
    taka Posts: 3,483 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Wow... I'm in awe Weezl! :T Well done... Ermmmm that total for the 3 of you is probably less than I manage for just me! :o :eek:

    I will reduce my food budget if it kills me... I have £110/monthy just for me! :o :eek: Its going down from £25 to £20/wk (well £1050/yr instead of £1320) as I am spending way too much on rubbish due to disorganisation and laziness. :o That is still loads though!

    :think: I must try my breadmaker's jam making capabilities sometime... What is easy (and cheap) to start with? :confused:
    Mortgage free as of 12/08/20!
    MFiT-5 no 45
    You can't fly with one foot on the ground!
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    taka wrote: »
    Wow... I'm in awe Weezl! :T Well done... Ermmmm that total for the 3 of you is probably less than I manage for just me! :o :eek:

    I will reduce my food budget if it kills me... I have £110/monthy just for me! :o :eek: Its going down from £25 to £20/wk (well £1050/yr instead of £1320) as I am spending way too much on rubbish due to disorganisation and laziness. :o That is still loads though!

    :think: I must try my breadmaker's jam making capabilities sometime... What is easy (and cheap) to start with? :confused:


    thanks Taka :)

    Since the only costs with jam are your fruit and your sugar then it's very dependant on what fruit is seasonal. However you can make a very acceptable jam with tinned fruit, which works out very :money:.

    Do you use mysupermarket for comparing and watching price fluctuations? That's what I usually do.

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • Kerfuffle
    Kerfuffle Posts: 1,384 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Debt-free and Proud!
    Hi there,

    sorry, don't want to interrupt your conversation but I've just seen the title of your diary and I think it's brilliant, very catchy. So I'm subscribing and am going to read over everything already posted and try to catch up.

    I think I'm in for a treat , yey.
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