All I want to be...is Free!

juststuff123

Seriously, I think I need help, I found another regular saver at 5% and got one (Santander). It’s an addiction! I didn’t even bother to wait until I got home, I opened it then and there while I was at work – so unprofessional! My HSBC regular saver matured, I closed it out and opened another straight after. My bonus ISA ended so I took all the money out and closed it down, unfortunately that deal was a one per lifetime deal so I can’t do that again.

I've been working on a few guides to help my friends with their finances, I have a couple of people who want my help so I thought they might be handy reference tools for them. I plagiarised Martin and the YNAB site heavily! Just streamlining them a bit to make them more manageable for people to digest.

I’ve already started thinking about Christmas. Is it too soon? I’ve bought some trinkets and I’ve amassed a large collection of unwanted gifts of the years for re-gifting purposes.

So I’m broken! I just spent 3 days at an Aerial arts and acro workshop in Manchester. 3 days of silks, hoop, stilts, somersaults, contortion and much more. I accidently kicked a pole so fingers crossed I’ve not broken my toe! And I’m covered in bruises and ache all over. Good fun though! And it turns out I’m pretty good on a pair of stilts. All this time I’ve really been a tall person trapped in a short person body!

I bought some new pole / fitness clothes from a friend. She made them for me to my specifications. I can't wait for her to finish them.

10 months to go to target date and still on track:

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017
To pay: Mortgage -£44549/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £4736/£15000 & Student Loan - £2193/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £991
Savings - £40413
Debt Neutrality - -£11967

juststuff123

Howdy MSEers,

Good by May, Hello June - Wow this year is going by so fast.

I’ve had a bit of a palaver with Nwide this month. I’d set up standing orders for the new regular saver so I hadn’t checked last month. There was some problem which meant I went overdrawn then got charge £60 for the privilege – twice! I called them up to find out what’s gone wrong they are reimbursing me £120 but it does mean that £500 didn’t go into my regular saver one month so I won’t get the full benefit of that. Hopefully it’s sorted now.

Other than that it’s been a quiet month financially, no new savings accounts or renewals to investigate. I have 9 months to go to target date and still on track…ish. The bonus from work is still a big unknown and that will probably be the determining factor unfortunately.

I had a friend come over to help with her budgets, she seemed really pleased with my help, she said she had her light bulb moment! So we’ll see how it goes. And I sent my budget spreadsheet to another friend (she didn’t need quite as much help), I know she’s using it though, I get the odd question from her about it. I downloaded the free YNAB trial software I’d been recommending it to friends so I thought I better try it. There are some really good features but my spreadsheets work for me so I’ll be sticking with them.

I’m the director of my block of flats, I haven’t been happy with the recent level of service I’ve been receiving from the flat management company. I had to send a long complaint email to them and hopefully they’ll buck their ideas up a bit. I also contacted another management company to make sure we were getting a good deal and to see if an alternative company might be a better fit. The new company are slightly cheaper but I’m not sure the savings justify all the work I’d have to do to make the change. We are also finally getting new windows in the communal areas they are being fitted later this week. These windows have been on the residents wish list since before I moved in 6yrs ago! So hopefully there won’t be too much complaining. I now have to get the communal areas painted, (something I desperately want done) we don’t have the money at the moment and no one will be happy to have their money spent on basic decoration, however I found a clause in the lease that says it has to be done, so they can moan as much as they like, they’ll have no choice in the matter! I also need to look at the intercom system too. It’s seems to be broken more often than it works these days. I’ll be looking into the costs of replacement. I found a suitable system, but I’m having trouble getting quotes on installation.

I started a new hoop course this month Yippee! And I nailed my nemesis pole move – the Aysha. I’ve been trying to get that one for years! I went to a photo shoot for pole & hoop moves hopefully I’ll get a few nice pics. Oh and my toe is broken

I had a haircut this month, gone shorter and blonder. I don’t think I like it. Hopefully, it ‘ll grow on me?

Anyway, that's it for this month,

As always, my updated stats:

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017
To pay: Mortgage -£44199/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £4588/£15000 & Student Loan - £2093/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £1054
Savings - £41258
Debt Neutrality - -£10677

juststuff123

Hello MSEers, I’m gonna keep it short this month, no mention of you know what or I’ll start panicking again!

It’s been a quiet month money wise in June. No new bank accounts opened or services to be re-quoted for. (Car insurance to be reviewed in July).

