Sundaysgirl's MFW journey - better late than never!

hiddenshadow

Woo! £20k OP in a year is outstanding.

Definitely set some 2016 goals, you're on a roll!

Sundaysgirl

Thank you - I'm very happy!

My goal for 2016 is simple - pay off the mortgage.


This would require OPs of ~£29k assuming no base rate rises. So would be a real stretch, and would probably require dipping into the savings for a few k which I'm reluctant to do as it is mostly tax sheltered.

There's also the minor point that we may, all being well, massively upsize our mortgage next year! So I really just want to reduce as much as possible to get into the best position for that next stage.

I'm therefore setting a target of £24,000, which will be a challenge but is doable provided I get my annual bonus and pay rise stays at the usual levels. We have no "big" holidays planned for next year, and the holidays we do have planned are mainly paid for already - so that will save a good bit.

My mini goal is to OP £30 per month from "bonuses" - eB*y sales, grocery savings, surveys, cash back...

hiddenshadow

Sounds like a good target! Paying off the mortgage (even if you end up with another thanks to upgrade) sounds fantastic.

Like the idea of £1/day of "found" money - will have to ponder that one myself...

Sundaysgirl

Ooh I hadn't thought of it as £1 per day - makes it seem even more achievable!

hiddenshadow

Sundaysgirl wrote: »

Ooh I hadn't thought of it as £1 per day - makes it seem even more achievable!

It just popped into my head when you said £30/mo. Sounds nice and purposeful/regular, too - MFW equivalent of an apple a day.

Sundaysgirl

I'm saving 20p p/d interest since the OP!

£44.32 grocery spends this weekend so up to £98.78 for the month - £16.22 under budget.

I realised that I have some "extra" income next year to factor in - ~£85 p/m saved from not buying extra leave days like I did this year, plus Feb and March are "free" council tax months so that will be a saving of £81 for me each month. So ~£1,182.

Leaving me £4,294 to find on top of my planned £2k p/m OPs...

I need to switch banks in the new year so that should help towards my target a little, any recommendations welcome!

Off on hols tomorrow so I will bid you all a Merry Christmas and see you in 2016!

hiddenshadow

Have a nice holiday!

Sundaysgirl

Thanks hiddenshadow, had the most amazing time and now I'm back and raring to get cracking on my MF aims! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

My holiday was unintentionally frugal, cost of living was so low that my excess spending money will more than cover the trip I have planned for the end of next month - hopefully enabling me to OP even more then. For now I have transferred £250 to my ISA as I want to bolster that ahead of a potential move.

We had a few offers on our home - rejected as too low, but at least it's some positive movement.

I had a few cashback payouts while I was away, and the airline has finally made a partial refund (still about £800 to come), so I have OP'd £132.16 today.

Other happy news is that I was accepted to Consumer Pulse, so hoping to earn vouchers from that and then OP the cash saved by using those. It won't be much but it all adds up!

My mini goals for the rest of the month are:

1. Mortgage to sub-£35k - OP £2,171.44 - £132.16/£2,171.44
2. eBay sales of £10 - £0/£10
3. Grocery budget £75 - £0/£75
4. Cashback payouts of £10 - £0/£10
5. Switch current account

Sundaysgirl

My mortgage is now sub-£37k! Daily interest is down to £2.52.

OP of £3.42 just made thanks to the "profit" on my 123 a/c - I'll be switching it this month as the higher fee makes it no longer worthwhile.

Thanks to a hellish commute every day since I started back at work this week I should have a but of extra cash from season ticket refunds over the coming weeks - only about £8 but it all helps.

1. Mortgage to sub-£35k - OP £2,171.44 - £135.58/£2,171.44
2. eBay sales of £10 - £0/£10
3. Grocery budget £75 - £0/£75
4. Cashback payouts of £10 - £0/£10
5. Switch current account

hiddenshadow

Sundaysgirl wrote: »

My mortgage is now sub-£37k! Daily interest is down to £2.52.

:T Very nice!

I made a mistake switching our 123 - meant to switch last month but that got delayed, so then I opted to downgrade the account to a non-fee one to avoid the £5/mo. Should have waited until January turned over, though, as we missed out on the direct debit cashback - usually only £1-2, but every bit helps. Ah well, at least we won't pay the £5 fee for January either.