Trying to pay everything off

lea_t88

STOP THE PRESS.... I saw another flat I wanted yesterday. Only this one is actually affordable at £73,000 (instead of the £182,000 one I had my heart set on last month-jeez haha).

It's perfect and I've been unofficially checking out mortgage providers and I could get that with my salary no problem. The only snag I have is that I am a contract/temporary worker and don't yet have 3 years of accounts in my current job (been doing it for 2 and a bit years)... but I have an amazing goal to look to for after Christmas.

VERY BASIC SKETCHY financial plan currently being as follows:

Dec 21st - Payday - approx £2k.:j
Dec 21st - £800 Amex bill.
Dec 21st - £1k into ISA.

Jan 1st - normal loan - £164 out

Jan 29th - payday - approx £2K :j
Jan 29th - Amex bill (prob £1.8k as I'm putting my first teeth installment on it in December for points)

Feb 1st - normal loan - £164 out

Feb 27th - Payday - approx £2k :j
Feb 28th - Amex bill (prob £300)
Feb 28th - £1400 pay loan off :beer:

Then start on Natwest CC while it is in the last few months of interest free

I'm going to live very tightly with myself until January time because I want this so much! I'm going to get food shopping with my nectar points (it really hurts me to spend my points...) and I have £100 from Topcashback which should be payable by January, and I'm going to try and get last Christmas bits with nectar and Boots points. I go mad every year on presents and everyone will get one but maybe not as extravagant as usual.

I also started listing stuff on Ebay last night and have some more things to post but I want to wait until free listing as they should start at over 99p.

Sorry for the huge ramble, it helps me focus and helps when i see it written down (especially since the new diary I got from the pound shop is missing dates... )

Wish me luck and let me know if there are any huge mistakes! x

Scuff

£73, 000 is brilliant ! (Assuming it's a nice place haha) all the places we've looked at are £120k and up
And it only took me 2 months to take the gym letter...

lea_t88

Hi Scuff, it is lovely! Its a 2 bedroomed flat in a private gated place with an allocated parking space.

I'm so dreaming over it but selfishly hoping hoping hoping that it is still on the market next April (pigs might fly but if everything's crossed I might not see it go ) and depending on where I worked, it is within walking distance of a few companies I have been talking to about work. So I personally think it's fate, just seeing if the planet thinks it is too now haha!

I tried to have the 'mortgage/buying a house' chat with dad the other day in the hope he would maybe just give me a deposit, but no luck there, doh!

lea_t88

HAPPY BOXING DAY EVERYONE!

Hope everyone had a fab day yesterday and having a great relaxing/family/boozy boxing day. For me it's a movie in my PJs with hot choc Been absolutely spoilt yesterday so looking forward to digging into my goodies later.

Lots to update on but been so busy with work and Christmas prep that thread has been a tad neglected.

Well firstly, I got my brace! Had it on since Saturday and it's a pain to take out when I want to eat but it's getting better. To keep it in as long as possible I've decided to only eat solid food morning and night when I have to take it out to clean it and my teeth anyway. Through the sday I'm having various non-chewable foods such as mash, risotto, slim fast shakes (not to lose weight but because it doesn't require chewing and is classed as a meal!). The things we do eh!

Secondly on the work front, I'm not enjoying the commute over the pennines every day, and have been told of quite a bit of stuff coming up in Jan/Feb closer to home so am thinking of finishing contract early if I get asked to do the. Will save a LOT in petrol and travel time. Only snag is I have to give a months notice to leave current job but what's the worst that can happen if it's a bit less... it's making me that unhappy I'd consider it!

Well on the money saving front, I'm still jogging along. Got a HUGE Amex bill to pay end of Jan (next payday) of £2500 because I paid for my brace with it, so having to spend as little as possible to make sure I have enough money.

Still on track to pay off my loan in Feb's payday- woohoo and then concentrate on CC1 (£5000 but currently interest free).

Over last couple of months I managed to put £2500 into my ISA which I hope will stay there but may need to dip into if anything crops up before payday.

That's it or update for now, no drastic changes but still spurred on for that mortgage sometime in 2013!

x

lea_t88

Good day today! I've just done a survey on VO and got another £10. I'll leave it until I know which voucher I'm better getting, but possibly a Sainsburys one to help with food shop next month. Usually get Boots vouchers but got £50 Boots voucher of my dad for Christmas.

