Mortgage Free in Three Yrs

angelavdavis

TallGirl wrote: »

Next April is quite a long way away I would not buy anything now as you might change your mind about what you like or find something better later on. We started organising ours in January for a late May wedding and I found that was ok. Apart from the dresses some shops needs ages as they come in from China. I went to a local dressmaker and got mine for £250 and it was lovely.

I can't agree more with what TG is saying.

We ended up paying a lot less than we could have done for the wedding - even with our 100 guests! I saved money through various ways that are detailed in this post. I could have saved more if I hadn't impulse purchased early on and ended up changing my mind (I bought a bridesmaid dress from ebay that I changed my mind about, a cape I didn't wear in the end, I also over bought decor items too that I didn't use!)
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=596518

I have just ebayed stuff I used for the wedding that I knew would appeal to other brides: the silk flowers I had made, the lights I purchased, the cape I didn't wear and the place-holders I bought and have got about £100 for these.

One thing I can recommend - DON'T spend fortunes on the cake - I had a M&S one I then decorated myself to make it more in theme. Everyone praised it and no one knew it was a high street one!

firesidemaid

Jonesy_Bonesy wrote: »

Made a major life decision today. I've applied for voluntary redundancy where I work ( have been there 12 years since leaving uni ). I've worked my way up the ladder to middle management level and am being payed well, but hate the job I am in currently. Up until this point in my life it has always been about the money for me - the more the merrier, but now I am thinking more and more about quality of life, time at home with family, and less stress.

The redundancy does not take effect until the end of 2009, so this would give me another 18 months of good pay to batter the mortgage down, and then I would walk away with a lump sum to totally clear the mortgage and have a bit left over.

My plan then would be to look for another job that I would actually ENJOY doing, and not dread going to work. I will only need the money to cover bills and put food on the table, and should be able to cope on approx half of what I am earning now. As a family we now have a very sensible attitude to money thanks to this site, and appreciate the important things in life.

I will know that whatever happens we will always have a roof over our head and nobody can take that from us. I have worked really hard to get into this position, but am still nervous at the thought of entering the job market and starting fresh somewhere else.

Hope I am doing the right thing. Bonesy

sorry this reply is a bit late, but i think you are sooooo doing the right thing. i always dream that i will be offered redundancy and do the same as you but i don't think it's ever going to happen:rolleyes: . good luck x

firesidemaid

dawnylou wrote: »

Morning Ailuro2 and TallGirl.
We have had a look at our outgoings and can't see a single place where we can cutback.
We don't buy things like newspapers and a Starbucks is a treat to us which happens whenever we earn luncheon vouchers!

We can't get our DDs to come out together - Northern Rock and Council Tax do not allow you to change the dates.

We are going to do our budget again, but it has gotten to the point where if I am doing the shopping I feel guilty spending money! But this is just stupid of course we have to eat but that is how bad I am feeling about the whole situation.

The problem really (I think) stems from the fact that we went slightly overdrawn and A&L took bank charges so the next month we had even less so were a little more overdrawn and because they kept banging charges on it has now got to the point where we constantly just do not have enough for the bills.

We won't be spending much on our wedding, it will be very MSE and we haven't bought anything at all for it yet. Again whenever I look at anything I like for the wedding I feel guilty!

It's not til next April so hopefully we will have sorted ourselves out a bit by then.

Thank you bothfor your advice though x

2 thoughts - can you not change to the a+l account where the max interest you pay is £5 a month? also re. council tax. i have cancelled my dd and pay by c/card monthly online (my council do not charge and i earn cashback too! worth having a look). good luck x

abouttimetoo

molit wrote: »

c) Buy something smaller than b up there using the lump sum, and rent out my current place - the rent would more than cover the mortgage.

Currently I am torn between a and c more than b, due to the stress involved in buying and selling at the same time, and only having moved in here 18 months ago. I appreciate c is a much riskier option than a, but if I could get it to work I would have two houses in the long run. I also really like the location where I currently live - what would you all do?

Hi Mollit, I just wanted to add something in for you to consider if you go for renting out your own house; I have mine let out with a company that specialises in corporate lets only. Typically my tenants are there for between 3-6 months and are only there 3-4 nights a week as they return to their own homes at the weekend. The rental tends to be higher than private lets and I have had no troubles with problem tenants as they tend to be older professional types (not suggesting all older professional people are angels :rolleyes: ) and all bills/rental etc is paid direct via their employer.

I must admit I'm happier doing it this way as i prefer the fact that they are not making my home their own if you see what I mean. Some of them choose to use the letting company's housekeeping service for cleaning, laundry etc and in some cases it is part of the deal that the carpets are cleaned when they leave so as you can see the standards of my place are well maintained.