I recently counted my £2 collection; I had £378 so I decided it was close enough. I’ve booked it! On the 17th August at 3pm I shall be flying through the air on the top of a plane – Yes Wing Walking!!

I had the bi-annual residents meeting – the 2 difficult ones didn’t show up so it was very calm and no complaints about my plan to paint the communal areas. But we been having to shell out quite a bit for assorted general repairs so I’m worried we won’t have enough money left in the kitty to get it done next year.

My great Aunt died a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to the funeral on Monday. She was always my favourite so it’s sad but her mind had been completely gone for years as had her body so I think in the end it was for the best.

My debt neutrality goal is getting closer I've just dipped under the £10,000 to go mark. I'm on the final stretch!

My Signature:

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017
To pay: Mortgage -£43940/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £4440/£15000 & Student Loan - £1992/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £1414
Savings - £42193
Debt Neutrality - -£9594

juststuff123

Hello Hello MSE'ers

I've been pretty busy this month:

I gave blood at the beginning of the month, but since then it turns out I’m low in a few bits and pieces so apart from having to take tablets and injections to top me up, I’ll have to give the blood donation up for a while. Which is a shame because really it’s the only nice thing I do for other people.

On the social front, I went to the cinema with Mum, my aunt and cousin. We saw Star Trek and I can recommend it. I had Sunday lunch with a couple of other Aunts and Uncles so I think that’s my family obligations fulfilled for a while! And I started another Hoop course this week so today I’m quite achy.

I’ve had quite a spendy month this month, amazon prime day meant that I did quite a bit of Christmas shopping and I got a couple of treats for myself including, a new sat nav (ex-display model so I got £80 discount!), an amazon TV fire stick & the Big bang theory Lego set because why not? These things really hold their value so when I get bored of it I can eBay it and get my money back.

I sorted my car insurance, I stayed with the same insurer as last year but cancelled then took out a new policy to get the better rate and qualify for £55 cashback. The policy came with breakdown but it was too basic for what I wanted so I’ve renewed that too. £26 for the year because I found one with 20% cashback that includes home start. I had £80 cashed out from Quidco, £20 from TCB & £30 from Medicash

My salary pay rise for this year has been confirmed so that’s an extra £90 a month in my pocket and my bonus for this year was confirmed. It’s not the best but its more than I was expecting and it means that my Feb target date is easily achievable, even Jan seems well within my grasp. I don’t think December will be achievable but I think I should make that my target date to keep me focused. Wow that’s only 5 months away!

I really need to start planning what I’m going to do next!?!

See you all next month!

My Updated Stats:
MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017 Dec 2016
To pay: Mortgage -£43682/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £4144/£15000 & Student Loan - £1699/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £1542
Savings - £43264
Debt Neutrality - -£7951

zcrat41

I've really enjoyed reading your diary - you've done so well and not long to go now!

SuperSecretSquirrel

That debt neutral number is dropping at a fair old pace juststuff - well done!

What do you plan on doing next?

PennyJar

Hi juststuff,

Wow your on the final stretch, lovely - when you hit debt neutral with your savings when will you pay it all off. Or will you keep the interest rolling in...

PennyJar

juststuff123

Thanks Squirrel & Penny, I really don’t know! I’ve been concentrating for so long on my goal I don’t really know what to do next. I think short term I’ll save / pay down the debts so that in 2 yrs I’ll have all my debts inc. mortgage paid off plus a nice savings cushion. Rather than hit neutral and wipe out my savings.:eek:

I decided to do this post from work so I can use emoticons again!:T

Well what an actioned packed month!!? And Sorry this is a long one..

The observant of you will notice from my signature that I’m now mortgage neutral and hopefully by the end of December I’ll be entirely debt neutral. Looking back, I found a post from 2yrs ago, showing £46080 to my goal now its £5435 I can’t believe that’s £40k in 2yrs. :dance:

I went wing walking! It was great I can recommend it. The BBC were there doing a piece on another flyer so I was on TV (for a couple of seconds flying across the sky/screen) The weather was so nice we stayed all afternoon and had a picnic.

My Dad finally got to go on his microlight flight, it had been rescheduled several times due to the weather.

My sister is going away (travelling) for the next 8 months so we had Christmas earlier this month, we had Christmas music (Michael Buble), a roast, crackers, mince pies and Christmas pudding + a pot plant draped in tinsel. :rudolf:

I keep looking on right move. I don’t think much of the houses in my next price range so I look further up the chain, then my miserly side kicks in. “I don’t really need that extra room, I’d never use the garden etc.” so then I whittle down my requirements and end up back at my current little flat! :doh:. I think for now I'll stay put.

