New House, New Mortgage!

kirstypark

Hello, just popping in after you visited my diary, your's makes good reading! As a nurse too, I feel your pain relating to fees - they are such a rip off, I left the NHS 3 years ago too and the job security thing is scary.

jodles16

Thanks for popping in! It is scary but money wise and for me, stress wise it was worth it for now anyways! I dread to think how much the fee will go up next year as well, rip off!!

I have been reading Mister Money Mustache's (MMM) blog, I'm very out of touch as it started in 2011! I like some of his ideas but do wonder how translatable it is to my life...instead I am taking inspiration from things that I like and ignoring the other stuff! I think the main thing I have taken from it is that working to earn and needing to earn can be stressful and that perhaps I could work towards MFW freedom and that would open up work options such as part time or even enjoying work as I don't have to do it!! Oh and that I should take better care of my health (note my weightloss so far, there is a heck of a lot more to go to get into an even vaguely healthy zone!!).

My personal motto this week is: Its not how much wealth you have, it's what you do with it!

Jodles

jodles16

Reading different blogs about money has made me think about how long money has been important to me and how long I have spent managing it in one way or another. I think I first realised how important money was when I went to uni to study nursing, I got a bursary which almost covered the cost of the monthly rent so I worked on the Nurse Bank as a health care to boost my money. I did full time placements and then at least one extra shift a week, more in holidays. I had my first car that my dad bought me and had to pay the upkeep as well as my bills. I was still frivelous in a way, boozing it up, but my only debt was my overdraft.

Once I left Uni I had my first full time job as a nurse, this paid me £20k a year and advanced slighly at 6months then one year, I was so impressed, in this time my hubby bought my old car from me (everyone said don't mix business with pleasure...bizarre, as it worked perfectly for us!) and I bought a 6month old economic car, which I still own. It is very economic (something like 60mpg I think), it £20 a year road tax and its green (in colour and design)! My dad loaned me the money and I paid 9k off in about a year.

I then started saving for my house deposit, hubby was earning minimum wage working at a dog rescue so saved what he could and I saved as much as I could. Two years after qualifying between me and hubby we had £12000 saved and got a mortgage guarantee for £120k. We bought our first house which was £120k but we were gifted 5% so only had to physically put down 6k of our deposit. The other money went on a new kitchen, furniture and savings.

During our three years at this home we rescued our two furbabies and began to realise that this house was just not for us. We got married for about 6k in this time then, 10months later went on our honeymoon to Mexico which was incredible (cost 3.5k but used wedding money to help and it payed for our spends)! We then put our house on the market with some small savings that would mean we could scrape by! We had a 0% credit card that we spent £1500 on, though I couldnt actually tell you what that was for! We still have £650 left, but its still 0% as we tart it when needed!

In that time we had two sales fall through, one was quite advanced and after two months it was realised our buyers hadn't actually been given a mortgage so it all went belly up and they couldn't get one. At this time we had advanced on the purchase of our dream home (in our price range). There was a real risk it was all going to fall though though luckily the lady we were buying from gave us another month to find new buyers. This is when my Dad and Step mum decided to buy our house to rent out (they were planning on doing this within the next year but brought it forward to save us!). With that all in place we sold the house for £118000. This gave us the 5% deposit for dream house and we had enough money left for all the fees including stamp duty and to pay £400 for removal men to move most of our junk! Finally after starting the purchase in April 2014 we moved in on the 1st September 2014!

This brings me to now, hubby has had pay rises and I had a new job which I was almost made redundant from recently, though luckily I am now safe! This means we are working at saving for the house and holidays as well as overpaying the mortgage! I realised that I have always been money aware, and that I am now finely tuning my skills with money to make the most from it when I can! My plan to have another 5% by July 2016 is on track and this will all help with the long term plans!

Phew, that was an essay and a half!

Thanks to anyone that reads my diary!

