Striking while the iron is hot.

Muser1

I have been lurking about for a while and love reading the diaries on here and on DFW board. I've decided to take the plunge and write my own..eek.

I havn't got all the up to date facts and figures together. But I'll sort those out this week.

The mortgage is somewhere in the region of 98k. I have a little bit of outstanding debt to clear and I have no savings as such so need to build up an emergency pot as a priority. How much do most people have? I was thinking 1.5k?

I work part time and have 2 mini me's. So don't have masses of spare cash. I'm in for the long haul and hoping little bits here and there make a difference in the long run.

There I have made a start! Super proud of my self. :j

Wish me luck. xxx :money:

Muser1

Sold a load of books on an internet selling site. £13 v happy with that. :money:

Listed old toys on Tbay 5 watchers so far :j

Had a clear out and donated to charity.

Collected some money I was owed £25.00.

All this is going in a diy pot which is up to £115.00 and hopefully a bit higher when the bits I have listed today sell.

I need about £1000 for a house project (forgot to mention that in my last post) should be doable in the 3 months I have left to get it together!

I'm on a roll. :T:T

cod3

Hi Muser

Ooh a new diary! I don't have a diary but enjoy a good nosey around everyone else's.

From reading here, I think most people like to have 3-6 months worth of expenses in an emergency fund. Depends on the individual I guess. At first I struggled with the idea of saving (boring) rather than overpaying (exciting). But the thought of suddenly having no washing machine/car/job is keeping me on the straight and narrow savings-wise. Any bits and bobs I can throw at the mortgage is a bonus.

Best of luck on your MF mission :beer:

Muser1

Thanks COD3. I was really nervous about starting a diary. I'm quite a private person. But I have seen how much it helps others, so giving it a go. I am going to go for 2k I think, we have a fantastic warranty package on our washer, a seperate pot for the car so I think we could manage a couple of months on that.

Had an unexpected windfall yesterday, which never happens! So DIY pot is now £1200! So I can crack on with the 2k emergency pot. Still need to find exact mortgage amount outstanding but it will be a bit of time before I can start on that.

I need to open an ISA to use as the emergency fund account. Will have a look into the best one and get that opened. :money:

Ebay still has a couple of days to go but hopefIully should make about £25 from that which can go in the EFA. Which will be a start!:T

Low cost day today just a cheap morning at a local coffee morning for me and DS. Pegged out and hoovered. Now on here and I might squeeze in a survey. With a brew of course!

Muser xxxx

Thistlewhistle

Hi Muser,

Looking forward to seeing how you get on.
Best of luck,

Thistle

yukkibear

Yay happy new diary, good luck on your journey

Muser1

Thistlewhistle and Yukkibear thankyou for the welcome. I'm hoping this becomes my addiction!

Low spend day today. Bought a couple of birthday presents in the sale. Done 2 loads of washing and managed to let them have a blow outside before the rain set in. So finishing them off on the airer. I would have stuck them in the TD before so that's progress.

Homemade soup and crusty bread for lunch and spag bol for dinner for us all. OH and DD have taken packed lunch and DS will have some concoction from the cupboard.

Muser xx

LisaLou1982

Hi Muser!

Welcome to MFW

Sounds like you are off to a great start!! I have just got back into doing my diary again after coming back to it after forgetting about it for a while. For me, i have found that "account rounding" is a great way of making small OP on the mortgage! i either round to the nearest £1 or £5 on the balance of my current account. Sometimes its only a few pence! But every little helps and i dont miss it! In fact i doubt i would even notice if it went out of my account

Good luck with your journey - im sure you are going to do just great!! If you have any space at home to store bulk buys, i can highly recommend ClearanceXL website for CHEAP buys! I got a bit addicted on my last shop (oops!) but £40 has seen me through since Christmas on a lot of staples and my cellar and freezer are still full!! Hooray!

Lisa xx

Muser1

Thanks Lisa. I will def do the rounding up thing. I've seen a few people do that.

We are currently renovating our house (slowly and cheaply doing all the work ourselves) and a large larder/utility room is top of my list (how sad?) so will look into that site for bulk buys.

Have no real room for storage and or batch cooking at the moment but hopefully this will soon be rectified as I am sure we could save loads!

Thanks again for stopping by. :)

Muser xx

Muser1

Little bit frustatrating at the minute as I need to swap lots of money about to various 'pots' but waiting for cheques to clear in dribs and drabs. It's all there just not in the organised fashion I would like it to be so my head is a bit fuddled!

I have just bought DS his Birthday present in the sale and paid for it with vouchers I have earned. I feel like I'm short changing him a bit doing it this way, which I know is silly. Just funny getting used to doing things a different way. Same result for DS I guess??

Have a great day everyone.

Muser xx

Deestar36

Hi muser1 - a nice new thread to subscribe to for inspiration! Good luck in your journey, I'll be following with interest.

I've also been making small overpayments to the mortgage, save for a DIY project (bathroom renovation) and save in my emergency fund lol, my mind is also a bit fuddled with everything, but as you say, every little helps.

I'll be following your diary with interest, hopefully I'll pluck up the courage to start my own soon!

Deestar
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