So the Santander interest drop has thrown me for a loop! I had a bit of a panic, _pale_ I looked into BTL mortgages before I realised buying another property might be a bit of an extreme reaction! :eek:With all my other bank accounts full, 1.5% is better than nothing which is what I’d get somewhere else (well less than 1.5% because my cashback doesn’t cover the fee). :mad:The original plan was to max out the account but now I’ll keep a fairly modest amount in there and shovel any excess into the mortgage instead. I expect this is just the first of many rate drops. So I’ll have to see which ones will still be worthwhile keeping when they come due.:(

I had my letter from TSB, my mortgage rate has dropped to 2.25%. They told me my monthly payments would drop to £240 per month. This was far more than I expected because they took my overpayments into account. So the actual required repayment has dropped by £60 per month. I’ve called them and re-instated my original mortgage payment amount of £350 per month. So I’m overpaying by £110pm rather than £50pm :T

Well I plucked up the courage to apply for a couple of jobs. I put my CV out there to see what happens. I got a call the same day from a recruitment agency. And I felt so nervous I thought I was going to be sick! _pale_ I just don’t know what to do. My current job is safe, there is very little pressure from the top brass, the pay is good enough and I’ve been there for almost 12 years! :eek: It’s scary to think what could be out there! Especially since the jobs I’m qualified for are in Purchasing which has never been something I really want to do. I just don’t know what I want to do, whatever I did though I would have to start at the bottom of the pile again on a poor salary. Argh!!! :mad:



I don't want to finish on a low so, have a happy September everyone and well done if you got to the bottom of this post!:T

My Updated Signature:

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017 Dec 2016
To pay: Mortgage -£43423/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £4144/£15000 & Student Loan - £1585/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £1955
Savings - £45673
Debt Neutrality - -£5435

juststuff123

Hello MSE'ers:hello:

Last month I mentioned I was now mortgage neutral. I thought I would have had a psychological boost from the feat but I haven’t. :huh: I hope I get that feeling in December when I’m entirely neutral but I have a feeling I won’t. I have half an eye on the next challenge already. I think to feel safe I need to have no mortgage / debt plus a pile of savings. I just don’t know how much I’ll need to get me to my safe place. My original challenge was to me debt neutral by Dec 18. I should complete this challenge two yrs early so now I need a new challenge. I’ll have to have a proper think. I don’t think the face that I’ve been feeling really stressed out at work has helped. I had several days off ‘sick’ this month but the real reason is stress/depression.:(

We got the final annual financial info for the company this month. This is the figure used to calculate our bonus. It was better than I originally thought. We usually get the final 20% of our bonus in December but I’m expecting this to be more than I originally budgeted so my December debt free date looks completely achievable now. However I’m airing on the side of caution and not amending my spreadsheets tyo take this extra money into account 1. To keep me motivated and 2. In case I’ve completely mis-understood the figures and I’m not getting any extra bonus after all.;)

My TSB regular saver has come to an end. They’ve dropped their rate from 5% to 2% :mad: so there isn’t much point opening a new one. I haven’t decided whether to overpay the mortgage by £250 per month, use the money to top up the Santander account or give peer-to-peer lending a whirl?

This month I had the Dentist & I made my first visit to a chiropractor to sort out my Wrists. £42 for the consultation & £38 x 3 for the treatments so far plus £44 for the sports massage. :eek: Lucky I could claim the money back up to £150. I’ve already submitted the claims and the money has been refunded to me. :cool: The chiropractor recommended rest so no Pole in September (so that paid for the wrist braces, ice packs and voltorol I had to get!) I’ve also had to give up yoga, hoop and body balance for a while until my wrists heal. I was supposed to give up Pilates too. But sitting at a desk all day really does my back in and the Pilates helps so I’ve had to be really careful and not do any arm stuff. Hand stand preparation was interesting!

:j I went to the Black country museum for a day out this month. (Using Tesco clubcard vouchers) I went with a friend and her husband, it was really nice to do something different. I should get out and about more often to visit places. But it’s tricky when you’re alone especially when nearly all your friends are always skint. A friend (married with a child) went off to Italy for a long weekend this month. She said she didn’t have time to do everything she wanted and was planning a re-visit next year. She asked if I fancied joining her and I said yes?! :eek::T I’m not sure how that will fit with my new challenge or even if it will pan out but we’ll see.