There are still the same challenges as private lets in terms of you might not have it constantly occupied, would need to convert to a BTL mortgage, get permission etc but just something for you to think about
Regards

comping_cat

Ive just checked my mortgage statement - and my balance is £66,835.99!!!

So chuffed that im under 67K now - def giving me a push to keep going!!!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

catowen wrote: »

Ive just checked my mortgage statement - and my balance is £66,835.99!!!

So chuffed that im under 67K now - def giving me a push to keep going!!!

YAY! Well done, keep up the good work!

FreedomGirl

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd check in and say hello too. The mortgage repayment is now going a lot slower, now that we are down to one salary , but it is still going in the right direction (just under 1K over the past three months).

The money/MFiT is starting to get tough now, as I am feeling a bit deprived e.g. on Monday we got a pizza delivered (£20 for two huge pizzas), which is not a normal occurrence. I am now getting clothes from charity shops (a great pair of Next jeans for three quid!), and am about to take back two pairs of trousers I bought from New Look for £30.

My OH is also going to be unemployed come the end of August, so we are very thankful for the savings in the One account (though I don't want to open that line of discussion again!). It looks like I should have some money coming in from September, so things are not going to go completely nuclear.

Anyway, I'm hoping that someone can give me a MFiT "pick me up", because this most definitely feels like a slog right now

FG

angelavdavis

Well done for keeping it up in the face of adversity FreedomGirl!

I think we all feel that circumstances work against us from time to time - I know I had that feeling in February this year. I ended up using some of my loyalty points on a few treats - a trip to London to the Dive Show and a meal out using clubcard points.

Even when things are tough financially, you need to give yourself something back too.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

FreedomGirl wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd check in and say hello too. The mortgage repayment is now going a lot slower, now that we are down to one salary , but it is still going in the right direction (just under 1K over the past three months).

The money/MFiT is starting to get tough now, as I am feeling a bit deprived e.g. on Monday we got a pizza delivered (£20 for two huge pizzas), which is not a normal occurrence. I am now getting clothes from charity shops (a great pair of Next jeans for three quid!), and am about to take back two pairs of trousers I bought from New Look for £30.

My OH is also going to be unemployed come the end of August, so we are very thankful for the savings in the One account (though I don't want to open that line of discussion again!). It looks like I should have some money coming in from September, so things are not going to go completely nuclear.

Anyway, I'm hoping that someone can give me a MFiT "pick me up", because this most definitely feels like a slog right now

FG

Hi freedomgirl,

Sorry to hear you are finding it a bit of a slog, I felt like this a couple of weeks ago but have got my mind into gear again. I re read some money saving books and I find that 'The Tightwad Gazette' by Amy Dacyzyn is great not only for tips but for changing your mindset. I used to feel deprived but after reading this book (be warned, the full edition is nearly 1,000 pages long!) I now feel totally different. Instead of feeling deprived, the reader is instilled with a sense of purpose, drive, and pride. I now couldn't care less if people know I buy my clothes from the '3 for £1' rail from the salvation army charity shop. No one knows anyway unless I tell them because I dress in good looking clothes with a smart label such as M&S etc.

I eat a lot of pulses not only because they are cheap but because they are really good and tasty for my family. I'm also teaching my kids the value of money.

I think we all get bogged down with money related issues and it has been hard lately because everything has gone up, energy, petrol, food etc but at least you are taking steps to protect yourself financially. It all takes time but we are going forwards instead of backwards.

I remind myself what position I was in 1,2,3 years ago and even though sometimes I make small steps forward, the collective power of this is huge.

I'm sorry to hear that your OH is going to be unemployed soon and hope he gets work very soon.

I used to 'treat' myself to a curry takeaway but the last one I had wasn't worth the money, I kept thinking that I could have made it myself for around 1/20th of the cost and as it wasn't 20 times better then mine I felt robbed!

Chuck out that pizza leaflet! You'll make it, just keep posting on here,

hugs from Desperate Housewife

FreedomGirl

Hi Angela and Desperate Housewife,

Thanks ever so much for the pick me up - that just what I needed! Have to say that the pizza leaflets are always chucked out as soon as they come through the door (so I had to go online to order them!), and last time we ordered a pizza was about 2-3 years ago I think the pizza thing came about because we'd just got back from a three week holiday and the house was cold, in a mess with no food in the fridge. That's all sorted out now, and the weather is a lot nicer now, which makes it easier.

I know a great chickpea curry recipe (the OH makes it) BTW - will post it when he gets back from work. We never have takeaways because the homemade ones are just so much nicer.

I almost bought the Tightwad Gazette just now, but stopped myself Guess the moneysaving gene is coming back. Will treat myself to it next month!

FG