NOW OPEN: the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. This time we'd like your questions on TRAVEL & HOLIDAY DEALS. Post by Wed and deals expert MSE Oli will answer as many as he can.

The 3 year plan

I'm Clare, I'm 25, married and have a 20(ish) month old daughter. I have always been reckless with money - it burns a hole in my pocket.

We currently live in a house owned by my husband and his cousin (weird, I know). His cousin lives in London at the moment and has no plans to return "home" - which is good. However, I hate it. I hate the area and I hate the type of house (4 in a block cottage flat with the world's noisiest neighbours).

Problems are 3 fold;
- The house is in massive negative equity (~£20k)
- We don't have the money for a deposit
- My credit file is in tatters.

However, instead of moping about this and hoping it goes away - I'm actually going to do something about it. Cue the next post.

Replies

  • Claree__xClaree__x Forumite
    1.2K Posts
    The Negative Equity

    The amount outstanding on the mortgage is currently ~£98,000 with a monthly repayment of £488. We've decided that we should overpay to bring this down quicker. There are no penalties for doing this, which is fab. We (my husband & I) are paying an extra £100/month and Chris (my husband's cousin) is paying an extra £100/month.

    Not much else we can do for this part except hope that the prices increase soon. Houses nearby are selling for ~£75-80,000.
  • Claree__xClaree__x Forumite
    1.2K Posts
    My Credit File

    So I was really stupid when I was 18/19 and ran up a lot of debt. This was all sorted through a Trust Deed which ended in December 2013, woohoo.

    Annoyingly, the noddle website isn't working for me right now so I'll have to update this another time.

    There's not a lot I can do but wait for my defaults to drop off and keep paying for my current credit to keep it healthy!
  • Claree__xClaree__x Forumite
    1.2K Posts
    Savings for the Deposit

    This is the big one, and what the thread is really about.

    We have no savings at the moment - a big fat zero.
    However, we have no debt other than a loan which we pay at £256.63/month (I dunno why I remember the specific number) and, obviously, the mortgage. Until last month we had a tesco credit card with ~£600 in savings. I decided this was daft and cleared off what we had.

    Joe's salary will be paid tomorrow - £1,778.
    From next month he will be paying £200/month into a share save scheme with work so will take home £1,578/month.

    My salary will be paid on Monday - £857.

    Gives us a monthly income of £2,635/month or £2,766 including what's already in the account.

    We pay out the following;
    House Bills - £750 [This goes into a separate account which all the utilities/insurances etc are paid from]
    Mobile Phone - £35
    Life Insurance - £11
    Baby's savings - £20
    My gym membership - £23
    Loan - £254
    Bank account fee - £13
    Spotify - £5
    Total - £1,111

    Which leaves a ridiculous £1,655 to "spend".
    I feel like I must have missed something, there's no way we have that "left"

    To pay off we have;
    Argos Card - £350 [For Joe's (never used) xbox]
    Vanquis Card - £71.23 [Used for fuel in an emergency]
    Tesco Card - £0 [Normally used for fuel]
    Next - £0
    Debenhams - £0
    (Only including these as they sometimes have a balance)
    Total - £422

    Leaving - £1,233

    I'll update this - and YNAB - tomorrow with the plan.
This discussion has been closed.
Latest MSE News and Guides

Energy Price Cap change

Martin Lewis on what it means for you

MSE News

Best £1 you've ever spent?

Share your most impressive bargains

MSE Forum