Mortgage Free in Three Yrs

comping_cat

So glad you sorted the Virgin thing (ive just withdrawn my winnings, have £95 coming to me, and hopefully £50 through topcashback!!!) and that you have your new fridge - enjoy your wine!!!

mountainlioness

Just paid another £200 off on hubby's pay day - yay!

Though realised was £1 away from going over our monthly limit and incurring a penalty as I paid the first lot on 31st July and the second today (24th)

Got the hugest leccy bill (for us) though which has scuppered some of my plans - double the kwh we usually consume and we haven't changed our lifestyle at all (we're v careful, turning stuff off at the plus etc. you can imagine which one of us is leading this!!) We were recommended something called an 'Electrosave' - a wireless device that lets you diagnose where the consumption is coming from so you can cut your bills. Has anyone heard or used one?? Any good? They cost about £60 so just wondering if it's worth the investment.

EasternMoose

I think you mean an 'electrisave'. Apparently they are an Australian invention. Their website has a good bit of info -
http://www.electrisave.co.uk/

No idea how good they are but the website claims up to 25% electricity can be saved.

mountainlioness

I posted on the gas and elec board and the consensus seemed to be these weren't worth it and better to get a £6 electricity meter thingie from Lidl!!

sarahe

Hello all
I'm going to try and read all the messages once a week and organise my finances. With 3 small children (6,4 and 2) we need to move. That will be hard emotionally and financially. I love our home and will probably need to borrow £40,000 more to move. I work 3 days a week and my partner is a stay at home dad. He makes all are meals from scratch and our food bills are low. We all have bikes/trailers so weekend jaunts are relatively cheap. We have Legoland tickets and stay at Innkeepers Lodge or travelodge and take picnics. My car is being MOT'd next Friday and then we decide to keep or scrap it. I love car boot sales but my children mostly wear clothes from ebay! No school uniform but they are always dressed well. Our most expensive outlay is presents - and with christmas coming up.... lots of nephews nieces aunts etc.
Hopefully, signing in each week will keep me on track!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi Guys,

I have just paid off another £2k as I had some money saved up for next years holidays abroad (don't usually go abroad) but after discussion with rest of family they said they would prefer to go to a cottage where we normally go so I thought great! I'll bung it in the mortgage so its coming down slowly....;)

Karmacat

Hi Desperate Housewife,

This was really nice in your post:

after discussion with rest of family they said they would prefer to go to a cottage where we normally go

You're doing something really right as a family there, sounds like it to me! As someone who couldn't wait to get out the nest (uh, many years ago, admittedly) I admire that!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

aw thanks Karmacat, its nice to ask the kids what they think. Sometimes they give good advice and have great ideas even though they are only young (11 and 13). I tell them about finances because I am terrified they'll get into debt when/if they go to uni. They know how to calculate interest on the mortgage now and keep asking every so often 'how much is it now mum?'

It seems to be working too, I give them pocket money every week for doing jobs round the house and when I ask them if they want to go shopping to spend it, my youngest says she would rather save it! She likes to see it mounting up and then loves it when she gets interest! I try to pass on all my frugal tips and we have a laugh at jumble sales and while trawling round charity shops so I don't think they see it as a drag. I must admit, I'm lucky to have such amenable kids, a lot of kids I know wouldn't stand for having a mum like me!

Karmacat

Been thinking about my finances for the last few days. I'm really near a breakthrough on what I call my "finance practice" on the dfw daily thread - an extra income of up to £1000 p.w. in the near future. And I'm booking to have my porch rebuilt, with proper drainage, in the next month or so, so the cash flow problem is quite severe. I've given notice to withdraw some money from a Toisa - but, as the guy on the other end of the phone pointed out, you can never replace that, once its gone, its gone. So I'm going to claw back the £1000 overpayment I've made on the mortgage, and use it for the porch. I think. I was always aware that I might need to do that, sad that I probably have to, but I'm completely desperate to have that porch. Any ideas for cheap finance for a couple of months otherwise?

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi Karmacat, I don't know if it will work with timings but have you looked at credit card stoozing? I've made a few hundred pounds in saved interest by doing it and once you get your head round it its pretty easy. Martin has written a piece about it http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/stooze-cash-credit-cards

Its hard to spend the money you've worked so hard to save isn't it? especially now the interest rates are moving up. I've put every penny I've got now onto the mortgage so I haven't got savings as such, just money I can draw on in emergencies from the mortgage balance which I don't want to.
I know its a long shot but is there any way you or anyone in your family could do it themselves? Go on a bricklaying course? Maybe shop around for a good/cheap builder. Could it even wait for a year and you set up a budget savings over 12 months to pay cash for it? Have you any relative who could club together and pay part towards it as a birthday/xmas pressie (long shot but worth a try!)

Its always a balance and deciding what you can/can't put up with. For us, missing holidays abroad don't matter but going away somewhere is really important as we work long hours and need it for our sanity.
Good luck whatever you decide