2012 mfw

FirstTimeSaver_2

Thank you so, so much for all of the advice that you have given. I am going to start to put some of them into practice. I do currently keep a hand written sheet of our monthly budget but really need to crack down on needless spending. Having a new little baby I have been tempted by all manner of baby toys and clothes when in reality she is as happy just playing with me. She is a great motivator as I want to be in the best financial position for her.

I had never heard of the cash back sites before which is so bad considering how much online shopping I do!! I have now registered with TopCashBack and have tried to do surveys though they don't always let me.

I seen lots of people mention MF diaries on here but I don't know where these are or how I can view them.

Again just big thanks for all the advice. We are in the process of re- mortgaging with the Natwest for a cheaper interest rate. Is anyone else with them and do you know how easy it is to overpay with them?

Enjoy the sunshine everyone :rotfl:

curlygirl1971

Hi FTS,

Although I'm not a mum I can completely understand that over whelming desire to go out and buy gorgeous toys and clothes etc for your baby. Observing others though, I think this desire calms down. For the young children in our family (my nieces) we get a lot in charity shops and on eBay - they are more than happy with what they get and don't know and don't care if they are second hand - and we're all pleased with our bargains! You can always resell toys on eBay....keep the boxes to make them more appealing.

Try YouGov surveys - it took me nearly 2 years of filling in 2/3 surveys a month but I recently got £50 from them

I only started using cash back sites a couple of years ago when I read about them on the forum......I though it was too good to be true at first

If you haven't already then have a look also at the old style money saving forum for good family / household tips and motivation.

With regard to your new mortgage, it's quite normal that when you buy a new mortgage product you can't overpay during the fixed rate period - or can only overpay a certain amount. If this is the case with your new mortgage then don't let this stop you putting money aside in a savings account ready for when you can overpay

Catslovelycats

Gracious. I haven't been on here for about a month and have loads to catch up on. First things first though: so far I've managed to OP by £3286.82. (Thanks partly to my parents giving me £2500!). So please update me !

Hope everyone is well.

#2 £3286.82

Spiggle

That's great catslovelycats, what wonderful parents you have. All updated for you now.

By the way you don't need to give me the annual total, just the payment made. Then I can use the total you've put in your sig to make sure I haven't made any mistakes!

Take care,
Spigs

rjlawler

No 136 reporting in with a March OP of £800.

All the big bills I thought I would have this month are actually next month, hopefully will still OP something, but ahead of my target YTD, so not the end of the world if I don't...

Lomcevak

'Normal' payment has just gone out, and with the OPs that brings up £3080 off the mortgage so far this year. My spreadsheet also shows a bit over £10 per month less interest than the start of the year, so i'm effectively getting an extra payment of £10 thrown in - so even though it feels like a drop in the ocean at times, the overpayments slowly gain momentum..

pavlovs_dog

another £135 for March, bringing March total to £162.73 and 2012 total to £728.93 or 49% of 2012 target. Hitting £2k this year is looking more and more achieveable

Southernman

Got my first annual statement the other day and it was a nice surprise seeing my interest each month decreasing (managed to reduce it by £35 a month thanks to overpayments since i took out the mortgage a year ago!)

Been a bit of a crazy month for me because i have finally booked my holiday to Italy (bye bye £550 but will be so worth it!). We did do it on the cheap by staying in hostels and using Jet2 and it's definitely not bad considering it's 10 nights and visiting 4 different cities!

Also moved £500 to my ISA for emergency funds before the end of the tax year nears so have seen a drop in over a grand in my Natwest accounts over one weekend!! (isa is with Santander)

All is not lost though, i have over £20 in 50p, 10p, 20p etc which i need to deposit into my account in the next few days which will then go towards my mortgage!

ecoelle

Hi, i only joined the challenge the other day. Just wanted to check how and when i'm supposed to post my overpayments? Do i have to lay it our or highlight it in a certain way? Spiggle...is there a particular layout which makes it easier for you to spot them, or are we supposed to PM you? just want to check before doing it:)

gallygirl

Southernman wrote: »

Been a bit of a crazy month for me because i have finally booked my holiday to Italy (bye bye £550 but will be so worth it!). We did do it on the cheap by staying in hostels and using Jet2 and it's definitely not bad considering it's 10 nights and visiting 4 different cities!

:T What a bargain - superb :T. Adds a touch of smugness to make the holiday even more enjoyable :rotfl:. Just shows what can be done with a bit of research - where would we be without the internet? How are you getting about in Italy?