MFW Baby steps

Petal88

Hi,

Like most other MSEs, I am a long time lurker, having originally started off browsing a few years back as I was saving up for a mortgage, and now that I have one, I thought I’d take the plunge and set up my own MFW diary.

I’ve been unsure about whether or not to set up a diary, as I don't really plan on being a hard core MFW just yet. This is partly due to saving up for a stupidly expensive wedding which is not MSE-friendly at all, having an OH who has a “we live only once!” attitude to money, and being unsure whether I shouldn’t just be investing my money instead. However, regardless of how much of a dent I'll make on my mortgage in the short/medium term – I still enjoy being frugal(ish) so I’d love to stick around with you guys to keep myself motivated.

A bit more about me and my current situation though; OH and I bought an eye wateringly expensive 1 bedroom flat in London in April, worth £350k with a 10% deposit. It’s a 40 year mortgage (although NO WAY am I gonna let it take that long :eek:) with a fixed interest rate of 4.44% until the end of March 2017. Based on last month’s statement that means I pay something crazy like £38/day in interest! I am currently OP’ing £100/month which alone would shorten the mortgage by 6 years, but I intend on increasing this amount once my wedding is over and dusted (Summer 2017) or once I get a promotion/better paying job.

In the mean time, every little helps, right?

wildesavings

In the mean time, every little helps, right?

It certainly does! Welcome and good luck x

A_Frayed_Knot

Welcome

"Little things mean a lot" Best comment I read on here was;

A £1 o/p is a £1 you never have to pay interest on again.
Keep that in mind and no matter how little you o/p, you will never pay interest on that amount again.:)

Good Luck

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

You don't need to be hard core to really make a difference. Very good luck to you in combining fun and thriftiness in order to gain mortgage freedom before you drop!

Luckyinlife

Defiantly worth having a diary 1 comment can keep you going thro a bad week or month

I wouldn't say im amazing with money far from it i enjoy it but i think its about getting the balance that suits you

When you see so many people making OP on here on a daily/weekly bases it just makes you think its the right thing to do

350k Makes me say wow really does london is crazy part of the world 350 where i lives gets you acers haha but its all relevant isnt it to where you work ect ect

Good choice imo going for 40 years on it as i bet its a massive amount each month

I was going to go for 35 years myself (im 28) just to keep the NORMAL payments low as i could but i went for 25 in the end

Good luck

Hollyboll

Welcome and congrats for starting the diary.
:j:T:T
Completely agree that every little helps - for me that's been the biggest lightbulb of all from reading this board. I think it's a combination of little things adding up and also meaning you focus and so probably shift mindset on bigger spends ...

Good luck and I look forward to reading

Petal88

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words! Makes it a lot more enjoyable to keep this up

Luckyinlife wrote: »

Good choice imo going for 40 years on it as i bet its a massive amount each month

I was going to go for 35 years myself (im 28) just to keep the NORMAL payments low as i could but i went for 25 in the end

Thanks this makes me feel better! I don't really encounter many others with a 40 year one (IRL or on MSE) so I do worry about having made the wrong choice sometimes, but to be honest we didn't really have many options from the mortgage providers so it was that or a smaller flat...


In terms of MFW things I've done/got planned this week:
- Going to the Spanish bank tomorrow to sign up for their 123 account. Am planning on putting the interest payments and cashbacks towards the mortgage.
- Changed gas and electricity supplier to €on and lowered my monthly bill by £16!
- Signed up for [EMAIL="Sw@gbucks"]Sw@gbucks[/EMAIL] and one other similar website
- Brought packed lunches to work 3 days in a row
- OP'd £10.88 on Mon and £9.70 yesterday (which according to my calcs, saves me roughly £112 worth of interest over the next 40 years based on the current interest rate)
- Used the slow cooker yesterday to make a delicious beef stew from tesco value meat :T


I am however going to the cinema tonight to see the new Bond so that's going to be a pricey affair... especially since I can't stay away from the nachos! Win some lose some hey!

Runders

Hey Petal, just popping y to say hello and good luck!

Like people have already said on here, every little helps! You'd be surprised how all the little things soon add up. One of my little things is to have a change jar, I add all the 20p and below coins into it each evening. I've made about £50 in over payments from that

Petal88

Runders wrote: »

Hey Petal, just popping y to say hello and good luck!

Like people have already said on here, every little helps! You'd be surprised how all the little things soon add up. One of my little things is to have a change jar, I add all the 20p and below coins into it each evening. I've made about £50 in over payments from that

I was thinking I should do that then realised that I don't really use cash and therefore don't have spare change ever - which in itself is something I think I need to change! I bet I would spend a lot less if I took XX out in cash per month for e.g. groceries.

Taking the jar to the bank would be such a faff though, so few of them have coin counting machines nowadays!

Petal88

Petal88 wrote: »

I am however going to the cinema tonight to see the new Bond so that's going to be a pricey affair... especially since I can't stay away from the nachos! Win some lose some hey!

Having said that, I remembered that I can buy a student ticket if I want (am studying for another qualification on top of work, so I have a student card) and that I have enough 0deon clubcard points to get that student ticket for free! Two tickets for the price of one has got to be a little bit MSE

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Next time you go to the supermarket, put the change in the self service machine instead of going to a till. No commission taken and no need for you to count and sort it.

If you are serious about being mf, certainly you should go to the cinema as life is for living, but don't buy the nachos. At cinema prices they are strictly for those with money to burn! Smuggle in your own snacks.