Counting Down the Pounds !!!

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Hello and Welcome to my Thread.

Well after being a 'Lurker' for a few years I have finally decided to start a thread. :j

After starting my first job at 16 I was disheartened with my first payslip with only getting £3.12 an hour (When compared to the Agency work I had been doing) However my father taught me some very wise words which I shall never forget, 'It's not what you earn, it's what you save that counts.'

So in a large nutshell... I opened my first ISA and filled it each year to the max (borrowing off father if I was short to repay the follwing month) to ensure I got my allowence in. In this time I lived at home (not paying anything but parents knew they would get rid of me sooner if they let me save it!) put myself through College, gap year, University and many Forgein Holidays (My Weakness!) Every month my father and I would compare our monthly interest payment and compete.

Fast forward all those years, tears and troubles to age 26, where I was able to put down a huge deposit of £51,500 on a 2 bed Semi-house for £111,500. The Mortgage was for £60,000 over which, would cost me about £95,000 on pay back. Five year fix 3.94% Just as I was signing on the dotted line, the decision was made that I would borrow the full amount off my parents instead and dump the bank. :money:

As interest rates are currently rubbish in savings, we worked out that he would potentially (at current rates) lose £16,000 over 15 years, but as I would be saving £35,000 (at current deal) this meant a family profit of £19,000. I know this would be affected by moving interest rates, compound interest etc but that was too complicated to work out and this made sense in our heads. Has to be the better decision rather than the bank!? :money:

So, the house is 'mine' and not the banks and each month the 'mortgage' payment goes towards the full capital repayment of the loan. :T

In my 'saving' head I am letting the payments run themselves. Instead of Overpaying I am putting spare moneys in my now £0 Isa which I want to build alongside paying the Mortgage. Compounding interest working in my favour. Also currently Stoozing £4,000 (to be paid July 2012) and Student loan is currently best left minimum payments for now

I Hope to have repaid the balance (so payments left to run is same amount in ISA, therefore Mortgage free) by 8 - 10 years. giving me a MFW date of 2019. Which is a significant date for myself! I hope to be aged 34. :rotfl:

It feels good that all those years I saved hard, and I could be Mortgage free by that age. Which would be a great feeling. However I hope life events may alter the date by a few years! (meeting someone, wedding, children ) but if not then thats my goal and maybe go work part time!

Thanks for Reading !!!

dimbo61

Well done on having saved so much for the deposit and great parents as well.
keep up the good work and use this website to save every penny you can!
Quidco for spending, cashback credit card, small eco car ( think smart/C1) Martin,s website for all big spending ALL insurance, life assurance! reclaiming any PPI ( which you never took out)

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Thank you for your comments. This is currently my favourite website and getting addicted to all these threads, so much so i'm now giving advice to my friends about renting!!!

I use Top cash back (TCB) instead of Quidco as I found it easier and no £5 fee, does anyone know if there are any benefits to using QuidCo over TCB?

Car wise its a big diesel as I drive 40 miles return to work everyday, I think it has worked out cheaper over the year, as prices have gone up. I try to not go to the supermarkets, but tend to do a big shop at Aldi and top up at Tescos or local shop for milk when out etc. All insurances done via this site, TCB. I stoozed with Tesco Credit Card which is now paid off and all large house items have been bought on M&S credit card stoozed untill July this year. Earning a nice 5%! :P I'm also reguarlly snooping on all the other boards too for tips, knowledge and information!

It's just that 8 - 10 years seems quite a long time away!!!

anyway, It's been a busy year as with buying the house I have also been buying 'house stuff' so currently no clutter to sell on EBay or anything. I'm hoping this year will be a cheap year as I now have all the essentials, but would like to buy the small things...lampshades, cushions, nice bedshets etc :P but I guess I will 'make do' for now....no rush!

VfM4meplse

Counting_down_the_Pounds wrote: »

'It's not what you earn, it's what you save that counts.

You've done well but what you earn definitely counts!! Saving's great but do consider you're quality of life too - it's not good living on jam sandwiches just to pay the mortgage off by your target date! (says one who was a MF singleton by 34).

