FlashBarry's £97k in 3 years MFW mission!

FlashBarry

Update 1 - I just registered for financialbliss'MFiT-T3! Slightly scared, as I still haven't monitired how much we usually spend each week.

Update 2 - Tomorrow, I will be taking my beloved sports car to the dealers for them to put in their showroom. It's not technically sold yet, but I have a feeling it will go fairly quickly. I must admit, I was getting a little teary as I was polishing her for possibly the last ever time.

Spiggle

Hi and welcome FlashBarry,

This is addictive!!!

On the savings v OPs discussion, I have a ridiculously low interest rate on my repayment mortgages (I am very lucky) but was the same as you insomuch as I was really concerned that savings would end up being dipped into. Plus, I really liked the idea of seeing the outstanding mortgage reduce.

At first I resisted the valid arguments about rates of saving v rates paid out. But then I discovered the first direct account and their reg saver offering 8% gross (about 6.4% net of tax) into which I could put £300 per month. (I think the HSBC reg saver is 6% gross and £250 max per month.) Even better, as I'd opened a joint acccount with OH he could also have a reg saver on the same terms. So I opened up both and maxed them almost every month (you can reduce down to £25 min but have the facility to top up again in another month so max amount saved in 12 months is £3,600). As far as me and OH think, those accounts are called mortgage offset savings.

At the end of the first year the plan was to pay off the samller mortgage completely and bung the rest against the main mortgage. BUT when I got a settlement statement it stated in pence the small amount I pay in interest. And the mayurity is during the ISA fever months of March- April. Hence a lot of deep thought and switch in perspective. The balance resides in fixed rate ISAs at 4.10% and I can't get my grubby fingers on it. (I pay 0.69% on my main and 1.49% on my second little mortgage.) The same thing will happen in March-April 2013.

I still OP a small amount every month to satisfy my need to reduce the mortgage but compared to what I intended originally, it's miniscule.

I also found another reg saver with the monmouthshire bs that doesn't require monthly payments but limits to £1000 per month that has a bonus at year end. This will pay me 3.2% net on any extra I manage to bung across there.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go on so much, apologies. My major concerns and detailed thought processes on this are in my diary here if you want to have a read.

Good luck with your journey, you have set yourself a marvellous target. Just make sure you get the best value for your money!

All the best,
Spigs

spidystrider

I will follow you on your journey FlashBarry. I wish you all the best, £97,000 is a lot of money to pay back in just 3 years. I will have another £75,000 to go come December 12th but if I pay off £50,000, I'll be delighted.

janineh1982

Hi FB! :wave:

Just wanted to pop by and say good luck on your MFW sprint! :j
If you are determined enough to sell the beloved car :shocked:, then i am sure you will do fantastically well :beer:....I've subscribed and look forward to reading your journey

ohhhhhhh you have noooooooo idea!! I have:
- an overview of all our accounts and our total monetary worth
- statement of affairs which has both monthly and annual expenses
- 1 sheet per account (so that's 2 current accounts, 2 credit cards, a cash ISA, a regular saver and 5 instant access eSavers)
- the mortgage
in my money spreadsheet.

I've also another spreadsheet I use every day which has all the spending categories in different columns (food, pets, toiletries, cleaning, home, tools/DIY, petrol, leisure etc etc), with conditional formatting to turn the total cells red or green depending on over or under budget :rotfl:

Coldcazzie - could you point me in the direction of where to obtain this fabulous sounding s/sheet please? I am fairly apt at using excel, but would rather not re invent the wheel that i'm sure many an MSE'r has built fart better than i ever could !

FlashBarry

Thanks all for the kind and useful comments!

My home garage has only been car-less for one day, but we have already filled it with tonnes junk from the house! Although, some of the junk has already been advertised on Gumtree. Anyone want an eliptical strider?

Minor crisis at the moment - I wasn't going to post this, but it's our wedding anniversary in a few days time and we have decided not to buy eachother any cards or pressies with the view of sticking to our tiny MFW budget. I am feeling incredibly guilty. We would usually go away for a romantic weekend or I would buy £000's of stuff. This would be our first year without.

