Hitting 30...

cplusb

Hi all,

I started a post early last year when my wife & I were on the verge of putting our first property (a new 2 bedroom apartment) on the market to upsize to a house.

Fast-forward nearly a year & we have been in our terraced house for just over 6 months (it took a while to complete the chain!). Our apartment sold within 10 days, with a little over the asking price which was a bonus!

On that property we were lucky to be on the BMR of 2.5%. A friend of ours who is very clued up on mortgages suggested asking our building society if we could port this, as its not something they openly offer. They agreed to this, which after finalising all the details, I worked out to be saving us about £170 per month! Had the building society not allowed us to, the whole mortgage would've been on 4 year fix of 5.19%. I would also like to add that the whole time that we have been on the 'ladder' we have been overpaying by £50 per month. Not a huge amount, but I guess every little helps. Wedding, baby & house deposit has restricted this!

A little about me - I'm 2 weeks away from turning 30 :eek:, my wife is the same age & we have a nearly 3 year old boy. I've spent the last 12 years in a job that pays ok but I don't enjoy it at all. I feel the time has come to start gaining qualifications for a new job. I'm expecting the next 4-5 years to be very busy with the house needing quite a bit of work & training for this new job, as well as spending time with my family.

I do apologise if this sounds like a bit of a ramble, I hope I haven't bored you too much!

Thanks for reading.

cplusb

On the money saving side, my wife has recently withdrawn £95 back from a cashback site & our 50% off deal for our TV subscription was coming to an end so I called them up to see what they could offer next - 33% off for the next 5 years (only contracted for 12 months). I think they're getting fed up with me calling every year! I know I could try not having this subscription, but we don't go out much so we see it as a treat. I'm also currently in the middle of 12 months free line rental with the same company.

SavingRaven

Hello cplusb,

Thought I'd say hello and let you know I'll be following your story with interest - I'm just a couple of years older than you and jumping into MFW boards for the first time.

Best of luck
SR

cplusb

Thanks, SR. I read the start of your diary yesterday, it sounds like you have your dream house already?

Going on a rare date night tonight, parents are babysitting so that's free childcare. We have a gift voucher for the restaurant from Christmas & I'm sure they'll have a x% off voucher somewhere online. Cinema is also 2 for 1 with it being Wednesday & we'll be smuggling in our own sweets! I refuse to pay their prices! Money saved all round.

We have someone coming round tomorrow to quote us for laying wood flooring everywhere downstairs (apart from the kitchen). Will make a huge difference to the house as a lot of the furniture buying is waiting on this to see how it looks. Gave me a rough quote over the phone of £18 per square meter (just fitting) if anyone knows if that's about average?

cplusb

Have also been meaning to ask, what are the best sites for surveys? When my wife is working in the evenings (restaurant manageress) I'm quite often at home with nothing to do, as my lo is in bed.