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My Savings Journey
LET1891
Posts: 9 Forumite
Hello to all forum users. I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now and decided to take the plunge and post my own money journey and hopefully be of use to others.
Roll back three years (pretty much to the day).... I was married, two children, good joint income, house (with £60k equity), nice car, no debt etc etc.......when one event led to pretty much the collapse of all that. I'm not bitter about it anymore and have worked hard to get where I am today......
After moving out (to leave mother with children in marital home), I contributed half the household running costs whilst supporting myself too. This was not cheap and I ran up debts on credit cards and with my father. Last year I did my own divorce and settlement which was simple in so far as I gave up all my equity and savings but kept my debt. My view was I wanted no detrimental impact on my children's lives and in the bigger picture my equity would have gone to them.
Since divorcing, I have worked at clearing my debts and now have savings which I will be using this diary to log so I can track my progress and to also seek advice. I'm a happier person now and can see that my depression/mental stability contributed to the downfall of my married life.
My target savings is £60,000 by the time I'm no older than 36. There are two reasons for that amount. Firstly, that is the amount of equity I gave up in my house and secondly, I want at least a 25% deposit to access the best mortgage rates. (I will use £50k for a deposit and £10k for legals, stamp duty and any extra furniture/appliances). The timing also has two reason. Firstly it will be tough to achieve as I need harsh targets to motivate me and secondly a 25 year mortgage term will mean I'm mortgage free at some point no later than my 60th year.
Sorry to ramble on and no doubt I will look back at this OP and cringe!
Roll back three years (pretty much to the day).... I was married, two children, good joint income, house (with £60k equity), nice car, no debt etc etc.......when one event led to pretty much the collapse of all that. I'm not bitter about it anymore and have worked hard to get where I am today......
After moving out (to leave mother with children in marital home), I contributed half the household running costs whilst supporting myself too. This was not cheap and I ran up debts on credit cards and with my father. Last year I did my own divorce and settlement which was simple in so far as I gave up all my equity and savings but kept my debt. My view was I wanted no detrimental impact on my children's lives and in the bigger picture my equity would have gone to them.
Since divorcing, I have worked at clearing my debts and now have savings which I will be using this diary to log so I can track my progress and to also seek advice. I'm a happier person now and can see that my depression/mental stability contributed to the downfall of my married life.
My target savings is £60,000 by the time I'm no older than 36. There are two reasons for that amount. Firstly, that is the amount of equity I gave up in my house and secondly, I want at least a 25% deposit to access the best mortgage rates. (I will use £50k for a deposit and £10k for legals, stamp duty and any extra furniture/appliances). The timing also has two reason. Firstly it will be tough to achieve as I need harsh targets to motivate me and secondly a 25 year mortgage term will mean I'm mortgage free at some point no later than my 60th year.
Sorry to ramble on and no doubt I will look back at this OP and cringe!
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Comments
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So my savings so far are:
£4,506.02 in Halifax online saver (soon to move most to Cash Isa)
£50.00 in Halifax guaranteed saver (car repair fund)
That's not a great deal at the moment but I should be able to save at least £500 per month for house savings and £50 towards car repairs.
I receive expenses from work for mileage which will go towards car repair fund and any extra savings should go to house fund. If car repair fund has over £1,000 in at any time, excess will go to house savings.0 -
Good luck with your challengeBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Personal Finance Blogger + YouTuber / In pursuit of FIRE
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So my savings so far are:
£4,506.02 in Halifax online saver (soon to move most to Cash Isa)
£50.00 in Halifax guaranteed saver (car repair fund)
And you can name the account online to differentiate it.0 -
slowlyfading - thank you and thanks for dropping by
opinions4u - thanks for the advice. I never realised they would pay the bonus on two online savers but I have just done this and renamed my Halifax accounts. 2.8% for the next year is definitely better that 0.5%!!
I was contemplating changing from Halifax to FD for my current account but I've always had a good relationship with Halifax (have local managers number, so no call centres!). It seems silly to change for the £100 bonus when I get £5 per month from Halifax.
I'll max out my ISA allowance before the end of the tax year but at least I'll be getting a good rate from Halifax on the remainder for a short while.0 -
I never realised they would pay the bonus on two online savers0
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I was going to recommend Saffron BS's regular saver account, but then I did the calculations and realised you'd actually only be £12.95 better off. Hardly worth the effort of opening a new account for!
It's going to take you a while to reach your savings goal, so why not lock your cash away in a fixed account for a few years? That way you'll earn a better rate of interest and won't be able to dip into it if you have the temptation to do so.
Just make sure you opt for one that allows additional deposits, so you can keep adding to it each month.
Good luck!0 -
EmSp - Thanks for stopping by. I'll look into the Saffron BS account once I've got the children to bed (my weekend with them this weekend!). £12.95 is £12.95!!!!!
I am happy to lock in £5k at a time but would like to have some savings contingency with no locks. I have no reason to spend big bucks as I have all that I need. I even have some things I don't need which reminds me.....need to list some more stuff on ebay this weekend!0 -
Let1891,
You are giving off positive vibes and seem to be in a good place. Good luck in all you and with the savings.
R0 -
Let1891? Best cash ISA: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/401374
Pretty miserly interest rates at present, but hopefully a lot better again for a while next April/May.
For your monthly savings, have you considered the First Direct and the Nationwide Regular Savers? Both accounts have some hoops to hoop through but nothing to onerous - - search the forum for more on this.
And/or have you looked at the Santander 123 current account - costs £2/mth but you may be able to get more back from cashback and interest. Also, you can get £55 for starting the account (but pls read all the T&Cs):
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