Dreaming of financial freedom!

ch4rly2002

Ah, so it's been a busy month in general with Pinecone. Good news for us all then

I don't mind at all. I put in the maximum 6% standard pension that my employer matches and I also put in an additional 3% additional. I wasn't sure whether or not to increase that contribution this time round but due to my company's industry and the fact it is now effectively a new company (we split part of the company off last year and merged with a competitor to make a new company), I didn't think the pension was the safest of choices so I've stuck with 3% and invest in NS&I bonds, regular saver and mortgage overpayments as well. I guess for me and the company's situation I feel a bit more comfortable spreading my investments rather than having all my eggs in one basket. I'm curious to see how your Bitcoin investment works out though

ch4rly2002

As it's coming up to a year since I started on my MFW journey, I thought I'd do a quick stock check and see how everything has progressed, before we move into the new house and increase the numbers again!

I think I am most proud of our savings achievement. In December 2016 I had a grand total of £1,700 saved up. I knew this was an area I wanted to focus on as Martin, and many others, rave on about having at least 3 months of essential bills saved up, but 6 months if you can manage it. One sentence that still haunts me is "you are only a paycheck from living on the streets". With some focus, and a bit of good luck, we've managed to smash our original savings target of £10,000 and are now sitting at £11,550. Considering how DH and I have never saved before (the most I've managed to save in the past is a couple of thousand to pay for a repair etc.) I am really proud of this. This has been achieved by setting up a direct debit with NS&I to invest £50 in premium bonds each month, setting up a regular saver of £300 per month and trying to fund that through extras like selling on eBay or putting away any money from my Grandma, and DH saved £5000 when his shares from work became payable. With the premium bonds, this is something we've wanted to invest in for a long time but we never had £100 to spare. When I found out you can invest £50 (which I heard from this forum) it has made a huge difference. Now the money comes out on payday so I don't miss it and as you can't withdraw premium bonds instantly, it doesn't feel like a bit of money I can just take out willy nilly so it will stay invested. Considering we've saved more than ever, while still overpaying on the mortgage and paying for house repairs and decoration, I am really pleased with this.

I am also really pleased with the mortgages. In 2017 we have overpaid £2436.80 on our residential mortgage and £1041.19 on the buy-to-let mortgage.

Some valuable knowledge, tips and advice I have learned on the forum would have to be how to make a little extra from survey sites, the importance of trying to keep up motivation to list items on eBay (and that I am not alone in struggling with that one!), that I am not the only nutter who wants to pay off their mortgage early and will try all sorts to achieve it, Tilly Tidy - that's a big one, and mainly I've enjoyed getting to know people, learning from their blogs, being able to vent some of the difficult things that have happened this year and getting support from you guys

Thistlewhistle

Some great achievements in 2017 there - well done.
May your 2018 be equally as fruitful if not more so!!

Thistle

Jessy103

Great figures Ch4rly, well done!!! If i don't speak to you before have a fantastic Christmas and New Year! x

ch4rly2002

Thanks Thistle and Jessy - I hope you both have a lovely Christmas and New Year x

themadvix

Great figures Charly, especially considering its not been the easiest year for you - I'm not sure I'd have had the commitment under the circumstances. I'm sure your Grandma is thrilled that you've been saving the money she gives you.

I hope you have a peaceful Christmas with your family xx

ch4rly2002

Happy New Year everyone!!

Hope you had a good break. It was a bit of an usual one for us this year. DH and I haven't felt particularly Christmassy and didn't really decorate much so it has been different but enjoyable nonetheless.

We kicked off the festivities with a meal out on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition that my Mum, DH and I do every year, but this year we had BIL with us too as the in-laws are still in America and we didn't want him to be alone. In previous years it was always Mum, Dad and me but for obvious reasons Dad hasn't been able to join us for the last few years, so we went and visited him in the nursing home instead. Mum paid for the meal as her Christmas present to the three of us. It was lovely (and I'd recommend The Griffin Inn to anyone who's over Halifax way) - good food and a good atmosphere, although the live singer had his speakers up a tad too high but we were nearly finished at that point so we managed to escape with our hearing intact.

Christmas day was just the four of us again. Mum made our family's traditional Christmas meal of fillet steak with all the trimmings (including my favourites: cauliflower & brocolli in a cheese sauce and potato slices and DH's/BIL's favourite honey glazed parsnips). This is far from DH and BIL's traditional Christmas meal but we all enjoyed it. We opened our presents, visited Dad in the nursing home and had a Facetime call with the in-laws in America. Our new Nephew was wearing his Christmas present from us (a Me to You 'My First Christmas' baby grow) and we only made him cry once... we're getting better

On Boxing Day we saw Dad again then went out for a meal in the evening. That was over in Mum's village so we took her home after the meal. It was an Indian restaurant and it was their weekly Thali night (kind of like tapas but with mini curries) and we absolutely loved it. It was great having a selection of different curries.

Things then went a bit quiet in between, except for a visit to DH's relatives' house. They put on a buffet and we played a Christmas quiz. It was great to see them. We also took over one of Dad's old wheelchairs. It hadn't been used for long but the breaks were on the wheels so the user has to break, which he soon lost the ability to do and mum had to buy one with breaks on the handles. As DH's aunt is disabled and walks with a stick I asked if she'd like it and she was thrilled so we took that round for her, freeing up a space in the shed. I also mentioned the microwave, kettle and crock pot that my Grandma was getting rid of after updating her kitchen appliances to a matching set and she said she knows someone who has nothing but a small portable cooker type thing (it sounded like a camping cooker) so said she would love them for her. I know some charities are funny about electricals so they would most likely have ended up on Freecycle or at the tip if no-one claimed them, but now I know they're being put to good use.

My brothers and their families came up for New Year as well. It's lovely to see them all. As we weren't sure when we'd be moving or if everything would be packed up, they booked a hotel in advance (Premier Inn with breakfast included for 2 nights £70 - great value!) so it was less stressful for me as I didn't have to host this time and we all met up at Mum's place for meals. She lives in an independent living unit so there is a large shared lounge area that we can use. So, all in all, it was a good Christmas / New Year break.

There is some progress on the house front, which I wasn't expecting on the first day back! The buyer's solicitor has received our answers to her questions and the electrician is booked for Saturday to come and do the electrical testing. Fingers crossed we should be on track for the end of January

I have to say, I haven't been very money saving over the Christmas break, except for the fact that I didn't do much shopping in the boxing day sales. I bought a couple of bits from Boots that I needed anyway and we saw a reindeer at the Range that was half price and we couldn't resist it. I did make a donation of £50 to help someone out as well, and I think it's £50 well spent. The radio DJ Stephanie Hirst shared a friend's Crowdfunding project to raise £4k for a friend who has got into a spot of bother after losing their job and taking out some pay day loans with astronomical interest rates so a small loan has escalated and he is about to lose everything so hopefully they'll raise enough to help get him back on track. Reading his story it sounds so easy to happen to anyone so I thought I would spare what I could to try and help get him back on his feet. I want to try and do more for charity etc. this year so I see this as a good start to the year and I'll have a think about what else I would like to do. I was thinking of volunteering with a phone service for elderly who live alone. AgeUK want volunteers to commit to a half hour call each week with an elderly person who lives alone and I think it sounds like a great cause so that will most likely be my next step

ch4rly2002

If anyone else fancies making a small donation to help Dan get out of debt, or just to read his story, here's the link https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dansdebts

themadvix

Glad you had a good Christmas Charly! Happy New Year!

Jessy103

Sounds like you had a good Christmas and Happy New Year to you! x