PositiveBalance's Positive Postings on the Path to Paying off Peter & Paul and...

PositiveBalance

...Planning for the Possible


*Hauls in last box, puts it on floor & sits on it*

Well, this has been a long time coming...

I have bought a house! :j

And boy, does it need work! :eek:

And the work needs money! :eek: :eek:

And then so do the debts I need to pay back! :eek: :eek: :eek:

So here I go...I can't afford to mess around. I need to get on with it. I need to get my house into a decent state and pay down debt, paying off my mortgage as much as possible but also investing what money I have for my future/retirement as I have been doing a lot of thinking about this recently and looking up pension calculators etc. and it looks like I will end up living off fresh air as a pensioner at the rate things are going. (I'm single and I'm so busy between work/studying that I'm not sure what the chances of meeting a Mr PB in a conventional setting are ever likely to be so I need to suppose that there will only ever be to paddle my boat and it looks like I haven't been saving up enough wood to make an oar so far.)

I've also been seeing about the idea of 'financial freedom' and this a wonderful idea. I'm nowhere near it, of course, but I think I need to do some more thinking and reading about it in an attempt to not be in such a precarious financial situation.

I hate this. I'm stressing about money (for a variety of reasons and I can't do much about some of the reasons causing the stressing, but I certainly can about the other parts). I don't consider that I have a particularly lavish lifestyle but I work in a pretty poorly paid job so I have to be a bit careful. I study as well, so I need to save for the tuition fees for next year as well (£1500).

First things first...I need to nail my new budget down into the ground. Since I moved I haven't had the change to get to grips with it. I also know that I'm rubbish at budgeting for things like hair cuts, holidays etc. Please help!

Also, I need to sell some concert tickets for a concert that I can no longer attend.

And I need to get my deposit back from my old landlord as well.

And finish sorting out my will.

I'm excited about the house, scared about what I have realised is my lack of finances for emergencies and the future and wanting to live and enjoy life without becoming a slave to money (important as it is).

And yes, I want fries with that.

So feel free to join in and keep me focused (I can err off track a bit...oooh, look...shiny pretty thing! Flying pigs! Is that a bird or a plane?) as I need to go rethink my whole attitude to money and relearn how to look at money and how to make it work for me rather than the other way round.

N.B. Just applied for a decent interest rate paying current account. They wanted to know absolutely *everything* about me. Is that normal? :eek:

hiddenshadow

Yay, new diary!

Good luck with the long-term money goals. There are so many things to work towards (pay off debt, save for retirement, pay for education, invest, etc) - it's hard to figure out what the priority should be.

Re: current accounts, we just applied for a few (to maximise interest) and yes, they really do ask all sorts of questions!

Re: retirement, does your employer offer a pension, and do they match anything you contribute? If so, I'd try and contribute at least that much as it's free money (on top of the HMRC money you get). I think they have to match 1% of your contribution once they setup auto-enrolment (which should be by 2017/2018), so certainly by then it's worthwhile.

If it helps on the financial freedom front, being MF will help a lot in that regard. Your bills will be a lot lower when you don't have a mortgage to pay, so you can get by with a smaller pension saved up. (That said, we're doing a two-prong approach of saving in a pension while overpaying the mortgage to take advantage of compound interest in the meantime.)

tattycath

Hi PB. :wave: a shiny new diary!
I've subscribed, hoping to pick up some hints and tips along the way.
:j :j :j

edinburgher

Hello PB, glad to see you finally have both actual and virtual homes sorted

We all have to start somewhere, so relax and take things slowly. One of the positives of being single is the fact that you don't have to work to a schedule other than your own.

Prioritise and succumb to LISTMANIA!!!!

• Getting back your deposit comes first
• Selling your tickets comes second
• Tracking your expenses (a notebook, or a spreadsheet + pivot table is great) comes third
• Writing a decent budget comes fourth
• Your will isn't an issue, as you don't have any issue

And now to soften the blow of all that solutionising, have a :bdaycake:

gallygirl

PositiveBalance wrote: »

So feel free to join in and keep me focused (I can err off track a bit...oooh, look...shiny pretty thing! Flying pigs! Is that a bird or a plane?)

