The march to financial freedom

millionaire_in_training

My DS is hopefully going to Uni this year after summer. He has 2 conditionals so far and both are asking for a B pass in any subject. So it's really up to him now to make sure he gets it. He has his hert set on moving to Edinburgh which is the opposite side of the country from me and I will worry myself silly for a while but I need to let him go

Ali-OK

I'm sure I'll feel the same MiT if/when DS goes too, though at the moment all I can think of are the positives:

- cheaper food shop
- cheaper elec bills
- tidy house/less housework
- less washing/one less bed to change
- being able to open his bedroom curtains
- getting to sit in the lounge on my sofa :rotfl:

Ali-OK

A proper diary update, finally

The good:
- No Spend Day yesterday
- Work done
- Change bags now up to £27 with £5 of 10p's and £1 of 1p's - all being banked tomorrow
- Lovely catch up with DB of 1.5 hrs on the phone

The costly:
- Town this morning to sort all the March birthdays. 3 vouchers later (x £25 each), cards at £6.38 and bits and bobs in Wilko at £4.25 and I've spent a small fortune :eek:. Still got to order bucket of flowers for Mothers Day (no rush) and will go halves with DB.

Checks:
- bank account checked - use and pay off CC payment goes tomorrow, as does deposit balance for the August holiday
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Nectar - still £29.50
- Inbox Pounds - up at £6.58
- Qmee - still on zero

Got to make a final decision on paying March's mortgage capital payment too - the when and how much. Bit more spreadsheet fiddling needed I think

Skinnylatte

Wow that's a lot of birthday in one go, I hope March is your busiest month birthday wise?

I'm with you on the kids leaving home bit, I just can't wait for the day when I tidy the house and find it still tidy when I walk back in!

And :eek: mothers day, thanks for the reminder, I've just put a reminder in my phone for the week before so I don't forget.

Enjoy your spreadsheet fiddling! (Why does that sound rude :rotfl:)

AlexLK

Ali-OK wrote: »

Finally I'm able to get on here and post - and not just read Seem to be all over the place getting things done, catching up with family and friends, sorting calendars and everything else. 5 mins whilst dinner is cooking now

Lilt - Thanks so much for great info and will definitely do some more research using that site. May PM you to check on figures, but know you've got alot on your plate at the mo. Hope that gets better.

Alex - Thanks on the Uni link and thoughts. Am out of my depth a bit on that stuff but we're seeing his teachers soon and have an Options Evening to attend as well, so a plan should start to fall in place a little more.

Molly - :j So lovely to see you - have you been 'spying' :rotfl: from behind the computer screen . Good to read the path you took and your advice of broad range of subjects and keeping option open. I'm finding it quite daunting at the moment as all the advice out there says work back from Uni but it's not that simple. I do agree with you and Alex that perhaps a History degree rather than such a focused one would be better at that stage. Let's see what transpires.

Everything crossed for OH and the job - sounds very promising and will be a big relief I imagine after such a long haul. Will you carry on your job too?

Back to the kitchen for me - I'll post an update later after writing 9 birthday cards :eek: Getting the March lot sorted

It's worth thinking back to your own experience of applying to go to uni, much of it will still apply today. A good degree from a well recognised and regarded university will serve him well whether he later chooses academia or to enter the corporate world.

He will need to be very seriously passionate about studying a specific area of History to get funding for a PhD, as the subject is not so well funded as so-called "STEM" subjects.

At the moment university is some years away and he may well change his mind about what he would like to study. However, he needs to choose his subjects carefully, focusing on those he is good at and enjoys the most whilst avoiding those well regarded universities frown upon.

millionaire_in_training wrote: »

My DS is hopefully going to Uni this year after summer. He has 2 conditionals so far and both are asking for a B pass in any subject. So it's really up to him now to make sure he gets it. He has his hert set on moving to Edinburgh which is the opposite side of the country from me and I will worry myself silly for a while but I need to let him go

What subject is he going to study?

Ali-OK

Morning Way too early for being up and dressed for half term :eek:

Skinny - Yes, March closely followed by June are the biggest birthday months by a mile, with a smattering in April, May and August. Think Mother's Day is the 15th.

:rotfl: Spreadsheets fiddled with...still undecided on amount. Think I can push it to £880 to bring it down to £121,300.

Alex - Thanks for that useful information, will bear it all in mind.

Heading off to walk the doglets next, so lovely to have the lighter mornings. Then see how productive a day I can have at home

Hope everyone's week starts well.

