Life begins at.... some time before 70?!

getting-sorted-sarah

Hello everyone!

Sorry this is long! I'm a long time serial poster and challenge-er - had my DFW lightbulb moment in 2007 and have since paid off about £15k in debt - many have done much more but this has been an achievement for me as a single mum with a not very well paid job!

Over the years, in pursuit of being debt free, I have variously been obsessed with OS meal planning, surveys and clicking, and (briefly) comping.

I still have debt, but things are manageable now. I have to admit, when I was in the depths of my debt and related despair, being a MFW seemed like a frivolous thing, comparing with clawing one's way out of debt. If I was fortunate to have the security of owning my own home, I thought, I wouldn't be whinging about paying it off early!!

I have realised that a mortgage is just another debt, and paying it early is about getting the best deal - I am all about that!

I feel like this year I have turned a huge corner - first of all in January I got accepted for an interest free credit card and that was a revelation because it meant my credit rating had improved (yay!) and that I could pay off more debt with savings from interest payments. THEN, in April I became aware of shared purchase, found a little newly built dolls house - and today I received my mortgage offer! I am buying 40% of a 3 bed end terrace for me and my daughter and son.

I have yet to move, or even get a completion date, but I am determined to over pay, at the same time as enthusiastically paying the remainder of my additional debt. My mortgage is 26 years, so I will have just turned 70 when it is completed(!) if I don't take action!

If anyone will come along with me for the ride, I will be thrilled. I really value the advice and support of this forum! That is plenty for today - tomorrow comes the figures and aspirations!

Habibiboo

:wave:

That's so exciting! Well done with dealing with the debts and good luck with it all, including the move!

Look forward to hearing more soon.

getting-sorted-sarah

:wave: Hi Habibiboo! Thanks everyone for reading.

So, my goal is to pay the mortgage off early - I am not completely sure of my outgoings yet so it is difficult to be specific, but hey, lack of solid facts has never stopped me speculating before! I would like to knock the 26 years down by about half. Plenty could change over this period, my children may not live with me anymore, and my salary may increase (PLEASE!) as well as the less fun things that life can throw across your path like redundancy and illness. There is also the possibility of staircasing to consider (buying a larger share of my home).

A long journey lies ahead, and this diary, and hopefully good company and some shared tips along the way, will be key to keeping me on track.

Things I will continue or start to do, in the furtherment of the debt free, mortgage free, but not fun free, mission:
1. Meal plan - I know it makes sense, but need to be diciplined! Living somewhere with no shops and no pizza delivery will help
2. Increase income - every month I will have a little extra, whether through surveys, peeBaying, extra work or whatever.
3. Maximise coupons and vouchers to get fun things for free/cheap
4. Read other MFW diaries for inspiration and camaraderie
5. Make my money work for me, make sure I am paying off the most expensive debts first, and shopping around for credit deals

Tasks for this weekend:
Get quotes for carpets for new house
Get quotes for removal costs
Find things to sell whilst packing and clearing out
Eat from store cupboard/freezer
Meal out tonight with friends - I will provide T-co vouchers and they can pay for the drinks:T

Hope everyone is having a lovely sunny Friday! x

Alchemilla

Huge good luck and welcome to MFW.

littlegreenpeas

Welcome I'm sure you will do it
Lgp

getting-sorted-sarah

Thanks for the welcome and encouraging words!

Well, another beautiful day! Last night's frugal meal out included more bubbles than planned, so cost more than planned, and I have a headache this morning - but I am not going to feel bad about any of this as it was so lovely to see friends and celebrate my birthday and the impending move! One MSE thing that came out of it was a plan to do a car boot sale - must do this

I have removal people coming to quote this morning. Managed to get teen DS to pack some of his books last night, more whip cracking today.
He has mock exams in the next couple of weeks so need to manage revision and packing and make sure they aren't each used as excuses for not doing the other!

Mortgage loan £68,345
Loan from parents £5,000
Credit card 0% £542

Bank have offered me an interest free for purchases card, which I think I will take them up on as there will be several large purchase - carpets being the main one! Also dishwasher, sofa (old one only fit for dump) and a desk for DS - he is getting a much smaller bedroom so I have promised him efficient storage space. So the debt will bump up initially.