Well I was doing so well this month, I’d managed to spend well under budget, then the MOT & service came due! New Battery, Brake Disks and Pads, 2 new tyres and a headlight bulb and £550 lighter!:mad: Grrr :mad:I hadn’t budgeted to spend that much so it’s really hit the bottom line and affected my December completion date. I’m really gonna have to tighten the belt in October. Which might be tricky as I have a couple of visits planned.

Well I think this post is quite long enough. Well done if you made it to the end.:beer:
As usual here is my updated signature:

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017 Dec 2016
To pay: Mortgage -£43163/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £3996/£15000 & Student Loan - £1470/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £2960
Savings - £47104
Debt Neutrality - -£4477

juststuff123

Bye Bye October,:wave:


I’m so close, these last few months are dragging so bad! Right now I feel like the clocks are moving backwards or I’m wading through treacle! Not helped by the fact that my thought processes seem to have changed a bit, as I get closer to the finish line I’m starting to get more careless as seen below.:mad:


Well I went to watch Miss MPD 2016 (a pole dance comp) this month, a friend was competing. It was a good show and a long day, and I spent rather a lot on ‘accessories’ approx. £60 + food.


I’ve finished my Christmas shopping! I had a couple of secret santas to buy for, now I know who they are, that’s been sorted (good old eBay). And Dad is done! I got him a helicopter flying lesson, RRP £200 but with sales, coupons and cashback it’ll actually cost £75. :T His Birthday is in November, since the gift I got him came in under budget (was going to be a birthday / xmas combo present. So, I thought I’d get him some craft beer too.:beer:


Winter’s coming, I’m not ready to put the heating on yet but I did order a new pair of microwavable slippers and a new blanket. My epilator gave up the ghost this month, it lasted a good 7 or 8 yrs. I had been saving my Boots Advantage points for the occasion but once I did the research and decided on a replacement, Boots were charging £100 and Amazon wanted £38 so no brainer and I get to spend my Boots points another day.;)


I went to visit a friend in Cardiff, she just had a baby so I got to meet him. I was told he’s usually such a happy chatty baby but he didn’t seem to like me much; all my hugs were met with tears. :grouphug: He seemed to be constantly hungry so maybe he could tell my boobs were purely decorative whereas ‘mums’ were practical! Ah well never mind. My friend sent me pictures of him happy and playing with the presents I got him after I was gone!


I went to Cirencester with my mum for a potter about the shops, spent a little bit too much. Oops! :doh:I bought some earrings for me (under £20), lunch for me and mum, some birthday cards “for the box” and a little bronze figurine that I can either sell to my sister to give to my Mum for Christmas or I’ll keep it to give to my mum at a later date.
I’ve spent quite some time this month trying to decide how to proceed with the fact that all my accounts interest rates are dropping. I calculate all these drops will cost me £500 per annum. :eek: Saving on interest from the mortgage drop = £120. Therefore, the interest rate drop for me was not so good. :doh: I’ve not renewed the TSB regular Saver, and when the time comes I won’t be renewing the Santander regular saver. In January, I’ll might be ditching the Lloyds club current account (well I’ll be keeping it for the regular saver but taking the cash out and moving it elsewhere) I’ll also move the new excess from the TSB current accounts in Jan when the rates drop perhaps to some sort of P2P site. But I keep changing my mind. Well let’s just see what happens. At this rate, I’ll be buying a safe as the banks will be charging us to keep our money!:mad::(


My Lloyds monthly saver matured this month, so I’ve moved the money to Santander for the time being and opened a new one! I’ve also opened a BOS vantage account for £5000 @ 3%, I’ve not funded it properly yet, I need to set up 2 DD’s for it.


You may be aware I’m the director of the residents of the flats where I live. So I pretty much get to do what I like. My next project is to give the blocks of flats a face lift. I’ve been getting quotes and looking at cladding options. I just hope I can pull it off. I think it will add value to all our flats. The last meeting went pretty well, only 3 people turned up so I didn’t get any dissention. I wanted to check if the lighting changes I made last year reduced our electricity usage significantly. But as I was examining the figures I noticed the management company had paid a bill twice, good job I was paying attention. Anyway I can’t tell if the changes were effective due to this and some estimated bills. I’ll keep an eye out though.



Well done if you got to the end of this.

As usual my updated stas are below

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018 Feb 2017 Dec 2016
To pay: Mortgage -£42884/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
To pay: Parent Loan £3848/£15000 & Student Loan - £1356/£9479
To pay: Credit Cards (Stoozing) - £3117
Savings - £48052
Debt Neutrality - -£3154