Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare - only time will tell :-)

DELILLIAH_BUTTERCUP

Good evening good people :-)

Been standing on the edge of glory for quite a while now with regards to battering down this pesky mortgage and 2013 is the year it kicks off. My aim is to get the beast payed off by my nifty fiftieth birthday so we as a family can get down to having a tad more fun fun fun! That means I have 7 years to pay down a mortgage that currently stands at 91k and to do that I need to chuck a mere £450 extra per month at the old ball and chain. Not entirely impossible as we have a combined income of 58k and have been in quite stable jobs for the last 20 something years. But here's the catch......Dearest Beloved is a mega techno freak, if it's new technology and it beeps, shines out lights or talks computer lingo then gimme gimme gimme, Beautiful teenage daughter is utterly delightful, hormonal, demanding and of course is detached from financial reality like most teenage types, baby boy is as happy as a pig in sh*t.....for the time being :-). And I am a forty something working mum who try's to keep everybody happy but realises that times are hard and friends are few and wants desperately to get back to the days that I got what I wanted as well....but I guess we give part of that up when we become mums don't we.

I hope you will share with me the times that I get it right and the times that I will no doubt financially fall flat on my ever expanding !!! :-).

Just wanted to add that I'm a straight talking northern lass, sort of says it as it is type...regardless of the fluffy name :rotfl: Bit of a dark sense of humour, think that's down to only working with the male of the species in my job, bit never the less a big heart, especially for my family.

Anyway enough of me, DELILLIAH BUTTERCUP xxx

happycamel_2

Hey, welcome and good luck.

Your description of your family made me smile. I'm 31 with a tech obsessed DH, a 1 year old girl and 3 week old son. Reading your post was like looking in to the future! We have £260k to pay so I'll probably b at £90 odd k when I'm your age.

Anyway, good luck, it's tough but addictive. You'll find all sorts of ways to make and save money. Quidco has worked very well for me, as is the Santander 123 account plus the usual utility fixes etc.

Teaching your kids the value of money is the most important thing you can do for them. It'll make a huge difference to their happiness and quality of life.

Buffett

Hi DELILLIAH, I assume all other debts are already paid off?

Best of luck on your quest - seems very possible to me! Tell your other half to buy his gadgets refurbished or nearly new ... he'll save a fortune! Also, be sure to SELL the stuff he's not using anymore. You'd be amazed how much you can get for old mobile phones, etc. these days. Lots of helpful websites out there that make it easy.

No mean feat to raise a family and become mortgage free - we're all rooting for ya!

*Jellie*

Wellcome to MFW!
I'm also aiming for mortgage free by 50 and will be cheering you along

DELILLIAH_BUTTERCUP

Hi happycamel and Buffett:wave:

Thank you for your warm welcomes. Time goes by ever so quickly happycamel and I can't quite believe that beautiful teenage daughter is coming up to leaving school. She hit me with the "P" word today whilst I was caught un aware and had to admit I physically recoiled in horror.......PROM DRESS!!!!:eek::eek::eek: ARGHHHHH!!!!! Where on earth did that come from, Dear Lord we just had an assembly, sang some hymns and left school!!!! Madam then went on to tell me the who, why were and what about how much this meringue would no doubt cost me....think I felt a bit of sick pop up:(. Gonna put that to the back of my mind for the time being and try and seek out a cheaper alternative....wonder if Primarni do prom gear:D.

Debt free Buffett, no credit cards believe it or not as I was brought up by parents who were past the spring chicken age when I came along so they lived by the rules if you couldnt afford it then you can't have it! Guess I have stuck to those rules somewhat apart from the mortgage, but with my own modern twist :-). Dearest beloved plays the game now with regards to selling his techno techno techno gear, you sell old stuff before you buy more carp:T

And I just make do with what I've got, don't have to wear fancy clothes to work as its a male dominated environment so that wouldn't be in keeping , only thing I spend a wee bit of money on is keeping my grey hair at bay....sadly in the family genes so was never gonna escape that one;)

DELILLIAH BUTTERCUP xxx

kirstypark

Hi Delillah, welcome here, I am in the same age bracket as you, although my kids are a lot older than yours (in their 20s). I remember prom dresses, dont know about primani, but have got a few unusual dresses from Amaz@n that were quite cheap. Plus all the high street stores have sales on now, so good time to buy a posh frock as they will be trying to get rid of christmas party stock.

Anyway good luck with the mortgage free thing - like you, I am aiming for freedom by the time I hit 50!

DELILLIAH_BUTTERCUP

Greetings Jellie and Kirstypark:)

Thanks for dropping by, much appreciated. Seems like we all want to be mortgage free by 50. Still young enough to have fun but old enough not to have too much fun:D. I sort out the finances in our house, though I'm not the one who brings in the bigger wage. I do bring a company car to the table which the man of the house can drive also so as far as I'm concerned that's my offering as well as being chief cook,bottle washer and family peace keeper . I also have absolutely no shame at all in seeking out better deals, be it in shops, over the phone, over the Internet....skin like rhino....my husband must die a million times over when he hears me in action, so when the door goes and the salesman is standing there, guess who he gets:D. But underneath it all I am a big old !!!!! cat, it's just my job that has made me like that :rotfl:

newgirly

Hi, welcome to the mfw boards :wave: have you thought of joining one of the challenges for the new year? There is one called 2013 mfw where you can set a target and update monthly.

I know where you are coming from, its my dd's prom next year and we "prom dress watch" online at least a couple of times a week There are some good ones on ebay you can have made to order quite cheaply. However my neice had a designer one earlier this year and it cost more than my made to measure wedding dress did. :eek:

garlicko

Hi dellilah_buttercup-I am in exactly the same position as you in that I want to be mortgage free by the time I am 50 however I have a DH who is obsessed with designer clothes and new everything (he now wants to buy property to let out as well) and I have a DD who is following in his footsteps and she is due to go to the bal (prom) next year and is already prom dress hunting. I need to think of as many ways to get them to cut back without realising it! Good luck to everyone who has posted on here!

DELILLIAH_BUTTERCUP

hi newgirly :wave:

Thank you for your warm welcome. Yes I have seen the 2013 mfw target and am just getting my head around a truly realistic target. £450 extra per month is doable but when the man of the house hits shutdown mode then he can really pull the money in, so trying to be sensible with targets. Also this year need to spend some dosh on doing the shack up. Our bedroom is desperate for a make over and the carpet is truly appalling , almost cringeworthy , so money will have to be chucked at that. Also after nearly 2 decades of married life I feel the need to finally invest in a dining room table and chairs....shocking I know but hey ho!!!:eek: So the inner miser in me says bah humbug , make do with what you've got but the yummy mummy in me says I can't have a bedroom carpet that looks like someone's died and gone to heaven on it;). compromise is the key me thinks:D

happycamel_2

I was lucky and bought a house with the most luxurious thick white bedroom carpet. I still enjoy walking on it nearly two years later. I'd say don't scrimp on the carpet but see if you can get nice second hand dining furniture. If you ever sell buyers will love a nice carpet, so think of it as an investment!