Better go and look for things for car booting!

getting-sorted-sarah

Wow, I have been reading some other diaries in earnest over the last couple of days - still half way through Tilly's! I am feeling a mixture of enthusiasm, excitement and overwhelmment (that isn't a word but I can't think of the right one, due to my total overwhelmment...). People who are paying off hundreds of thousands, a thousand a week.... this isn't going to be me, and I need to focus on what I can do to improve life for my family, and not not get caught up in what I can't do and don't have! It is inspirinng to read about others though!

Ex OH and I owned our own place in the 90s but sold it and moved into rented *temporarily*, meanwhile the housing market went Boom and we couldn't afford to buy again, and then we split up (I'm summarising a lot here...) and the last ten years have pretty much been about paying off the debt caused by one or both of us not working, the misery of a relationship ending, and all the little presents bought to cheer ourselves up (what difference will a take-away make, I'm in debt anyway!). It is a lot more complicated than that of course, but this site helped me realise that the pennies need to be watched as much as the pounds.

Buying a home (even a part of a home ) is about security and being in control, for me. I hated that while renting we had to move at the whim of a landlord who may decide to sell the house, or move back into it, this happened to us, and for various reasons I moved, with my DD and DS, 8 times in 10 years. The distruption of that, not to mention the cost, takes it's toll. Ahah, this is not mean to be a sob story, just I am thinking about why this is so important to me. Banks have had enough of my money (kicking me whilst I was down) and so I want to make sure that the mortgage benefits me more than them!

So, the mortgage is for £68345, but apparently I will pay nearly £120,000 on the current payment plan, and with the interest rates staying the same, which of course they won't. So £120k is probably the minimum if I only make the regular payments! The mortgage paper work says I can only make capital repayments of £500 or more at a time, and i have to tell them if I want to do this, or otherwise payments just sit alongside my account, don't affect the mortgage, and gain no interest - the money would be better off in my savings account then? I am disappointed not to be able to make small payments, I huess I just pay the small amounts into an account until there is £500. Does anyone else have experience of this sort of mortgage?

In the meantime, I have identified a whole load of other things I need to buy including a new microwave and a rabbit hutch, Hey ho.

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and not indoors with a calculator like me!

gallygirl

Good luck with your move :T. Sorry I can't advise on mortgage but if you treat each £500 as a mini-target you'll be amazed at how quickly you reach it. For example - use a £1 off coupon, transfer over £1 to savings :j, plus Tilly Tidies etc. Plus, moving to a new house it will be energy efficient so you'll save on bills :beer:.

Oh, and overwhelment is now a word if you want it to be - bargainous is not a word but is frequently used on here . And, unbelievably, Tilly Tidies are not in the dictionary either :eek:.

getting-sorted-sarah

Thanks GG and hello! :hello: I'm half way through your diary too!

You're right, mini goals will work well. I have just moved the monthly spends commision from my 123 account (£4.89) and then Tilly Tidied a further 67p - into a spare (empteeeeeeee) savings account. I heard it splash when it hit the bottom! But I have got started!

Removal quote came in at £550 including bed assembly (oh, the luxury)

Meal planned for the week, just need some more salad
Baked muffins for packed lunches
Didn't drink wine, second night running
Bought tickets for OH's birthday treat next weekend with Tezzco deals

Bit more reading and then bed, night all!

PS It is surely only a matter of time before Tilly Tidy makes it into the Oxford Concise?

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Morning, congratulations for reading some of my diary. That problem with insomnia will soon be fixed :rotfl:

Hope the Tilly Tidies work

I completely understand the desire to buy a home. Knowing that you are controlling your destiny rather than someone else is a comfort.

Once you've done the big stuff - insurance scrubbing etc then we need extra avenues for £. I only think about how to increase disposable income - interest on savings, meal planning, larder inventory, S&S, PC, CP - surveys, coupons, list is endless but anything which puts money into the pot to save or OP.

Tilly Tidies just give another avenue, albeit small, to keep the momentum going

Huge good luck with your plans.

Best wishes Tilly x

gallygirl

getting-sorted-sarah wrote: »

I have just moved the monthly spends commision from my 123 account (£4.89) and then Tilly Tidied a further 67p - into a spare (empteeeeeeee) savings account. I heard it splash when it hit the bottom!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: