M&R's MF Diary

Marie27lol

Please forgive me for being away from MSE for awhile.

WE have had no reliable phone, internet, or even TV channels for 2 weeks, and once we had got it sorted, College (working) had started again, and then I went down to London for the end of the Paralymics (which were FABULOUS).


So an update of where we are:

• Sept's Max OP of £500 has been paid (going to keep the payments and length of term the same for themean time)
• Paid Painter to completed the decorating in the house that I had not done (£250)
• Kitchen lineo to placed down on Thurs/Fri after I have confirmed a query with them
• PAT testing being done Wednesday
• Gas Certificate & rest of fireplace repaired this week

And to do:

• Clean the house like it's never seen before :rotfl:
• Put down flea killing stuff on all carpets etc (although none have been spotted in teh past month)
• Write an "intro" to new tennants, e.g. local doctors, amenties, house info, paint details, CH instructions, garden etc. Very much the stuff I wish I had had when we moved into the new house. It will also be a guide / aid for estate agents as well
• Ring estate agent for them to come out and take photos etc

BLAH still seems like lots to do.

Will pop on later, TTFN
M

Marie27lol

Howdi lads and lasses

Since I have managed again to have a bit more internet, I have been feeding my fixation :j And a daft question popped into my mind...

My ideal dream date is to be MF when I am 50, which is 10 years earlier than the due date!!! Mortgage is almost £100k and to pay it off in 15 years on a combined salary of £35k, (mthly payments £560.73).

Is this crazy? Am I insane??

Last year I paid off my previous endowment mortgage of £15k in 15 years (yes I know my LBM took a long time (2006)), but then again my salary varied between £13k to £21k on temporary contracts, so I had to have a rather large savings pot as I needed at least £14.3 to cover all costs and have 1 camping break a year.

AND I want us to match this achievement :A

DH and I hope to have sprogs soon (maybe a pair fingers crossed), which I understand can serious dent any MF plans.

We are on a 5 yr fix, with a max OP of £500/mth. The "tax maid" has paid for the first 4 mths, and I made sure to save the £100/mth SO we decided we could afford and thist makes 5 months of max OP, but after that... ... ...

So my Q is, if we become parent is this achieveable, or is a Fairy Tale MF target?

Cheers
M

Marie27lol

Oh my god, how I have so missed my laptop as it went into repair, except it took a bit longer than a week or so...


So let me give you an update:

• Old house should be let tomorrow for TH £425 - but got a lot of costs to finish paying off = insurance, elecs, EA
• My new job is going well, wished I had thought of this sector before
• OH is being made permanent instead of a FTC of 3mths
• Cats have moved in well = so well they are bringing in live mice, but they don't catch the spiders
• Does anyone know of how to catch a big mouse which will not hurt the cats?
• Overpayments have been maxed for 5mths total, but this is the last month

What we need to do next:

• Sort out the heating in this place - its blooming cold
• Decide how to organise the garden:
  • Remove the existing leaking outbuilding
  • Decide what to replace it with - kids/gym area ; secure bike/garden equipment ; green house
  • Ensure there is space for a veg/flower patch and also a chance to enjoy the evening sun, as currently there is no chance of feeling the sun :P
  • Hope it's worth the possible expense!!!!

If anyone has seen any combi multi-use sheds / outbuildings, please send me the links. We already have an old green house, so it could be the case of reusing what we have and freecycling the rest (well at least the most of it).

Cheers for now
M

PS Sorry for slacking for so long about updating

gallygirl

Glad it's all going well. Are you still aiming for 50?

Marie27lol

Howdi Gallygirl

10 years early really is ambitious, and unless we win the lottery or we don't have children... UMMM

Thinking it through, especially as I have now found there are several serious flaws to this new home , I doubt we will be here for 15 years. I didn't think I would be this disillusioned with the house so soon - only been in 5 months!

So lots more thinking to do.

We are needing to buy new windows and front door this winter, as the house is blooming cold and they are so drafty. So that will be another £3-4k, which will serious impact the OP aspect :mad:


Therefore my Target Part 1 is:

• Get new windows in before Christmas
• Keep to MF 2012 challenge - pay off £3k in 6 months, and we have paid of £2.5k and have £300 already set aside for December's OP.
• Buy a new comfy bed with some money given to us by an Aunt, as ours has been mended and over 8 years old
• Start building the Emergency Savings Pot again - preferably max out at least one ISA.

Re-reading this makes me feel so sad....

M

Marie27lol

Merry Christmas Everyone,

I hope you are having a great Winter's break. We are

Sorry about the delay in an updates, we have got spasmotic internet again, it can be up for an hour if that a day


So my Target Part1 Update:

• Windows etc due in late January - £3k (Have also decided to get the patio door done, with a catflap so we can shut the doors and keep the heat in :j)
• Completed 2012 MF target of paying off £3k
• Heating - £335 (new TRVs and x1 double radiator replaced = house much warmer).
• Unfortuantely the money for the new bed has gone towards new windows, which I am sure my Aunt will understand. We did instead get a one of those much thicker mattress protectors, and that does seem to help a bit.

So 2013 Targets are:

• SO set up £100 for minimum OP on mortgage (£1.2k/yr)
• Join MF 2013 with a target of £3k (would have been higher - except for the windows!)
• Outbuilding!

Target Part 2:

• ISA for this April....might get £1k banked.
• Investigate modular extensions / outbuildings
• Speak to neighbour at the back of the property to see if they would be willing to the idea of using the fence as an exit for the rubble from the old outbuilding
• Get a general price for a complete CH overall to be installed before next winter.
• Enjoy the last few days off, before heading back to college and all those overally excited students. :j

TTFN
M

pixnmix_2

Hi Marie
Just found your MFW diary and thought i'd stamp my mark on it
For the record, my last house was a money pit, and needed total restoration. So much so that the only original feature left in the place was the outside brickwalls! However, the priorities were the damp course, window/outside door replacements, and a central heating system. That way the fabric of the building is protected. So I totally understand your frustration in spending what you hadn't planned for, but imagine having that new bed and finding mould growing on it after a few weeks in a damp cold bedroom?

Well done and best wishes in continuing the good work :T
Pix

Marie27lol

Hi Pix

Thanks for the encouragement. We knew the windows were not briliant, but had hoped they would last until autumn 2013

We would also love a new bathroom; but the potential amount of dust / work to be done outside if our rear neighbours don't agree... Well then all the rubble will have to come up 6 steps onto the decking, through the patio, living room and kitchen, before going out the front door. EEKKKKKK

So even if the outbuilding is down, and I get nothing created in the garden, at least it is a step in the right direction. If and when the bathroom gets done, I could always go away for a week, and leave it with the hubby :P

M

HelenDaveKids

Have you set your morgage to stay the same each month regardless of Op's? If not, you can do it online. The lovely thing about nw is being able to see the morgage. We are with NW and also have one of ours at the same rate as yours, fortunately it finishes in august so hoping to catch the 2.89% fixed 2 year rate.

Well done so far.

lulabelle1

I love NW - we were fortunate that both of our mortgages reverted to their BMR of 2.5% last year, so plan on OP'ing as much as possible while we can...... I'm hoping that we can be mortgage free before the rates start to shoot up. Wishful thinking maybe.......