200 weeks or less the journey starts now 31 May 2015 at 10:45PM edited 12 July 2015 at 9:27PM in Mortgage-free wannabe 11 replies 1.1K views

optimistic-mummy

Hi, so ive been on this forum for a while now. I've had a MFW (saving for a deposit) and DFW diary before. As much as i wanted to save for a deposit before. i lost focus and well here i am back again raring to go.

we are a family of 4 (6 including the fur-babies)

the aim £25,000 deposit in 200 weeks or less (£125 per week)

target date : Monday the 1st of April 2019 (3 years 10 months)

tonight i have written out a budget.
done a very good spreadsheet which covers where all our money goes and to which accounts
changed the accounts names to match spreadsheet
and set up my regular payments to the different accounts

this week is the first week 'trialing' my new budget tactic

first payment to 'home fund' made tonight - money carried over from last week ready for new budget tomorrow to begin.
next payment is due later on this week.

our budget isn't strict and accounts for everything so hopefully we will be OK.

lets make this long awaited dream finally a reality !

Progress so far £96.00p / £25,000.00p 31ST MAY 2015
12/7/15 - £700


other targets
make £100 in june / £53.06p
make £300 in july / £0
July grocery challenge aim £240 (spent £100)

optimistic-mummy

progress so far today

£23 water direct debit has gone out of bank
spent £30 on fuel

i have added a spreadsheet to my budget spreadsheet to help us keep track of spends.

sold a few items. so made £39 so far there. plus £14.06 from TCB (sat in paypal will withdraw once its mounted up a little and transfer to emergency savings or house fund

nothing more to update on.. hope you are all having a nice day

Luckyinlife

well done so far its a long old game this mortgage free business is but if we can cut time of anywhere it will make life much easier for all :]

optimistic-mummy

its going to be a long slog lol .. but im hoping to be able to buy our own place before the eldest hits his teens. he's 6 now. im 23 next month. the advantage we will hopefully have is that we could take a mortgage over a long term 35 years maybe which would make our repayments very manageable but we would over pay to pay off sooner. the only reason i want a lower monthly repayment than most is because im disabled so have to factor in that i may not be able to work right up until retirement so may end up only having partners wage again at some-point so want it at a manageable repayment if my income was to stop so we don't end up in deep water. im not sure if that makes sense


talking about jobs since my last diary - I've got a job! i start in a few weeks after my training.

optimistic-mummy

also since my last diary ... partner is now fully on board which will hopefully make things easier regarding saving etc. he said he was last time but he wasn't this time hes actually showing he wants this just as much as me.

im so glad. we are high school sweethearts and have been together ever since. its took longer than most but its nice that we are finally both on the same page and i look forward to the future no matter what it brings

enjoyyourshoes

Have you looked at S&S ISA for your monthly allocated £ for the deposit.
As your plan is more than 2-3 years investing rather than saving might be worth considering?
Also if it just savings you could do a regular savings account (HSBC advance £250 pm at 6%, First direct £300 pm at 6% and for Halifax kids £100 pm at 6% and Lloyds £400 pm at 4%) They sort of lock you in for the 12 months as interest is paid at term (12 months)?
Make money work for you with compound interest

optimistic-mummy

hi everyone,
thanks enjoyyourshoes yes this is something i need to look into. thanks for the reminder. is there anywhere i can compare the best rates in one place ?

im not sure on my hours or what my wages will be. and i currently claim dla (due to my disability) but not sure if this will stop when i start work. (we would cope without it, hoping eventually to be able to physically work more hours so my wage will be covering more than running the car and the food shop each week :rotfl:

i have shuffled accounts. we are now at £140 i know its minimal but it will be nice to look back and know we started with nothing in the accounts.

this is going to sound dumb. is there a calculator online which calculates moving costs (stamp duty etc) as this is something else we need to consider. (and save for) we are currently renting so ive never had to deal with these sorts of things before.

i think i could be looking at around £9,000 on a property up to £200,000 does this sound about right. we also need to consider decorating costs/carpets etc as we could end up buying a property where certain things can't wait and need to be done asap. around here to get the most for our money (like most areas) and to afford to get onto the property ladder we will mainly be looking at properties that need some tlc ie new carpets lick of paint (nothing to adventurous) but we are wiling to get our hands dirty if it means we will have our dream family home at the end of it.

Petal88

Google "rightmove cost of moving" - they have a calculator for this. I'd post the link but as a newbie the forum won't let me.

I just put my details in and the estimate it spat out was spot on with what we had to pay when we moved the other month.

optimistic-mummy

thankyou petal88 much appreciated

ETA : we will be looking at around £4000 currently. obviously we need to allow for any rate changes but at least i have something to aim for. which is better than no aim at all

optimistic-mummy

the end of week one is approaching. Monday is day one of a new week.

total in house fund account so far £200

199 weeks and 3 days to go :rotfl:

optimistic-mummy

can't believe i haven't posted for nearly 3 weeks :eek:

the forever home fund currently stands at £600

£1500 (total) by 31st of July. sounds impossible but ill give it my best shot