TPAs It started off as a 2009 NYR - time moves on - I need to be MF by mid. 2012!

Tesco_points_addict

Happy New Year all and welcome to my brand spanking new diary!

Evening all!

For those of you that didn't find me in 2009, my opening thread can be found here:http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1390913

If you don't have the time/inclination to read that, below is a small round-up of my life!:D

Firstly I need to warn you I am a little bonkers;)! I change my mind constantly.....but I am a woman and I’m slightly blonde so I’m allowed!! My spelling is not the best, it is not helped by the fact my keyboard is normally full of crumbs so sometimes I hit the buttons but the letters don't type as they are blocked with bits of biscuits/crisps/chocolate etc!:rotfl:Oh yes and I love exclamation marks!!

I like a drink!:p

We are a family of 4 - that’s me, hubby, very naughty doggy (3) and a loveable but expensive puddy cat (11)! No plans to extend the family, although another dog might be nice, if/when we can get this one to behave.:rolleyes:

Bought first house in 2002 (when I was 30 - a late starter!) for 76K, sold in 2006 for 127k and bought bigger house for £177,500, with some savings and the equity from the first house we took out a mortage for £100,000:eek:. When I say bigger, you could not get much smaller than my first house so it was needed! So our mortgage free quest started at 100k in 2006 but we only really got into overpaying/saving last year - with much help from these forums and all the lovely supportive people on them.

I work 30 hours a week in my 'normal' job and normally manage an extra evening per week as overtime. I also do Mystery Shopping (MS) to add money to the mortgage overpayments.:j
Hubby works full time, he works very hard and last year this was rewarded with a nice bonus and a promotion to manager:A (although he is still awaiting a pay rise to reflect this ). With the economic climate as it is I was very proud of him getting a bonus last year, as many in similar positions didn't, although I know he deserved it 100%, it doesn't always happen that hard work brings rewards. Having said all that we both appreciate having fairly secure jobs.

We are on a tracker mortgage which is currently 0.59% over base rate - which at the moment means we are lucky enough to be paying just 1.09%:j. Goodness knows what will happen with interest rates this year, especially as we have an election due .:rolleyes:

Due to the current favourable interest rate the mortgage is being repaid at, we don't overpay as such but put the money into higher rate savings accounts (sadly in the last year these have become harder and harder to find). Obviously the mortgage has reduced somewhat by the normal payments and with our savings etc. we are currently offsetting 66.83% in savings.:j


I am going to reserve the first few posts so I can put up our outgoings for the coming year.

I am also going to be doing an alcohol challenge, if you want to join in just shout and I will add you on, I know Tallgirl and GG want to. I think I will try for 5 dry days per week, with perhaps an allowance for rollovers if I’ve been particularly good one week! But everyone can choose whats best for them!


TPAx

Tesco_points_addict

Firstly I want work out our grocery and personal spends as a yearly amount, we often bulk buy our meat etc. so this will make things more managable. We are aiming for £200 per month so that will be £2400 for the year and £75 each for personal spends so thats £900 each per year:eek: - goodness when I put it like that is sounds loads!:p Basically our personal spends will have to pay for anything that I have not accounted for below, for me that will be, clothes, my moblie phone, alcohol, haircuts, magazines, books, CDs, make-up, any lunches not taken to work and lots of other things I have probably forgotten. For hubby it will be same as me except he will swop his alcohol spends for take aways!

Ok, here goes, someone slap me with a wet kipper if I've forgotten anything obvious!:D

Mortgage 485.45
House Insurance 20.00
Council Tax 117.00
Gas & Electric 53.00
Home phone 17.00
Internet 11.99
Sky 21.50
T.V. Licence 12.12
Water 20.50 (down from £33!!)
Central Heating Check 5.00
Life Insurance 10.27
Groceries 200.00
Personal Spends DH 75.00
Personal Spends ME! 75.00
Car 1 insurance 25.00
Car 2 Insurance 25.00
Car 1 Tax 14.59
Car 2 Tax 2.50 YIPEE:j
Car 1 Maintenance 25.00
Car 2 Maintenance 16.66
Car 1 Diesel 160.00
Car 2 Diesel 110.00
Bridge Fees 96.80
AA £5.80
Professional Fees 14.20
Dog Food 15.00
Cat Food 15.00 (Special diet!)
Vets Bills Dog 10.00 (includes vaccinations etc.)
Vets Bills Cat 10.00 (includes vaccinations etc.)
Pet Insurance 10.50
Presents £50
General Household appliances etc. £50
Holidays £150


Total (I think!) £1942.38
Edit! Realise I must make provisions for presents somewhere in the budget! - Done
Edit! No provision for general wearing out of household appliances - Sorted!
Edit: No holiday funds! Sorted (not that we ago away every year but you never know!)

