Time to face up.

tunnelandlight

milasavesmoney wrote: »

You are so so on track! Just love reading that!

Awful news about the leak. I absolutely hate when that stuff happens but it does drive home how much we need saving for those dreadful events...sigh...

Hurray for free tickets and an event to look forward to at the same time. It's just great going to see you planning how things will be paid for. Go you!

Thank you!! Planning and thinking ahead is a new mind set but better than cards. . I was looking over some old CC statements - what a lot of dross I bought...In one month last year I bought £125 worth of MAKEUP - a couple of sets that were a "bargain", I didn't love it, didn't use it and threw it away within a couple of months. Mila, I could weep!! And that is the least embarrassing example.


I love your little pots idea...I'm in on that, with little savings accounts... Would be nice if there were money in them but hey ho, there will be!


Xx

milasavesmoney

We are all embarrassed when we finally look at where we have let our money go. I know I certainly was. It is a new mindset but I just love feeling more secure. I lived in frufru denial for years, when actually the ground could have dropped out from under us if one big bad catastrophe had happened...and it would have been due to my slovenly mismanagement of our income. The 'live for today' mindset had overtaken our lifestyle. That's just crazy thinking. I'm so glad I came to my senses. I'm really quite proud of myself now.:D

It's fun seeing you realize what can be done and how you need to do it to get there.

Kitten868

Get your bum on eBay! Once you start you can't stop. Totally addictive. Serious money maker.

Keep it up.

How bad is his house? And how bad is yours? I think summer holidays you should do them up and sell. It would be way cheaper to live together. I don't think any relationship can be perfect but he shares your spontaneity and drive and pushed you to do more. I think you sounf perfect plus you can tell him you should both keep paying what you had been paying to get the mortgage down without sacrificing your life style. Easy

Xxxx

tunnelandlight

Mila,


Agree about the live for today mind-set. My younger self had such a sense of entitlement. I was "lucky" in my 20s and my employer - a big bank - gave generous share options, discounted mortgages, I had a company car and earned more then - 15 or so years ago than I do now!! And I still got into debt. I HAD to have a big house, it HAD to have all new furniture that HAD to match and my bedlinen HAD to be Egyptian cotton of a ridiculous thread count because otherwise HOW COULD I SLEEP??!! And I HAD to eat out all of the time because I was far too important to cook (but I still had designer unused kitchen appliances because they were pretty and well...you get the picture.).Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. And expensive. All mostly on cards because I was worth it and why wait.???


You had 6 children, so I can understand you taking your eye off the ball with the finances! I really had no excuses back then and could have laid foundations for a really secure future. But I didn't! I hope I have grown up since then. I know I don't need stuff, increasingly I don't want it either - more to clean/ worry about/ obsess over/ store - I still like nice things but can't help but think they will be nicer if you want them enough to save up for them!


I'm glad you came to your senses and that you are proud of yourself. You should be, you're fab!:T

tunnelandlight

Kitten868 wrote: »

Get your bum on eBay! Once you start you can't stop. Totally addictive. Serious money maker.

Keep it up.

How bad is his house? And how bad is yours? I think summer holidays you should do them up and sell. It would be way cheaper to live together. I don't think any relationship can be perfect but he shares your spontaneity and drive and pushed you to do more. I think you sounf perfect plus you can tell him you should both keep paying what you had been paying to get the mortgage down without sacrificing your life style. Easy

Xxxx

Hello Kitten and thanks for posting! Yes, bum will be on ebay within the next week!! I have been sorting and taking pics in readiness...I like the thought of serious money maker, how fab to have a new hobby that makes money!


You are right, it would be way cheaper to live together! Things are slightly complicated in that he is expecting/ hoping to be able to take redundancy within the next year. The pay off will be about a year's salary he thinks as his employer offers generous redundancy packages. He is confident that he would get another job but not sure where that would be... Also, although I have lived in my house for 4 years I only bought it last year. My lovely sister bought the house and "rented" it to me, then sold it to me at a lower price to take into account the rent I had paid, there was no way I could have got a mortgage with my debt and teacher salary. After a promotion and a big hike in salary I could! I am happily a home owner in the UK again. But there are redemption penalties if I sell before January 2018...


So..My house is very, very old, 1740ish but was completely renovated by a local builder just before I moved in so, with the exception of the leaky bathroom, it's all tickety boo!! It was very recently decorated as a young guy driving through our narrow streets at 60 mph lost control and smashed into the house which is a narrow pavement away from the road. Luckily he and the others in the car were OK. So was the house - those 4 feet walls doing their job!! There was some minor damage to the plasterwork inside and so his insurers redecorated 2 rooms downstairs and plastered the outside of the house again and painted it a nicer colour than it was!:D. HIS house needs new carpets and repainting, the garden cutting back and a thorough clean. Apart from that it just looks unloved. It could be beautiful, it's on a gorgeous street, about 150 years old and has lovely high ceilings and is very spacious. You are right, we should make a start over the hols. I think a week of solid graft would sort it and it won't be too pricy. We both have enough room for 2 - they are both 3 bed houses - although his is a lot bigger than mine. There's only 2 of us and his son/ son's GF and other family for visits so more than doable.