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Ahhh but I love jam sandwhiches and beans on toast! The cooking skills are not brilliant you see! :P

Yes it is a difficult one, but I learned the hard way by seeing a relationship go down the pan as I was working two jobs and burnt out eventually. I am known as the party girl though and have never said no to a night out etc. and I love my travelling too much to give that up completely!!! But currently my wage is ok, as long as things dont go up too much. your right though, it's a fine line!!! Them holdidays are expensive.

My target date is comfortable at 10 yrs, I'm hoping with compound interest will reduce that to under 10. after that it's a bonus. 8 sticks in my mind for some reason. Interest rates can only go up which will benefit me and the banks seem to be getting more competitive on whats offered!!!

I am a graduate to so I hope to progress once the job market picks up, as will my wage ...once i decide what I want to do!!!

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Ohhh and congrats on being MF by 34 !!! :j

dimbo61

6 years into our MF quest and hope less than 3 to go

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Its been a while, and I should have posted back in May really, but life takes over sometimes.


So, as of May 2013 I was down to £43,217 (£8,383 in the Isa and £8,400 off in repayments). And as of the beginning of the year I had my partner move in. (Paying Rent) and also a better job for 12 months.


So, I have boosted my savings greatly, and now to date, I'm now down to £36,800 (10,150 paid off in repayments and 13,050 in savings) So I now feel I have some emergency savings behind me should anything come up. (A few housey things do need doing so I expect it to go down slightly.)


I'm still trying for a better job and have a few interviews this week which is great but just coming down with some sort of chest infection. So I hope I will still have my voice when needed. I've just ended my 12 months at the higher pay, so my pay drops next month. sadly that will be a big hit to my savings but I will keep trying as they say. If I am successful then I will be doing my dream job and on really good pay so I'm day dreaming about that at the moment. Other than that the housey things that need doing will have to wait until that better paid job comes along.


I'm starting to feel like its a long slog but I know I'm not doing too badly, and that its the right thing to do. So, in a nutshell I'm ahead of target and I'm now aiming to to mortgage free around: May 2017 (Aged 32). (if no major life events happen)


Wish me luck...

Counting_down_the_Pounds

Looks like I didn't do so well with this diary, but here’s an update.

After realising that my income just wasn't going to cut it on the time frame I wanted, I decided to work hard and increase it. Through persistence (3.5 years in total) I have finally managed to land that dream job - permanently! I've increased my income by 10k. :j I've kept my outgoings the same (although about £40 more in petrol month) so my savings will certainly be growing from this point on.

My mortgage is down to £43,200 (With savings it’s down to £18,200) so I think about another 1 yr 2 months of payments and I will technically be mortgage free. (June 2016) and I will be 31.

There’s no engagement/wedding on the horizon yet so the boyfriend is still paying me rent and that is still going into savings. However - We have had the chat about the future: marriage/children etc. and surprisingly, he has now got another job to bring in some extra cash. (Hopeful that engagement is coming!):o

So, our long term goals is as follows:

This year: Save Save save – because ‘perhaps’ next year there ‘may’ be a wedding to pay for and the year after, my income may drop due to the tiny patter of tiny feet!

We currently live in a nice little 2 bed that is just right for us. And once life has determined what our family size will be: - we will upgrade the house then. 3 or 4 bed. So until then we will save as much as possible and prepare for buying again with no mortgage.

So I will take my saving’s and add this to the total of my house sale, and then hopefully, just have what I owe my parents outstanding. And that will be paid back by the time I am 40. (10 years) so totally mortgage free by then. It depends how much we pay for the next one. :cool:

But it’s not all bad: we do still live life. Although we’re not party goers as we used to be, a takeaway/meal out is as exciting as it gets on a weekly basis. (No expensive hobbies) 2 Holidays planned this year, 1 Self-catering abroad and 1 expensive trip to the Far East to look forward to! :beer:

Life is looking up! :j Happy Easter Everyone