Jodles

jodles16

So having accidently been aware of the value of money and being naturally a bit tight (or frugal!) I am aware I am still 'wasting' money. Reading the MMM blogs is definately an eye opener! So here is my list of what I have done to try and manage money more efficiently:
1. Meal plan
2. Buy most food at Ald! We spend about £45-55 a week for the two of us including flowers and wine if we fancy them! Could be less I'm sure...
3. I still need beans and salad cream that is branded, tried others but not for me, so I will buy when they are on offer hopefully saving in the long run!
4. No matter what I earn I will only 'give' myself £600 a month, this covers car insurance, mobile phone bill, two food shops and pay my car fuel.
5. Since doing the NSDs challenge I'm no longer spending the £600 a month and am in fact spending around £450-500, this could be reduced if I really tried though it includes presents etc!
6. I am going to get a new contract when this phone one runs out, being youngish (27) I have been suckered by consumerism and got expensiveish phones for years, this one is about £32 a month currently (around £720 for two year contract :eek:). So I will be getting a new contract and getting my out of date phone again if its free, if not will keep this one for now (I don't have a great track record for phones staying alive though!) and get a new cheaper sim.
7. We are locked in to a ridiculous Sky broadband which we were stupid not to challenge when we moved, but due to stress etc we realised too late and now pay £62 a month for sky TV (this is £20), broadband and internet (we are in a slow internet area so they charge us more for the privalege of crap signal and strength!). This will be getting chopped as soon as we can, roll on October 2015!
8. We have been seriously considering if we need sky TV...we watch loads of TV but that's not good or healthy! Perhaps we will try and get them to make us an offer to stay instead!
9. I decided in November to challenge myself to make it a 'No booze month', this went well and then I did dry January. Since then I have not drank regularly at all, in fact its nearly two weeks since I had two ciders with my friend, this saves about £5 a week as I used to have a bottle of wine.
10. We are managing our heating the best we can with our naughty gas bottles (£100 for two), this month as it is getting to be nicer weather the last two bottles lasted 22 days! Woohoo! We have also purchased a nice little fire for £100 that we are thinking of getting set up to try to help with this for next year as well.

Phew, that will do for now I think, really enjoying looking at my spending and feeling in control of money and reading other peoples journeys.

Jodles

ourcornercottage

That's some great ideas, I set myself some goals beginning of the year to work towards. Meal planning is my new favourite things and feel a bit lost this week as we are away half the week so decided to not bother!

I've started a blog and am going to write one on meal planning soon. I use an app on my iPad, do you have any top tips.

jodles16

Hi Ourcornercottage!

One thing my best friend does which I am thinking I should do, is buy the super six from Ald! and make meals using it! Shes a naturally good cook which I'm not! We tend to try to make sure we get some fish stuff and easy to cook things as we are not good cooks, and we don't enjoy it! But noodles are a fab buy, quick and easy and go with loads of stuff! Will find and have a nosy at your blog!

Jodles

ourcornercottage

Oh yes, I do that too at aldi will definitely mention that. My BF has finally been allergy tested last week and has found his main problem is bran so we will be getting back into the wheat noodles (rice noodles are okay, but not the same!) I can't be bothered to cook separately so we've all been practically gluten free at home whilst waiting for the tests. All I can say is it's really hard, I feel for those with gluten allergies.

Thanks for the tips very helpful. :-)

jodles16

I have a family member who is allergic to gluten, feel bad anytime we go for meals as he really struggles to find good food! If your cooking that is probably the best thing to do!

Today was payday, I love playing with my money on payday! Moved £1300 into our house account, £200 of which goes into holiday fund and then I have made a separate OP of the mortgage of £100 to add to the £310 that will go in on the 1st, that is my second favourite day! Seeing the difference the OP's make!!

Got dog jabs this month for the big one and collecting little one's Diabetes tablets and we are paying for three months worth in one hit, that's £180 all at once! At least we have enough then and it saves fuel going to the vets every month!

Jodles

jodles16

After a grueling time trying to find new kennels for our babies, we are taking the plunge with one lot, its £38.50 a night for the both of them, blummin expensive!! But it is the only place we feel might be ok, big girl spent four months in the rescue before we adopted her and was a skinny thing, she kennel bounced and was so stressed and this is not what we want! She has got better over the years and we had the perfect kennels ran by hubby's friend but she has now closed...sad times! Anyways we are off for jollydays in May and need to test out this new place before we chuck the babies in for 4 nights and 5 days...They are going for a sleepover on the 11th April and hopefully they will be alright, they have a penthouse apartment which means big girl wont be able to see other dogs as these make her very very stressed and that hopefully means they will have a nice time! We will then put them in for two days two weeks later, then its the big un!

We are off to Vegas in November as well and I think they will need to be in for 10 days/nights, so will keep practising with the kennels after May or will be a huge shock to them... We were going to spend the night away as we hate the house being empty but have decided to go out for the day instead and come home hopefully tired and full!

These kennels are not very MSE, but my babies are worth the money, just hoping they will be happy there!

Jodles

jodles16

In amongst domestic bliss of trying to find kennels and then deciding that we do not want to paint and will therefore outsource this (sorry MMM!) and getting some quotes I have popped over another £100 to the mortgage to tag onto the £310 OP thats set up, looking forward to seeing it going in tomorrow!

Having a bit of a crazy moment where I have seen some flats in a nearby town for sale for £20k...so tempted to see if I can get a little mortgage and buy one...£350 is the expected rent and they look in good condition, hubby would not be on board but I would be happy to take it on myself if it was feasible. Problem is no online places show such a low Buy to Let mortgage...might contact my mortgage advisor but feel a bit daft telling others...

Jodles