Some are 'guestimates' as car and household insurances varies so much per year, especially as Quidco & Topcashback sometimes have rediculous offers on where you can got decent insurance with massive cash back.


TPAx

Tesco_points_addict

Okie dokie, I want to keep an eye on the 'New Kitchen' spends.

I know this will seem very extgravigant to some but it is all saved for and we have waited for a long time to do it...so doing it right is a must..I am still scared about spending this amount of money though:eek:

Fitting costs Est.£1650

£ 501.96 Tiles, adhesive etc. £501.96 paid
Plinth Heaters x 2
Small radiator
£2826 Granite Est. £2500:eek: OPS £2826 actual
Blinds x 2 (one door one window)
Skirting board
Plaster
£4297.60 Cooker, hood & splashback & kitchen units
£ 86.38 2 x light fittings £86
Dining table and chairs £960:eek:
Kettle
Toaster
Dishwasher
Microwave
Fridge freezer £890:eek:
A man (or woman) to install cooker!
£ 38.00 Paint £38
£ 58.00 Wallpaper (includes sticky stuff to put it up with!)
Sockets etc (electrical accessories!)
Under cabinet lighting

.....................ongoing project..more to come i'm sure!

TPAx

Tesco_points_addict

Got lost adding up my NSD so am keeping a check on our petrol/diesel spends instead as I have guestimated our useage.:rotfl::eek:

So far this month: (January)

DH £74.00
Me £72.37

Hmm I seem to have lost my here a bit!!! May 2010!

Tesco_points_addict

Grocery challenge:

£2400 for the year 2010 (£200 per month)

January spends: £225.05
February: £180.52


Year so far: £405.57/£2400


Personal spends:

£900 for the year 2010 each (£75 per month)

March...so far

DH: Sausage and Chips £2.50
DH: Greggs £4.50
DH: Train ticket £7.60

ME: Sausage and chips £2.20 (different shop, different sausage:p)

Total for January ME £53.62
Total for January DH £48.50

Total for February ME £88.10:eek:
Total for February DH £48.10





Present Spends £600 for the year:

January - £33.30
February - £10.50

I have no idea what happened to March April and May!!!!!!!!!

Dinah93

Yey new thread day! Best of luck TPA, you've done amazingly so far.

Just one question, when you say you're offsetting 66%, what exactly do you mean by that?!

ajmoney

I like threads I can follow from the beginning as it takes me so long to read through them. I am in my job until 2022 (forces) and if I carry on my OPs at the rate I am (with these interest rates :rolleyes:) then we will be mortgage free when I leave. The problem is we want to move so this may not be possible. I will follow what you are doing this year to see if I can get any ideas.

Tesco_points_addict

Dinah93 wrote: »

Yey new thread day! Best of luck TPA, you've done amazingly so far.

Just one question, when you say you're offsetting 66%, what exactly do you mean by that?!

Rather than actually pay off extra on the mortgage, because its such a low interest rate at the moment, we save the money in higher rate accounts, we currently have 66% of the remaining mortgage amount in these savings. When we reach over 100% we will pay it off in full.

Sorry i'm not sure if that makes sense or not!

TPAx

Tesco_points_addict

ajmoney wrote: »

I like threads I can follow from the beginning as it takes me so long to read through them. I am in my job until 2022 (forces) and if I carry on my OPs at the rate I am (with these interest rates :rolleyes:) then we will be mortgage free when I leave. The problem is we want to move so this may not be possible. I will follow what you are doing this year to see if I can get any ideas.

Any extra you can pay off is a bonus, its less interest you will be paying for years to come. There is a mortgage calculator somewhere, when you play around with it, it is amazing the difference an odd £50 here and there make!

Good luck with your quest and well done on having bought a house whilst in the forces, so many people live in rented when leave they are in for a real shock.

TPAx

ajmoney

Tesco_points_addict wrote: »

Any extra you can pay off is a bonus, its less interest you will be paying for years to come. There is a mortgage calculator somewhere, when you play around with it, it is amazing the difference an odd £50 here and there make!

Good luck with your quest and well done on having bought a house whilst in the forces, so many people live in rented when leave they are in for a real shock.

TPAx

It is probably one of the most secure professions at the moment. My current mortgage free term is 2030 so I am already knocking 8 years off with my OPs. I make all the OPs myself at the mo but when we get a joint mortgage I am hoping to carry it on with OHs help. I can't set a date on it yet but I would love to be mortgage free well before retirement age.

Dinah93

Makes perfect sense TPA thanks, I knew you saved it in a higher rate account, I just didn't know if the 66% percentage was equivalent to how much you had saved, or how much you were averaging on overpayments per month ie if you should pay £1000 you were actually paying an additional £660.