A Budgeteers Quest to be Debt Free & Mortgage Free By 40

jwil

Look at you all multiquoting away! :D:D:D

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Hi Everyone

Feel totally bleurgh today - didn't help that i got up early to try and get an appointment at the docs to no avail - oh well that'll be me up early tomorrow then to see if i can get in The reason i'm annoyed is that a) am shattered and b) the doctor said last time that when my results are in i can pre-book an appointment and he'd make sure this was on my file :mad:

That is annoying. Hope you manage to get an appointment soon. I'm lucky in that the doctor surgery I'm with now, lets you pre-book appointments for early in the morning. Or you can phone up in the morning and get an appointment that day. The last surgery I was at would not let you pre-book at all, and you just had to phone on the day. It is so frustrating that way.

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Aw thanks hon - the door lets water in and i can see no way to stop this - the problem is that this goes under skirting and wall next to the front door. The door desperately needs replacing and as we know new external doors aren't cheap :eek: i don't even have a budget for this as i think the gutters are more of a priority as these go around most of the house - and at about £600 *i think* slightly more affordable than the door and i do have a very small amount saved up towards this The guttering is actually failing all around the house so all needs replacing :eek: it does sicken me watching waterfalls around the house when it rains and if its raining and i'm not at home i can just feel myself tense up over it If OH would meet me half way on it moneywise that'd help massively but he doesn't see there's a problem :wall: - as in - everybodys gutters do that - erm nope not 1 other gutter on this street does that - and - well its heavy rain it won't be like that when its not - no it'll just be less visible and obvious. i am not even going to ask him again and am just going to keep scraping my pennies together then i can get it sorted out

I also know you posted about work your home needs so i do feel you understand and having someone just understand helps if that makes sense

There was that programme on a while ago - 'help my house is falling down' with Sarah Beeny. It was quite interesting what they managed to do, and they had a few houses on there where the guttering was leaking - you're right, it is an important job. It really opened my eyes up as I wasn't aware.

It is nice when you know other people understand. People just don't understand why we don't just get on and do these things - we can't afford to, that's why! But then of course they don't know the reasons for it.

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

On the free gift thingy i did the right thing not purchasing anything as i went back in yesterday - no free gift but a multi-buy offer on :T Meaning i got 1 of the things i needed for free anyways

That's great news then! :T

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Wow! Thank you so so much jwil that is hugely generous of you and has made me all happy :dance: i actually did say to OH not to bother getting me anything for my birthday - but the thing is i know he will as we don't get each other anything at any other time even christmas. He said i'll get you whatever you want - just let me know what :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: already forgotten what i asked for then bless him :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

You're welcome

That's funny of your OH, you'll just have to give him a big list instead

DedicatedDFW

Hi all

So, i am currently pondering getting a boiler on pay monthly terms :think: i think it can't do any harm to ring up tomorrow for a quote - provided the quotes free then i can find out if the repayments will be interest free too and what the total cost will be Any suggestions / advice greatfully received

Obviously if i do get a boiler and pay for it monthly my monthly outgoings increase :eek: but i should save overall on heating bills and my time should be more productive too given the amount of time i spend trying to get the heating to work or the hot water to work and then to get it to keep working. Well like i say i'll listen to any advice

I've also been pondering the cost of things so will jot all that down here if you don't mind Bit of a ramble alert as i'm just going to type my thoughts :cool:

basically i obviously really want to get rid of the debt and start overpaying on the mortgage but i also want to enjoy life and feel there has to be some sort of a balance and i don't want to keep putting things off until i'm debt free. If i do things i enjoy now that will have a knock on effect of improving my quality of life and making me happier and also opening me up to new opportunities :T Some things i'm doing will have a minimal monetary cost - i'm going to be doing some volunteer work soon which i'm very keen to do, i'll basically just need to pay for my transport there and back so minimal outgoings on the money front, quite a big time outlay but it will be manageable and the opportunity to do something i feel is hugely worthwhile and rewarding :T But then there's the other stuff i want to do. Music lessons - these are £30 each :eek::eek::eek: i feel 1 a month would just be too little whilst 1 a week i could not afford so twice a month seems just right (ooh i feel like goldilocks :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:) but thats still £60 a month :eek::eek::eek: and :eek::eek::eek: positives are: - doing something i;ve always wanted to do the pleasure this will give me and improving the skill that i have if i stretch it a bit eventually maybe i could be good enough to teach people so a potential income stream - ok this is in the far distance future but why not? lessons are very locally available so negligible travel costs exercise class / swimming - i need to do more than just run / walk and i know the gym and swimming work for me, this will keep me fit and a healthy active lifestyle - its also something that will get me out and hopefully if i do start to get back in shape other than the physical health positives theres also the fact that this could help with my confidence drawback is the cost - the class i want to do is £10 a week - part hire of equipment and part cost of class - when i get my own equipment then it'll be £5 a week and the swimming is i think £15 a month.