I will speak to him this weekend. Thanks for the kick!


Way past my bedtime, night all.


XX

Dramaqueen33

Hi Tunnelandlight

Well done on your journey so far! Inspiring stuff

How did you get on with using the budgeting app? Which one was it? I have tried to use them before and can't find one I really like or find easy/fun to use.

Have a good day X

tunnelandlight

Hi DramaQueen,


Thanks for posting!


The free spending app I am using was just the first one I came across!! It's called Quick Money. It's pretty easy and intuitive and allows you to look at your spends as a graph which helps you to see where all the money is going. I have used it for a couple of weeks or so, I wouldn't say it was fun but it is easy enough to use. I just want to have a month seeing where it all goes as my budget may need tweaking. I can't see myself using it for evermore - just until I get a handle on things!


Have you tried that one? Maybe you've found something better. Let me know please if you have!!


I notice you have a diary so off to be nosy!


Happy Thursday evening,


Xx

milasavesmoney

Ok. I'm seriously jealous of your 1740's house! There aren't many homes in America that old and would cost a fortune to buy if you could find one. I personally would never sell property and combine. If you move in together then you could rent the other for extra income. Property is a hard asset and I feel that it's very important to hold on to such assets. When my OH and I married we kept his house and used the rental income to finish paying off the mortgage. It is now part of our retirement income and we are so thankful to have the extra monthly money.

tunnelandlight

Hi Mila,

Don't be jealous..although, I'm pretty jealous of you in the US! I travelled a little after graduating - and spent three months traveling over there, ending up in Key West in the middle of "winter". Oh happy, happy days swimming in the sea in December, discovering the delights of Taco Bell burritos and learning that ordering a single regular pizza would feed all three of us for a week!

Anyway: I do like my quirky house: It is not a very practical option - no straight walls and tending to be a little dark in the winter, although it holds the heat well.. Sadly, it doesn't have a lot of character features any more - just some beams and seriously low ceilings and most adult guests have cracked their heads at least once during their visit... But it just feels like home, you know? I've never lived in one house for as long as 4 years before! For work reasons - we live an hour apart - it would be easier for us to share my place and rent his as he lives close to a university and hospital so plenty of potential tenants. He can work from home and just requires train access at times whereas I need to be close to the school.

The bedrooms here are tiny so I have told BF he could have the whole of the third floor - an attic room that's a strange shape but would be a great study or dressing room for him. It would be good to live together (and we'd save money..). The best thing would be that - long term when EVERYTHING is paid off - we could get my house in Spain back. :jIt is rented out (just covers the mortgage) and I wouldn't want to force the tenants out but being able to take it back when they want to go: What bliss! It is cold AGAIN here so I have been thinking about how warm and pretty it is over there.



Nice to dream but can't afford it, not with that pesky debt still lurking.


I do go on, don't I? How do other people manage less wordy posts??!!!

One more day to the holidays!!!!:D


Xx

tunnelandlight

Hello Diary,


Just back from BF's house after our extended weekend together. Really enjoyed the food festival and the concert was amazing. I was proud of myself. I took out £20 on Sunday to spend and put an extra £6.78 on my card - so a pretty economical day for me as were out of the house from 12 til 12. I'm glad we had a few drinks before we went in as at the venue tiny bottles of beer were A FIVER. So I wasn't tempted. BF ignored my pleas on behalf of his wallet and came back with 4. He insisted I had one and he had the other three. Then disappeared again with another 4 (he drank them all) so that was £40 wasted. His money... but grrrrrr!!


Monday was a recovery day. I tackled his garden. He said he would help but felt "unwell" so I ended up doing it alone, also cleaned his bathroom and did 3 loads of washing and ironing whilst he lay in a darkened room groaning. Once he was semi-human again we went to a friend's house to collect some vegetable plants I got from the food festival that they had kindly agreed to look after - didn't want to take me French beans to the concert! We did a 2 for one film - excellent arty cinema and only £8.40 - bargain!! And BF insisted on paying to say thanks for my gardening/ cleaning efforts.. Then we had a takeaway which I got - just over £20.


Tuesday BF told me he had a gig to review, he'd forgotten all about it and there was no plus one so he felt very guilty for "abandoning" me and insisted on taking me out for a curry. It was an early evening deal but lovely food and felt treated - the bill with drinks - soft!! - was £25.


Today was a no spend day! All in all not a bad effort having a good time together without completely breaking the bank. We have decided to try a bike ride next time. I suspect it will end at the pub but it'll be good exercise!


Got home for 9 and will work tomorrow at school before heading off to see my Mum and sister on Friday.


Hope everyone had a great bank holiday weekend - shame about the weather! Hopefully it'll soon remember it is supposed to be SUMMER???


Xx