I don't know what to do.

coldcazzie

janineh1982 wrote: »

Coldcazzie - could you point me in the direction of where to obtain this fabulous sounding s/sheet please? I am fairly apt at using excel, but would rather not re invent the wheel that i'm sure many an MSE'r has built fart better than i ever could !

:o:o it's a personal creation. It started when I had my LBM in 2009 and decided enough was enough, I was sick of being OD and being charged by the bank and scraping by on miniscule amounts of food. I had a sheet for my account, one for our joint account, and one for our instant access saver. Since then, as we've opened and closed different accounts and needed different things I've added/removed sheets. I have a second workbook which is my archive, into which I move sheets once that account has been closed. I also have seperate books for my Park Savings (customers all have different sheets), and I downloaded Locoblade's mortgage OP spreadsheet too.

Sorry, afraid that's probably not what you wanted to hear! :rotfl: suffice it to say it is unobtainable. Not hard to build one though: pick a day and put in your current balance, then start adding things that go in and out. Add extra sheets for each account and make sure to name them so you can easily tell them apart. Choose colours and formatting to taste! :money:

(sorry Barry for clogging up your thread!)

coldcazzie

FlashBarry wrote: »

Minor crisis at the moment - I wasn't going to post this, but it's our wedding anniversary in a few days time and we have decided not to buy eachother any cards or pressies with the view of sticking to our tiny MFW budget. I am feeling incredibly guilty. We would usually go away for a romantic weekend or I would buy £000's of stuff. This would be our first year without.

Next weekend marks 10 years since the start of mine and manwife's relationship. We have both acknowledged that we cannot afford to go away, or even go out. We will be having a nice evening meal together (got half a side of salmon in my freezer which shall make a lovely meal.... and a couple more for the whole family if I get it right - has to be MSE somehow right?! :cool:) and will probably watch a film together and spend some time just chatting and reconnecting.

I know it can be difficult when you've gotten used to splashing out and lavishing her in stuff... but, think in terms of your needs, not your wants. What is truly important is that you are together and love each other, after that most other things are simply unnecessary. Gadgets, jewellery, clothing, ornaments, yes they're nice, but ultimately you would still love her (and her you) without them. So keep it simple.

I promise, you do not need to spend loads of money/go away for a bit to remind her how much you love her! Who usually cooks? If it's her, offer to cook for her. Or make dessert. For someone who always cooks, being cooked for is a wonderful gesture. If you really want to get her something, you could maybe write her an IOU for something special at a later date? Even a simple bunch of flowers/new pot plant is enough.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi, my husband wrote me a letter for our anniversary telling me some amazing and beautiful things about our relationship and how he feels. That was worth more than jewellery, holidays, meals out.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Tilly

Aiming_High

FlashBarry wrote: »

Thanks all for the kind and useful comments!

My home garage has only been car-less for one day, but we have already filled it with tonnes junk from the house! Although, some of the junk has already been advertised on Gumtree. Anyone want an eliptical strider?

Minor crisis at the moment - I wasn't going to post this, but it's our wedding anniversary in a few days time and we have decided not to buy eachother any cards or pressies with the view of sticking to our tiny MFW budget. I am feeling incredibly guilty. We would usually go away for a romantic weekend or I would buy £000's of stuff. This would be our first year without.

I don't know what to do.

Why give something like this up? I know you want to be MFW as do I once I have a little bit of breathing space from getting debt free, but life is for living. How about doing it MSE style instead and either give each other the gift of time. (I know I'd love that from my hubby, the bathroom would be his cleaning job for a while. :rotfl:) or set yourselves a budget of say £10 each to find a gift. Sometimes they can be the nicest gifts as they require more thought.

Sorry I don't mean to sound harsh, but you're in this for the long haul and if you stop things like this you'll resent paying off the mortgage not enjoy it.

uzubairu

Aiming_High wrote: »

Sorry I don't mean to sound harsh, but you're in this for the long haul and if you stop things like this you'll resent paying off the mortgage not enjoy it.

Why not dine out with a 2 for 1 voucher or money off coupons?
We do that all the time.

You don't want to be going off the idea of being a MFW because it is too restrictive.
Like others have said the 3 years can drag on or whizz past.
If you aren't having fun (which doesn't always mean spnding money), you will resent it.

I hope you succeed and I've subscribed to your thread.
Good luck with your mission!