Also had some money on TCB come payable so have £90.90 I can get out! I'll definitely save this until my CC bill is due end of Jan and that will help ease the load as the bill is more than my actual wages eek!

Going to sign up to the Netflix trial for the free cashback and because I need breakdown cover, Greenflag currently have an offer on for £60.60 cashback for a policy which would cost me £66, which I'll do before it runs out

Got £25 credited back to my Amex bill or shopping in Harvey Nicks however, which made 3 of my pressies free

Bill bills on the way but looking okay so far

lea_t88

Oh no! Just re-checked and Green Flag cash back has now gone down to £35.35 for the same deal. Should have bought yesterday-doh!

lea_t88

Happy New Year DFW's hope 2013 brings everyone lots of money saving, inspiration, NSDs and fun while you're doing it all!

Going to start with my lists again to keep me on track and out of the shops (!) so got a few things to do today and tomorrow to keep me busy.

I have also made some 2013 resolutions this year. I don't usually do resolutions but just change things as I go on but I like the idea of a challenge and have a real biggie that I want to stick to.......

BUY NO CLOTHES OR SHOES IN 2013 :T :eek: :money:

I definitely do NOT need anything new as I can't currently fit all of my existing clothes in my wardrobe/drawers/boxes under the bed. I probably spent around £5k in the last year on clothes and some stuff still has the tag on so this is definitely do-able.

Also on my resolutions list is to pay of my loan and credit card, possibly buy a house and go on a big holiday. I realise this is a lot and in the end it will either be a house or a holiday towards mid-end of the year but let's aim big for now.

All is going well with braces although I am eating less. I have to take it out to eat and then clean my teeth and my brace before putting it back in, and it's slightly painful to do so. At the minute I'm eating big meals twice a day, and drinking smoothies and meal-shakes the rest of the time to avoid taking it out. It's okay but I just need to be braver taking it out or be a bit more inventive with my liquid meals

Right-O, onto this weekend's list:

Laundry and change bedding (did fake tan last night...)
Wash the car
Scan my CDs and old DVDs on Music Magpie
Check out freezer and cupboards and meal plan. Got LOTS in there so should be easy
Make a lamb curry this evening- yummy
Make a piece of artwork I've had the bits for for ages
Try out the Complan drinks I bought last week
Possibly go to cinema with my friend
Download my free music from my current acount benefits
Watch my Lovefilm DVD and post back tomorrow/Monday

That's all I can think of for now, how exciting

lea_t88

Also on my list:

Netflix free trial
Paint my nails and try out some funky designs

lea_t88

Hello!

Been a while since I updated but not much has been doing so avoided boring everyone!!

Everything is good here. I'm still keeping up my resolution of not buying any clothes or shoes in 2013. Okay it's only January but that is definitely a miracle for me

It was my birthday this week and I got lots of vouchers and birthday money so I might use those for treats later in the year. I've also got £70 of rewards at House of Fraser to use before March so it would be rude not to use those!

2 pieces of news to update on... I PAID OFF MY LOAN YESTERDAY! Paid off the last £1570ish and feel very happy that is gone :beer: which means the car I used it to buy is offically all mine

Only debt I have now is my £5400 on my CC1. Not too worried about this as it's 0% until May and I already have £925 saved to pay some off. Can add £500-£1k to that in Feb, March, April and May so will be nearly finished!

And I think my biggest piece of news (although it's not confirmed and nothing in writing yet) is I think my dad is going to buy a flat with me in the next couple of months! I was looking back longingly at the £70k one I saw a couple of months ago and it's still on the market and just been relisted with a different agency too so I know they are looking to sell it asap. And my dad happened to tell me he had a big amount of money in a bond that would mature in the next couple of months... and we're going to chat about using it as a flat deposit so I can move out! Trying not to get excited... but it's not working!

For now though- ploughing on with saving to pay off CC1 in May. Need to Music Magpie some CDs and clear out some old junk.

And might call the bank to arrange a mortgage chat...:whistle:

Have fab weekends everyone x

Scuff

Wow I'm so excited for you!! (& a bit jealous haha ) eeeee no more loan and now A POTENTIAL HOME OF YOUR OWN! You luuuucky!! That's lovely of your dad what a gem

Oh and happy birthday for last week!! x