Stephen's Journey to Mortgage freedom

lcfcstephen

It's been an awful month for us in terms of saving/spending money. Part of that is down to LW not having worked at all this month. But it's also due to having to pay council tax on the flat (which I thought had been covered) as well as spending money on the bike and other things. Hopefully we can get back on track.
However, despite all this we won't have lost loads of money fortunately, maybe £300 (£200ish was council tax) but we just won't have saved any extra money for the car or holiday etc.

ch4rly2002

Hey Stephen, welcome and congratulations on the wedding, house and promotion! I hope LW is happy when she starts the new role as it sounds like she hasn't had the best time leading up to it. If she doesn't like it, she can keep looking... I find that it's easier to find a job while you're in one.
I'm also trying to start using my slow cooker more as I'm not the best cook and slow cookers are generally more forgiving than an oven. The other day I cooked a small joint of beef and it turned out lovely. I put it in the slow cooker with some salt and pepper on it, sprinkled an oxo cube over the top and then poured a glass of red wine over it. It made enough for me and DH, as well as his brother. Might be worth trying on one of your non-veggie days as it would make a lovely meal and you could slice up the leftover beef for sandwiches or use it for another meal, like a pie.
I love cashback sites. I try and always check there before buying anything. I've had some big cash back in the past from buying insurance so it's always worth a look.
Good luck on your MFW journey!

lcfcstephen

Today I got paid and I sent a small amount to the mortgage to reduce the balance to exactly £65,000! It's nice to have reached that milestone in a month when nothing else has gone to plan! Hopefully £60,000 isn't too far away!

lcfcstephen

So, at the end of our first month, we have spent around £700 over what we budgeted for, and that doesn't include the saving for various different pots that was hoped to happen. Part of this is due to the bonus Council tax bill, and some other bills being more expensive than expected. There were several other one off costs that also hurt us. Fortunately we are in a position that it doesn't really hurt where we are financially. But it's something to keep an eye on, because if we keep losing money like this, even with Nic's job it's not good.
I'm looking at switching careers, thinking about moving into financial advising. We will have to see as most places want training, and I don't particularly want to start training unless I know I'll have a job at the end. I have an interview tomorrow, hopefully that goes well. If it doesn't go well and I'm rejected because of lack of training I will look into starting the training in a few months and keep applying for jobs. Hopefully I will be accepted as I think I will enjoy this more than my current job (not that I don't like my current job)

lcfcstephen

We've bought LW a bike and locks, so she should hopefully be able to cycle to work soon. But, it's another expense.
My 'interview' went well, I enjoyed the recruitment lady I spoke to. Unfortunately I have a lot of options to consider.
I could try and get into a big IFA firm as a graduate (hard process) and take a pay cut and not start studying the diploma for at least a year.
Second option is to try and get into a smaller firm where the pay cut will be less drastic and I'll start studying earlier. But the problem with this is that they are quite difficult to get to and so need to factor that in.
Third option is to study on my own, either the level 4, or for a CeMap. This is relatively costly, but with my work schedule could work quite well.
A fourth option I've thought of is to try and get into a Central Manchester firm as a Paraplanner and then try and move into advising at a later date.
It's all still spinning around in my head and I don't know what I want to do. I do know however, that I want to do this type of job.

gallygirl

Have you come across edinburgher? http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4961829

He is also planning on moving into this, though self-funding I think.

lcfcstephen

Keep changing our minds about how we get a car. But we've seen the Citroen C4 Cactus and it seems quite good and would fit us quite well. Hoping to test drive it on Monday.
Staying up to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, having a party too (as it's my birthday on Tuesday as well) so I have taken Monday off. So me and LW are going for an afternoon tea that was gifted to us as a wedding present. Should be a good long weekend!

lcfcstephen

So far this month has been quite good. But obviously a lot can happen over the next couple of weeks! I'm thinking that I will stick where I am for a bit, because I do enjoy my job and there's lots of positive changes happening over the next few months/year.
We are also thinking that we will be getting a car. Hoping to get it within the next few months, but we'll see what happens

lcfcstephen

So, we've bought a car. A new Cactus, and should hopefully come before the tax changes. Planning on having this car for a long while which is why we've gone for a bigger car than we need - so that whatever happens in the next few years it should manage. It means this month is going less well, but we're still on target with our food budget and everything else so the car will balance out eventually. Hoping food continues to be on target, as this was our biggest area of weakness last month.The downside of the car is that we will need to save alongside it, to be able to buy it at the end. But we can afford it at the moment, and my salary should increase soon, so hopefully it gets easier

lcfcstephen

LW doesn't actually get paid till March, so we will lose a bit of money this month because of the car costs as well as this. Fortunately I got a year end bonus that will be included in this months pay packet which is perfect timing. We're still ahead on the mortgage from where we had planned to be, but don't want to lose that and want to make sure that we can increase our payments sooner rather than later, The Car is a big financial commitment because we want to save for the final cost whilst we are also paying for various other things. But this will work out in the long run and means that when the mortgage is renewed I won't have any monthly car costs to incur so will make it easier to remortgage. Hopefully my salary and LW's salary continues to increase (they should) and everything will become easier. But we have several buffers in place so we are secure and would manage quite comfortably if that didn't happen.