Bufgers Diary (Slow start, explosive finish?!)

Bufger

Just had some good and bad news at once:


Rang up the Mortgage Provider to make my overpayment. I asked for the balance beforehand to check my spreadsheet rounding etc so I actually break through the £120k barrier.

The good news: My balance was already below 120k! it was £119,505 rather than the £120,146 I expected it to be!

The bad news: My spreadsheet is wrong and now I need to tinker with it to get it right. This could take hours!

So I paid £105 to round the outstanding down to £119400. Next months capital reduction + overpayment will see me under 119k

So happy and sad all at once

QB_Wolf

Just read the whole of your diary - short but sweet. Good to see your positivity, hope that some of it will rub off on me.

Bufger

QB_Wolf wrote: »

Just read the whole of your diary - short but sweet. Good to see your positivity, hope that some of it will rub off on me.

Welcome to my diary! I have lots of lurkers but not many posters. I dont mind the chit chat but for me this is all about documenting my journey, my ideas to improve my situation etc. If it can help others then thats great!

My biggest tips would be to track every penny in a spreadsheet. As soon as you know whats going where you can find where you're bleeding money away unnecessarily. You'll also have the means to track renewals and act on them quickly. After that its all about finding where your line is 'living to your means' and keep that line the same for as long as possible. Any surplus you pile into your debts or overpayments.

I've had 3 payrises since finding MSE and sorting out my finances. Each of them plus any extra cash I make in other work goes towards either the savings pot, holiday fund or overpayment. None of it gets spent on the kind of rubbish I used to spend it on like more regular takeways, gadgets i never used etc.

Bufger

Right then, here is the plan (as agreed with the wife!)

I'm currently on a fixed term at a whopping 5.99% until next November. I've done the calculations and with my 3% early redemption fee its not worth me trying to switch early. We're holding out until next November where I hope to go from the current 15% equity to 20% for better rates. Based on my house value staying the same as it is now I need to reduce my capital from £119400 to £11200 in 18 months. Thats the challenge and I think we can do it!

Thats at least £100 overpayment every month. My annual bonus from this year will go into savings and next years will go into the overpayment.

Once we reach next November I plan to go on a shorter term fix (2 or 3 years), pay the same monthly payment + overpayments and get the equity up to £40-£50k (ie balance of 100-90k). Then we will go for our dream forever home with a 20%+ deposit. (4 bed detached with drive in the suburbs somewhere):cool:

Bufger

Afternoon all. Having a NSD today and plan to eBay some stuff later. Car insurance renewal is next month so I'm already looking for deals (obv with cashback if I can)

I'm looking forward to seeing what the new tax implications are as it should leave me with a little more each month. I will put the difference against the mortgage before i get used to it :cool:

Have a good Sunday :beer:

Bufger

Ok so i've been a massive spreadsheet geek this morning. I've updated my spreadsheet to include a Statement of Affairs tracker. I now have 3 years of detailed cost data, all income and outgoings and they are all organised into many different sections. I have applied an average rule across these for each year of finances so it takes the average spend across all of the months. I have then compared Year on Year to see how well I have organised my finances since the last year.

2012 - 2013

Overall income is down 19% (Maternity leave but boosted back up with extra selling and some weekend work)

Gas and Electricity has risen 3%
Water has risen 2.6%
Phone and Internet bills reduced by 23%
Mobile phone bills reduced by 30%
Supermarket spending reduced by 28%!
Fuel costs reduced by 71% (and fitness increased, thanks Bike!)
Car insurance reduced 12% (Single payment + Found cheaper deal)
Buildings and contents insurance risen 2%
Spends on presents reduced by 80%
Eating out/Lunches reduced by 65%
Online purchases reduced by 70%
cash withdrawl reduced by 19%
Charges and fines reduced by 22%
Memberships reduced by 58%
Mortgage overpayments increased by 70%

Total Expenses reduced by 23.23% on a monthly average vs last year! So with a 19% drop in income we're still better off than last year from good money management.

Now i'm tracking these percentages it will be a challenge every year to boost my income and reduce my expenses.

ixia

Hi Bufger

Just had a quick read of your diary I will pop back and read it in full at a later date. well done on getting below 120K.

Bufger

Morning all.

Student loan came down by another £160 so i'm nearly at the 3k mark! so excited that I can see these numbers reduce to zero now. I've been watching them for the last few years and its been slow progress (no point in overpaying as the interest is 1%).

Its been very slow on the selling front. I've been trying to sell via other sites to avoid ebay fee's but i think i'll have to give in now and stick the stuff on ebay.

Only 13 days until payday! money for the month is looking good

Bufger

£32 on eBay today!

We have a holiday to pay for in May so it will go towards that fund. I got £300 from DIY/Painting and decorating for others and a further £100ish from sales. Total to pay is £500 so only £100 to find to make this holiday cost neutral (in my head as none of it will be paid for by the primary wage).

Bufger

Morning all.

I've had an expensive couple of weeks with new tyres for the car, tax and insurance all in one month. I've also kept my sales up and made roughly £100 and its all helping towards the big garage declutter. I could actually fit a car in now if i wanted to!

Overpaid £85.95 today to take the balance to £119,100. I'm going to try and raise the £100 before the month is over so I can break another barrier and get in the 118k figure. Plan is still an outstanding figure of £112k by next November and I think we can hit it.

Dont tell anyone but i've also applied for a promotion ;-)