Diary of a home owner wannabe (my 6 year journey)

gallygirl

pennyforthepot wrote: »

I have received 3 sets of money off vouchers for various supermarkets over the last few weeks - totalling £51 so today I'm going to draw up a shopping list and do a supermarket price comparison to see how best to spend the vouchers. Being MS is very time consuming - I remember the day when I used to throw the vouchers away and shop without any thought - gone are those days now.

I have a couple of MS projects that I need to look into over the next month. One is selling and replacing the cars that we have. I have a lease/hire contract on my mini which is due up next month. I can either give the mini back in return for another one (not an option for us), get them to buy the mini off me (depends on the price they offer), pay £4,000 - final payment on the finance deal (bought before my MS days when the shocking 21% APR meant nothing to me :eek:) and sell it privately, or keep it. We also have a jeep which is just over 6 years old and is very high maintenance and expensive to run. I own it outright but think we should part ex it for a cheaper family car. Lots of research required before I make a decision.

The other project is to look at the way I am saving my money. I want to make sure I am getting the best return for the money and I need to research buy to lets. I think you have to be so careful when investing in a property. Market prices are rising at the moment and the area that you buy is very important. There are also so many hidden costs that I think a lot of people don't take account of. As we want to buy in London in 6 years I have to take account of the rapid price rises there which may far outstrip the interest I am currently earning on my investments. As I can't get a mortgage as I have a zero monthly salary I couldn't afford a buy to let in London currently. It is a quandary that I must deal with and much research is required. I am thinking of going to see a IFA but even that needs some research.

My final project is to look into a private pension. At the ripe old age of [STRIKE]46[/STRIKE] (45 - cant believe I got my age wrong :eek:)my pension currently stands at £3,500 when I opted out of SERPS. As I haven't worked for so many years I need to think carefully about how to provide for those latter years of my life and DH's too as he has no idea as to how much he has as he has moved jobs so many times. (just remembered need to sort out a will too).

So I have lots to think about over the next few months - but then I do like a good research project - spreadsheets galore :rotfl:

Sometimes the good old head in the sand sounds like an attractive option :cool:. At least you're thinking about it all, which is the first step (apart from setting up spreadsheets of course )

Your meal plan sounds lovely, especially tonight's, what time do you want me round .

pennyforthepot

gallygirl wrote: »

Sometimes the good old head in the sand sounds like an attractive option :cool:. At least you're thinking about it all, which is the first step (apart from setting up spreadsheets of course )

Your meal plan sounds lovely, especially tonight's, what time do you want me round .

:rotfl: my door is always open to MSWs - however, if you can't make it I'll report back - never made it before so it could be awful - though its a Delia recipe so should be good

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

Just about to do my supermarket comparison - and I have to confess I'm sitting in bed to do it in the hope that I may doze off for an hour

Great yellow sticker bargains in Mr T today £50 worth of food for £30. I have a penchant for stocking up on ground coffee and got to big bags half price today - I now have enough of a supply to last us until next May. I must stop buying it as a) I have no more room and b) if I'm not careful it will be out of date :eek: I'm going to try popping in everyday next week to see if it makes my weekly shop cheaper.

SPENDS TODAY:

£30 - tesco (about £10 of which will be offset against future months food budget - ie I have £90 offset against next month which means I will have £310 left to spend rather than £400.

MONEY IN:

Officially £0 as I don't include discounts on food, only money off vouchers, but if I have money left over from my food budget at the end of the month I will add this and move it to my house fund

Off to do my supermarket comparison (honestly) zzzzz

PFTPx

edinburgher

Being MS is very time consuming

It gets faster (and easier)

My very humble opinion (for what little it may be worth) is that, while London price increases might be a dead cert, becoming a landlord for a short period (i.e. 5 years or so), sounds like a total PITA. You'd essentially be taking a leveraged bet on capital increases with a highly illiquid asset. In addition to that, rates on BTL mortgages appear to be significantly higher than conventional mortgages (although that probably won't apply in your case, as you don't want/can't get? a mortgage?

In an environment where house prices are rising faster than savings and investments, surely the only real way to succeed is to save more, by hook or crook?

As you've seen yourself with comments on cars etc., there's still plenty of fat to trim

pennyforthepot

edinburgher wrote: »

It gets faster (and easier)

My very humble opinion (for what little it may be worth) is that, while London price increases might be a dead cert, becoming a landlord for a short period (i.e. 5 years or so), sounds like a total PITA. You'd essentially be taking a leveraged bet on capital increases with a highly illiquid asset. In addition to that, rates on BTL mortgages appear to be significantly higher than conventional mortgages (although that probably won't apply in your case, as you don't want/can't get? a mortgage?

In an environment where house prices are rising faster than savings and investments, surely the only real way to succeed is to save more, by hook or crook?

As you've seen yourself with comments on cars etc., there's still plenty of fat to trim

Thanks Edinburgher I appreciate your input - well what I could understand of it :rotfl: what's PITA (not a bread I take it!) - seriously though I do agree with what you're saying and on a short term basis I think BTL is a no go for me. I will do some research into it though as perhaps that is an option as a pension investment.

BTW - I'm wending my way through your diary at the moment - think I'm at October 2012 at the moment - I wish my DH was a little like you in his attitude

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

gallygirl wrote: »

Your meal plan sounds lovely, especially tonight's, what time do you want me round .

Hey gallygirl - I set an extra dinner place for you last night shame you couldn't make it, the sausage and puy lentil casserole was an absolute hit - delicious. Good job you couldn't make it as the pot was bare by the end of the meal :rotfl:

If you want the recipe search for Delia sausage and puy lentil. I added some new pots to it and used ready to eat puy lentils as I could find any others.

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

A day of housework for me I think. Not done any since we arrived and the new carpets are bringing up so many fibers that the whole house is full of dust.

TO DO LIST:

• [STRIKE]washing[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]ironing[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]sort out cupboard under sink[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]vacuuming[/STRIKE] seem to have half the carpet in the vacuum
• dusting
• freezer inventory
• [STRIKE]Mr T[/STRIKE] lots of half price bargains
• research family cars that have a low running cost
• budget accounts
• [STRIKE]make cottage pie for tea[/STRIKE]decided to make it hotpot style with sliced pots. Added some red lentils to bulk it out - see if anyone notices
• batch cook base mince

PFTP x

megela

pennyforthepot wrote: »

what's PITA (not a bread I take it!)

Pain In The .....!!!

pennyforthepot

megela wrote: »

Pain In The .....!!!

:rotfl: thank you

PFTP x

iquit

How I imagine your day has been so far!