Mortgage free by 2023 (!)

Karmacat

Wow, you had a good time *and* made sure your financial superpowers were in full operation!  Brilliant  

SandyShores

Happy new year debtfree.  Amazing OP and I really admire your tenacity - very very well done to you!!

debtfreeoneday

I’m going to put this here to remind me I need to do this which is sort out the kids bank accounts / savings. Woefully they have none apart from £2 each sitting in a Cov BS account we opened years ago and have never used. Currently their money sits in our bank account but as a separate pot. Financial education is one thing I plan to start very much with them this year. So they need bank accounts, savings accounts and long term savings. We also ‘owe’ them £500 each so I’ve started saving to pay that back to them. 

We also increased their pocket money this year to £10 a month. £5 they get in cash to spend and £5 goes into savings. They are both quite reserved spenders though and do think hard on their purchases. Often that cash ends up going into the bank when they end up with £20/£30 in their piggy banks. 

Our only niggle is where we live, actual branches are few and far between so having to go to a branch to open / close an account is not an easy task. It frustrates me that that even comes into the decision making process. 

SandyShores

Hi DFOD, you could try something like this one https://www.shepherdsfriendly.co.uk/young-saver-plan/  I opened something with a similar company who were offering parents a £20 Boots voucher on opening can you believe it.  The account matures when they are 18 years old and I was really glad I did it - a small amount put away monthly became a few thousand for a teenager looking to buy a car or go to Uni.  It was a really good return, but they do say that your money can go up or down.

We also opened a Childs Santander account when they opened a branch in our local supermarket, but it eventually closed and we found they were't so welcoming of small change at the branch.  We then switched to Halifax at 11 years old as they let children have a debit card.  That was really useful when DD got her first Saturday job.  https://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/youth-student-accounts/money-smart.html

I'm sure there are probably other banks and companies with better deals, but these worked well for us.

debtfreeoneday

SandyShores said:

Hi DFOD, you could try something like this one https://www.shepherdsfriendly.co.uk/young-saver-plan/  I opened something with a similar company who were offering parents a £20 Boots voucher on opening can you believe it.  The account matures when they are 18 years old and I was really glad I did it - a small amount put away monthly became a few thousand for a teenager looking to buy a car or go to Uni.  It was a really good return, but they do say that your money can go up or down.

We also opened a Childs Santander account when they opened a branch in our local supermarket, but it eventually closed and we found they were't so welcoming of small change at the branch.  We then switched to Halifax at 11 years old as they let children have a debit card.  That was really useful when DD got her first Saturday job.  https://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/youth-student-accounts/money-smart.html

I'm sure there are probably other banks and companies with better deals, but these worked well for us.

Thank you SS. I really like that 10 year option as they would have just turned 21 when that matures. 

debtfreeoneday

£12.50 TCB requested and they have a £2 bonus on a min £5 spend on TCB today so bought some cat litter for collection. Bit of a no brainier in that we buy it anyway so I just buy online and collect but effectively get £2 off.  In our other TCB I bought a lightbulb from screw fix for collection. It’s a specific one for the bathroom and we used the spare over christmas so I always like to have a spare in the cupboard but it wasn’t an urgent buy hence waiting for the £2 cashback day. 

debtfreeoneday

Last day today before life starts returning to usual.  Washed my car yesterday and swept up some leaves outside. Need to take down the outside lights today which are ready for the bin as so many didn’t work this year. 

Have some foodie bits that need using so will do some baking with DD and generally just chill out. Also need to tip some hair dye on to cover up the grey regrowth DS helpfully pointed out a few days ago. 

SandyShores

debtfreeoneday said

Thank you SS. I really like that 10 year option as they would have just turned 21 when that matures. 

21 is a great age for them to be receiving a nice lump sum.  £7.50 a month doesn't sound too bad and I've just spotted there is a £15 Love2Shop voucher when you invest that amount.  I can't remember the name of the company we used, but I started my Investment ISA with Shepherd's Friendly - I've started off low, but can up the amount if I want to, they seem very flexible.

debtfreeoneday

To do this week. 

* close CBS accounts for the kids. 

* chase up refund from two sale items from WF and FF. 

* submit missing cashback claims for TCB. 

* have 6 NSD when out and about. 

debtfreeoneday

Well a frustrating 40 mins on the phone with CBS to be told you can’t close them over the phone after all (despite their website saying different)

Chased up one refund and left the other until today as to be fair to them they said 5 working days which is today. 

Had a NSD and also submitted missing cashback claims which were resolved by the end of the day so some success!

To do today
* write letters to close their CBS account and get them posted
* return parcel to PO

* NSD 
* chase refund from FF if not in the bank today 

Picked up a few surveys yesterday. Bit of a lull in pennies arriving now but to be expected.