Ali-OK

Evening Diary,

A few bits to report this evening, mainly the £27 in change bags has been banked - not moved any of it yet to the TT pot.

Also found a local IFA through the unbiased website (thanks Lilty) and have an appointment with him this coming Thursday :j. Immediately it jumped out at him that my Personal Pension probably needs moving due to the commission structures that were outlawed when stakeholder/capped fees came in, so could be a fair saving there and a bigger pot by doing that.

Briefly discussed where I am with everything and he seems to be saying all the right things at this point. Initial meeting free where he sets out what he can do for me and the fees. Excited as this should set me on the right path before I make too many of my own decisions

BTL vs mortgage OPs came up too...all the above plus that means I've held off sending an early March capital payment of any amount for the time being.

Not much else to report, house still looks like it did at 7.25 this morning :eek: got to crack that as DS has a friend coming over Wednesday and we've got family here on Sunday. I'll be late at work tomorrow and am out Thursday night. The week is going to fly by. I actually think I need a cleaner at the moment :eek:

liltdiddylilt

Sounds like excellent advice from the IFA ref your pension. Yes, stakeholders etc are all in 'dirty' share classes now, and as such you pay more on *some* funds. Not all. depending on where your pension is though, there are other places that would definitely be better for it. Avoid A*E*G*O*N at all costs when moving. Their charges, despite the changes are utterly ridiculous. Also bear in mind that in order to move your pension the IFA will charge an initial fee on moving the pot, which they could take as a percentage of the pot. If it suits you better to do it that way then do so, but you are within your rights to ask to pay a fee upfront yourself which will leave your pot intact even if it dents other things briefly.

All in all he sounds like a top IFA, in terms of what he has laid out for you and discussed initially. From my point of view a good pick by you!

As for me being too busy elsewhere woman, mail me, by all means. Even if I can only give you a breakdown of our costs vs. his it might help you set things in your mind. (I am not in any way saying you should come to us btw - just see what is fair... some of our charges are :eek:... mortgages for instance. But others are very standard!)

Fly lady for the house a bit at a time!! xx

Ali-OK

Lilty you marvel :kisses3: .

PPP is currently with the Prud3ntial (and has been since 1991) - I've always worried about the funds it's been in as they're moderate rather than risky and With Profits Funds - bonuses have been 6-7% anually except in a couple of the crash years. So it seems to have done reasonably well, but I know next to nothing And the charges look alot each year. :eek:

Thanks for the pointers on the one to avoid too. I'd prefer to pay his fees upfront as well, rather than out of my pot.

Seem to get on with him really well on the phone, easy to talk to, though I gave him slightly short-shrift on life assurance - already got some at £9.72 a month (since year dot :rotfl:) and doubt that could be bettered given my health record .

He was probably just being nice, but he did say he also agreed that now was a prime time to review and plan given a) close to no debt (I told him I had the £900 left on 0% very proudly :rotfl:) and b) situation with DS age and needs there and c) my 'stage of life'...rocketing towards retirement. Ha! I'm really only mid 40s still...err ok maybe stepping into late 40s next month :rotfl:

I've sort of taken a fly lady approach - little bits here and there, though by time I make progress, another bit has appeared in the original place :rotfl: I am clearly doing too little and not often enough :rotfl: Except when it comes to making a nice cup of tea!

liltdiddylilt

*sips tea* Tea is important! Can definitely be classed as internal housework! I spend all day everyday cleaning, tidying, sweeping, polishing, scrubbing, soaking... and STILL my house is a tip. Sometimes I think it would be wiser to just give in. It can only get SO dirty right? Like hair... it eventually starts self-cleaning so I have heard...

With profits were the very very in thing at around that time, and Prew did rather well in terms of returns over the years; even now they are quite solid. Do you have any idea if you have any guaranteed rates attached to it, or worse any kind of termination penalty? You could have a bonus attached to a surrender too. Some of the bonuses I have seen with them have been £1000's. Regardless I can't remember the last time a pension transfer or new business came through where they have been recommended and see an awful lot of switches out of them.

Easy to talk to is great as for life insurance, it is the most lucrative thing other than PMI. It is still commissionable and unaffected by the changes. It can be up to 30% commission which adds a massive whack onto your premium although they would pretend otherwise good for you, sticking with what you have! I got my life insurance with £150 cashback through a network instead of via work as it was cheaper hahaha!

Keep drinking tea. Ignore the mess, think self cleaning thoughts xx