Freedom At 50!

southerndave

gallygirl wrote: »

And if it is that good she has time to source even more work .

I'll tell her...she'll be over the moon I am sure!!:rotfl::eek::D

southerndave

Not added up this week's money yet but still managing to save rather than spend and still on the right track....I think!

My mobile contract was up so managed to reduce the spend whilst remaining on a sensible plan, so from next month my costs come down from £35 to £12 including VAT. Additionally our broadband/phone package was up as well and following Martin's advice in the website I managed to negotiate a discount from £40+ per month down to £29, saving £140+ a year!!

sweetdaisy

Well done on the phone/broadband savings, £140+ is a lot :T.

southerndave

sweetdaisy wrote: »

Well done on the phone/broadband savings, £140+ is a lot :T.

Yeah, I thought so, but I also had a thought that we have been paying too much for so long which is annoying!!:mad: But trying to keep positive, so

Managed only £45 so far this month as have had silly bits to buy for birthdays and the like as well as a few 'big shops' for food. Still selling bits on eBay and have yet to clear out the remains of our garage junk. Currently eBay earned us £100+ so far this month.

I have also recently passed a qualifying period for a company pension, so although my take home pay will drop slightly as it's contributory it means my pensions payments go from almost zero to a decent amount a month as my employer pays in and it attracts some tax relief. Happy days!:T

southerndave

Another £70 extra paid in this week! Had a very cheap shop with our Clubcard vouchers, plus a little bit extra earned, so two weeks into this month and cash extras are up to £115 in the bank, plus my overtime at work. Hopefully with newly settled direct debits, and our 'fiscal policy changes' now being seen working through the bank account, the mortgage deficit shall start its slow fall downwards now....we hope!

southerndave

The month officially ends midweek, but I am updating now. We had some expenses this month and we also bought some fireworks, so we could have banked more but by god you have to live a little! We still managed to bank £315 extra though and we can now start seeing the slower changes in our bank account. We started in September with a little over £87,000 still owing and we are now down to £86,200 which equates to maintaining our lifestyle and yet clearing £800 of debt. Not much in the big scheme of things but indicative of what can be achieved.

This month will be tougher as there is half-term so a reduction in earnings and an increase in spending are likely. Also Halloween and Guy Fawkes add to the seasonal outgoings. But we will do what we can and see how we get on!

sweetdaisy

Great progress Southerndave, you are doing well to have reduced your mortgage by £800 in such a short time. You'll have the mortgage paid in no time and think of all that interest you will be saving!

southerndave

Thanks! Obviously as you know with an off-set mortgage, these are approximate figures as the account goes up and down every day, but generally its going down now since we started this mission whereas before it was ever-so-slowly creeping up the other way. I only wish we had started this process a year or so ago....

edinburgher

Sounds like you're going great guns southerndave

Just wanted to drop in and wish you all the best for your mission. How long have you been using an offset mortgage for? The concept sounds appealling, but I wonder whether keeping track of the finances might be trickier than with a 'traditional' mortgage/easier to overspend by mistake?

nattypants

I agree with sweetdaisy, your progress is very impressive:T

I am hoping to be able to move to an off-set next year - although a whole 12 months to wait unfortunately.......