Currently i don't budget any spending money for myself but i now wonder even if i was debtfree what is an acceptable amount of personal spending money - the volunteer work will be £5 a month transport costs, music lessons £60 a month exercise class £40 a month and swimming £15 and i haven't even gotten round to shoes yet haha :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: but these things are all good positive things i want to do that will be a major positive for me in my life but i just wonder what is a realistic amount to budget for spending money?

jwil

Ok, here's what I think regarding the boiler first of all.

A boiler is essential these days for heat, hot water etc. If you have a look through your diary, you will see umpteen posts where you haven't been able to get it working, or have spent 30 mins - 2 hours fiddling around with it to try and get it working. What happens if we have a harsh winter again this year? What if it breaks down unexpectedly?

It's all stress on top of everything that's going on anyway, time consuming, and expensive as you have to put the heating on every time you want hot water.

I would say, if you can come up with some realistic way of financing it, then you should get it done. I think you should certainly look into what your options are and then make an educated decision. Find out exactly how much it would cost and how you can pay for it and then you can decide. Would your OH be able to put any money towards it? If so it would all help.

DedicatedDFW

Morning all

I would have really enjoyed having a lie-in this morning but needed to get up early to make a phone call - and then thought i should stay up as i want to be tired enough to sleep tonight as i have to be up early for work tomorrow

Checked e-bay - still only a spattering of watchers...
Received the last bit of MS money i am due and made a PAD with this,
1 x free bingo done
1 x survey done and screened out of 6 more and trying with the next one now
Washing done and now drying

Hope its a good day for all x:D

jwil

With regards to the debt payments/having a life - I think there needs to be a bit of a balance, otherwise it's too hard to continue.

I do think it's important to do something for yourself that you can look forward to and you find relaxing. It helps keep the motivation up and the likelihood of a blowout down. As long as you can make your payments and reduce the debt each month, then I don't see that it's a problem. The only one putting a timescale on the DFD is you - does it matter hugely to you if it gets put back a few months? The companies are happy as long as you keep paying them!

I have no idea about the personal spending budget though - for me it's just whatever's left after everything else is paid :rotfl:

DedicatedDFW

Aw thanks jwil i really appreciate the advice and input Needless to say i've just had a shower and the water went freezing and i couldn't get the hot water to work again

I've got someone coming round to give me a quote in the next couple of weeks

Right second lot of washing is doing its thing in the machine, i have pots that need washing but i cannot face battle of the boiler again right now Think i'll carry on with the declutter of 1 room - started this yesterday its a declutter / deep clean - considering its the smallest room in the house it has taken some doing :eek: but i'll just say thats because i'm being thorough Once its finished i'll make a list of the jobs that need doing in there too so that once they're done the room is then complete :T This is part of the future plans thing i put together - and is its only 1 room and i have 2 to do this month i'd best get a wriggle on :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

DedicatedDFW

Well 1 thing left to do in the room - cleaning and declutterwise :T - on the list of things to do are a new radiator and window but as thats pretty much the same for every room in the house at least its not unexpected

Also written out ingredients for the recipe i'm going to be doing this month :T - all part of future plans is 1 new recipe followed each month. 1 may not seem alot but as i'm out of the house from 8am - 10pm most days with my 2 jobs then i think 1 is the right balance of having something to look forward to without becoming pressured over it becoming a chore :cool:

jwil

Grrr to grumpy men - they can be quite annoying can't they :rotfl:Good for you though for letting people know what you've paid for! Also if you pay, then you get to choose so it's all good

Well done on the decluttering and deep clean. Pleeeeaassse come and do my house That's on my list to be done too.

It's probably worth getting quotes from a couple of places if you can, unless you specifically want to use a particular company. When we did, there was quite a variation in the prices, so it was worth doing!

DedicatedDFW

About the boiler: - if the price is anywhere near £1500 i'll probably go with it as i can spread the repayments if its nearer £2000 :eek: i'll carry on saving :cool: I do agree with shopping around but i don't know of any other companies that let you pay by installments

Oh and on the decluttering front i've only done 1 room - it looks and feels fab though :T have you ever noticed how much easier it is to go to someone else's house and to organise their stuff?

jwil

Awww ((Hugs)). Sorry to hear about that, it's so frustrating.

If your OH is going to struggle to have time to buy you anything, then it's probably just easier for him to ask you what you want. I'd like my DH to surprise me sometimes, but he's just more comfortable knowing what I want so I've got used to it now.

If there are only a few companies that do the installments then I can understand that. I think we paid around £2500 for a full heating system, so I'd be surprised if it was much more than £1500 for a boiler.

Yes, I agree it's much easier to declutter someone else's stuff than it is your own!