Me too, I often used to go 'ooohhh, shiny' at work when something more interesting came up (usually cakes in the kitchen or something equally important:rotfl:).

Remember - a goal without a plan is just a wish, so you're making a good start :T. I agree with Ed's priorities, and lists rock . Info is king so the sooner you get some spending data the better. Re the will etc. - hope you haven't gone for life insurance with having no children?

Debsnewbudget

Good Luck
Having this diary will keep you on track, now get on with the list Ed has given you .....

newgirly

Hi and welcome, great advice from lovely mfwer's already, my piece of advice is keep posting and read lots of diaries

slowlyfading

Happy diary :j have subscribed

Karmacat

Me too (thanks for posting the linkie in Ed's diary, I'm **terrible** at only reading stuff I've already subscribed to).

Agree with Ed's list, except I'm wondering when the event is (about the tickets you're trying to sell) - no good selling them in a fortnight if the event is in 10 days time?

Congratulations on jumping in straight away that you've got into your new place - thats brilliant!

PositiveBalance

Hello everyone!

First of all, thank you all for being so lovely and welcoming. This is clearly where the nice people live.

hiddenshadow wrote: »

Re: retirement, does your employer offer a pension, and do they match anything you contribute? If so, I'd try and contribute at least that much as it's free money (on top of the HMRC money you get). I think they have to match 1% of your contribution once they setup auto-enrolment (which should be by 2017/2018), so certainly by then it's worthwhile.

If it helps on the financial freedom front, being MF will help a lot in that regard. Your bills will be a lot lower when you don't have a mortgage to pay, so you can get by with a smaller pension saved up. (That said, we're doing a two-prong approach of saving in a pension while overpaying the mortgage to take advantage of compound interest in the meantime.)

My place of employment already has a pension attached and their contributions are generous. Very generous. It's one of the few advantages of the job. I'm totally signed up to it.

The only thing is that I am in my mid 30s and this is my first pension and I have been talking to people who have been there for 10+ years and are near to retirement who don't seem to be getting a lot of money paid out when they retire, so I'm a bit scared about that.

• Your will isn't an issue, as you don't have any issue

*Hangs head in shame* I don't actually know what this means. I have a sneaking suspicion that probably counts as an educated guess, but it has been a long day!

P.S. Thanks for the welcome and the cake.

gallygirl wrote: »

Me too, I often used to go 'ooohhh, shiny' at work when something more interesting came up (usually cakes in the kitchen or something equally important:rotfl:).

Mmm, cake. Cake is important! :rotfl: (See Ed's cake earlier in the thread that now has a large slice taken out of it!)

gallygirl wrote: »

Remember - a goal without a plan is just a wish, so you're making a good start :T.

This is SO true. I just need to remember to focus and keep going and never forget that saying!

gallygirl wrote: »

I agree with Ed's priorities, and lists rock . Info is king so the sooner you get some spending data the better. Re the will etc. - hope you haven't gone for life insurance with having no children?

Oh God...I haven't got any insurance at all (except buildings and contents)! This is another big area that I need to get sorted. That may sound really irresponsible but the house sale was very abrupt and quick in the end and I have been like a whirling dervish ever since, so it hasn't quite happened. I am absolutely 100% aware that I need to get it sorted but I think I am procrastinating a bit as I am scared cos I have a pre-existing medical condition that I know is going to make things tough, so I need to a) find an IFA who specialises in that kind of thing; b) go to see him/her and get it sorted. (This is really playing on my mind, somewhere near the back).

I will get life insurance though, as the quote is low and may go up as a result of the PMC and I have a parental I need to think about.

PositiveBalance

Karmacat wrote: »

Me too (thanks for posting the linkie in Ed's diary, I'm **terrible** at only reading stuff I've already subscribed to).

Agree with Ed's list, except I'm wondering when the event is (about the tickets you're trying to sell) - no good selling them in a fortnight if the event is in 10 days time?

Congratulations on jumping in straight away that you've got into your new place - thats brilliant!

Hi Karmacat!

It's in January. I do need to get onto it now, though, for maximum chance of selling and recouping the money.

As for the subscribed thing, I know what you mean. You subscribe to a few threads, get used to the associated gangs, pick up some tips and have a giggle, then remember there are other people out there as well.

I must remember to do the same! :rotfl: