What have I done....

LauraJo

lexington013 wrote: »

Laurajo, good luck with your focus, I'm in a similar position to you, similar mortgage and similar hours! Lol.


Thanks! Here's to keeping your mind on it! :beer:

LauraJo

Persimmon wrote: »

Hi LauraJo
You have done brilliantly overpaying 17k in 6 months!
I think starting a diary will focus your mind- it has mine although admittedly it is early days!
I will watch your progress with interest.

Thanks I agree with you... It's amazing how much it helps typing it all out and keeping track of it! Best of luck to you... We can do it!

LauraJo

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Analysing every penny you spend is a real eye opener . As what gets frittered away tots up. So debt reduction isn't always as difficult as many imagine. More a question of mindset than the cash itself.

Totally agree! When we saved a load by remortgaging we still spent it all, and didn't have a lot to show for it! I am the worlds worst for spending everything I have, so if I don't have it.....

LauraJo

Ok maybe now I am totally obsessed (I am if u believe my OH!)
I have done something a little crazy and advertised my spare room to rent out

Wasn't sure if I'd get a response (remember I have several pets so not everyone's cuppa but I have mentioned it on the ad). Anyway.... I got a response... Queue coughing up what I have done to OH ooops!

Got someone coming to take a look tomorrow.

OH has now calmed down and can see now that's it's a good idea...

Did u know you can earn over £4k per year tax free doing this?

LauraJo

As per my post on Thursday we now have a lodger arriving in a couple of weeks! He seems ok and didn't mind our bouncy dogs! That's £400 a month for the next 6 months... This will make a huge dent each month and get me well on the way to my target to be mf by end of 2014. With scrimping, saving (i.e not spending any money!) using our remortgage savings and rent that's around a £2k op each month! Happy days.

Gonna keep going tho, there must be more I can do....hum thinking cap needed

abouttimetoo

Hi LauraJo, welcome to the board and well done on all you have achieved so far. As you have started to see this MFW lark is addictive


Well done on the lodger thing (this is something many people do as an 'easy' way to boost their income) not to mention well done on getting your OH onside with it too :rotfl:


The list below is far from exhaustive (or all my own ideas!) but have a look and it may spark some other thoughts

• do you have a land line with BT? if so did you know you can pay your line rental a year in advance and they'll do it for £10 a month which is an annual saving of ~£49
• do you (or your OH) wear a logo'd uniform? if so you can claim up to 6 years tax rebate for washing it at home
• council tax, if you pay 10 months of the year then put the other two months payments to your overpayment pot
  • pay your council tax via credit card instead of D/D and in this way build up points, cashback or whatever your CC gives you
• register with Topcashback, do not buy anything without looking on there first. Think about all the things you might buy or do on-line e.g. open a bank account, buy something on ebay, change your mobile phone contract, renew car/house insurance. You can get cashback on all these things. A colleague of mine says she makes around £2000 a year doing this (in some extreme cases you can get more cashback back than the item cost you in the first place!)
• how much flying do you do for work and do you use airport parking? again, book the parking through topcashback and get some money from it
• can you speak to your boss about claiming an evening meal allowance if you are going to be back home after X o'clock? I spend a lot of time travelling and loitering in airports and train stations so know exactly what you mean about the pounds racking up
• are you in a union? if so what else might your subs cover you for? e.g. I've just found out that mine included holiday travel insurance yet I've never ever used it and just bought it every year!
• do you use sites like Groupon? everything from meals out to bowling, to furniture to holidays can be bought with massive discounts due to the power of their bulk buying, you can also use topcashback to get it, meaning you get cashback on your already heavily discounted product!
• Credit cards, do you and your OH have one and are you making them work for you? Eg points, cashback etc. Even applying for one can help, e.g. last year I got £60 cashback just from my accepted Amex application and a really good deal on them with spending on the card cashback
• How do your work expenses get paid? If you pay for them and them claim them back then consider the above re credit cards and how your expenses could work better for you?
• do you stay in hotels with work? if so have you joined any of the loyalty schemes to accrue benifits that you and your OH could use?

Good luck with your plans
Regards
ATT

LauraJo

Wow - thanks for that abouttimetoo! Loadsa great tips on there...I will def be investigating them!

LauraJo

Good news today...OH has new job!
It's no more money but gets free travel so that's a £150 or so saved on petrol each month... Issue is (keep in mind he thinks I'm mad and is not quite so committed to being mf) how do I get him to put that into my op fund?!
Answers on a postcard please......

LauraJo

So did all my sums again last night and have now realised that I don't have 153 outstanding but £135k!!
Not sure how much chance I have of doing this when I have completely missed the basics!!
Good news though! Going to recheck all my outgoings etc tonight to make sure I haven't messed up somewhere else

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

You must be delighted. I have a lodger or two on a Monday through Friday only and it works like a dream. Best wishes Tilly x