Where has the last 3 years gone?

Pengwern

Interesting list and one I will ponder on long and hard. So thanks, its always useful to get different perspective on things. I am a member of almost all the free. Credit reports including the MSE one. Thank fully I have a good rating and still have options according to the cc predictor on the MSE site. I have managed to reduce the mortgages 3 months early as I am sticking with the same company. I have looked around and the rates at 1.84% is very competitive for our LTV. Unfortunately the computer says we have 76% LTV rather than our figures which puts us just under 75% LTV this is based on recent sales of our neighnours properties which are comparible in size and condition. I did phone to see if they would adjust but its a computer says no unless we have done work (which we have not). That made us miss a 1.69% rate but we have decided to keep the payments the same and as we are close to 75% we will reassess once we hit that LTV.

Just found out the oil in our rental house is also dangerously low, so we are having to put 500l in before the new tenants arrive! That's £200 to fork out, we should get £130 from out exiting tenants deposit as they did not replace the oil to the level it was when they took on the place. However I am not holding out much hope of getting it as they have made noises to our letting agent they are going to dispute it. I have no idea why they feel they can get away with it, but past experience means I am not hopeful as a deposit is a tenants and as a landlord you have to make a claim on it!! It's in the contract about the oil but I always feel the law is not on our side.

I just need the new tenants in and paying rent, they move in next week but the 1st months rent is taken up with reletting fees, oil and repairs. Next month we will finally get some cash flowing in. Managed to get the water board to come and inspect the suspected leak. Also phoned insurance company and apart from a £200 excess they would cover the leak detection and repair if it is on our land. So that is slightly good news as a £200 bill I can cope with. A thousand pound bill would be too hard to take.

Pengwern

So took the day off work and went to wait for a water person to turn up on one of those 4 hour slots. They were very good when they arrived but confirmed the suspicions we had and the leak is on our property. Cut a very long story short the pipe is being replaced next week at a cost to us of £440. Too much really and it will have to come from the savings but I guess that is what they are for. The odd jobs that were needed to be fixed in between tenants came to £470! And the partial months rent has been eaten by re letting fees and inventories. I won a minor victory in the oil battle and got £50 out of the outgoing tenants. Does not cover it by a long way but considering we were thinking of writing the money off it is better than nothing. It also says to me they knew they were trying it on.

So where are we financially, well not great really as this month we have had so many expenses and we have used some savings. No additional debt repayments made. Next month hopefully we will have no more expenses and a full months rent. It is £5 more a month than we were getting previously, slightly below market rate but it did mean we got tenants in within a week. So that is better than 3 months of no rent and all the expenses of fixing a water leak.

I also have to confess to buying another dress. So I am in a really bad place I think. I never find anything that fits and a.3 day wedding in the summer I took the opportunity to get an outfit when I saw it rather than fretting about it in the summer. I am having to raid the presents fund to cover some of the cost and the rest will have to be found from elsewhere. But I did not put it on the cc, so my account has £120 to last till the end of the month for food. I need to start raiding the freezer and using up stores wherever possible. My delivery saver also runs out this month and I am switching from T to S. I cannot believe how many items they do not stock anymore and nappies are always out of stock or they send me a substitution of the wrong size!!

After this months standard payment CC1 stands at £350, so close to it being paid off.

Let's hope I manage to do better next month. On a positive the dress was the only spend other than food this month so far. Which is much better than the past me. So that I will take.

Pengwern

Just totalled up the joint account as the last payment for the month has been made. I rounded it down and sent £2.09 to CC1. My present fund has been raided and all I have to spend till payday is £18 for cleaning. I will then have £40 left in my account. So not a great month as no savings at all from my account or the joint one. I have had a lovely few days in the garden and that has helped immensely. A fresh start in April I hope.

April should see the first full months rent come in and fingers crossed for no more repairs in April. I have decided to let cc run with its standard £100 monthly payment and then a standard £100/ month to the larger cc as that has the least 0% deal left. Any extra will also be sent to the larger cc so I can hopefully get the balance below 50% of the total credit limit. This should make my credit score pick up a bit. It's good but should improve if I drop below 50% of the limit of that one cc. Paying off CC1 will also help but that should take 4 months. I will then reassess where to send that monthly payment.

Pengwern

I have just paid off CC1 with savings. I got too impatient and needed a boost so there it is, decision made and carried out. I feel better about it and hopefully this month I will not deviate from the plan and budget. If that is the case then I should have £180 left at the end of the month. I am thinking I need to allocate some of this to me to spend on something I need and want. It should help as I will feel better having something nice to look forward too and if I know what I am going to buy I know I cannot buy anything else. I am thinking a mid month purchase so it is something to look forward too. The beginning of the month is great as you get to move money around and pay off your bills to a degree. The middle is when I loose faith so if I can factor in a treat I am hoping it will help. So the decision is what to get, on my list of things I would like are:
Post in the garden so I can have a washing line, I currently use airers which blow over in the wind.
A bay tree and pot for by the front door
Or some work clothes.

The clothes are not inspiring but partly essential, the line I am excited about and practical and the plant is just a nice to have.

I am thinking the washing line as it is the right time of year to get it sorted to make the most of the good weather. The cost of a washing post and retractable line comes in at £70 including delivery I then need a bag of postcrete, which I believe is about £8. So that would leave me £100 to put towards the CC.

Stb_2

Well done on sorting the Credit Card, great work! I know what you mean about the mid month dip, I try and recognise when I'm in that spend to feel better place myself and limit to something I need so your washing line idea makes a lot of sense, especially as you can dry clothes for free! I sometimes give myself a limit to, say £10 on treats so, just a thought.

Anyway the important thing is you cleared the card!

Littlebirdie

Hey,

Just reading over your diary - seems like you have your head on your shoulders! You are so right about that mid month dip - I'm going to try and be aware of it myself.

Keep it up

Pengwern

Thanks for the comments not sure I have my head totally screwed on but it is getting better. I have not brought the washing line but had earmarked the cash for it. However I had totally forgotten that our family are getting together in the new year for a long weekend away. We have never done this and since the grandparents died the family has disintegrated and we do not see each other as much as we are spread over the four corners of the country. So this will be lovely but I have just realised I have a £200 bill to pay so that the £180 gone and I will have to squeeze the £20 from some other budget or I will have to dip into the savings again. Not ideal as at some point they will be gone if I do not add to them.

I have just had a £50 thank you from work which is nice, I have no idea how that will come to me as before it was always vouchers. So if it is cash that can be used on the family trip. I still have not received the money for the oil from our tenants deposit so I have chased the agent about that. The invoice for the 1st full months rent from the new tenants came through yesterday which is good to see. Hopefully that should land in the joint account on Friday in time for the mortgage to go out. My husband has also sent an extra £250 to the joint account too, so as long as there are no unexpected expenses then we should be able to send some more to the CC3 this month. I work it out to be about £600 but I really cannot believe that just yet. So I am going to wait until all the normal expenses have been paid and see where we are. I am also flipping between sending it all to the CC to get it gone and sending some to the savings pot. However I really did like the feeling of clearing CC1 and we still have access to credit so I am now thinking lets just get them cleared so send any spare money we have to it.

I am also annoyed as I just switched to NatWest to gain rewards and have seen they are slashing them from the summer. So I need to see how that affects us and then I will be on the move again I would imagine... oh well at least this time I can take advantage of a switching service as I am happy to close the account. Last time I moved the DD manually as I wanted to keep the previous account open. Making sure you don't get ripped off and making the most of your cash can take a lot of time. I don't mind it normally as it is spread out but I only just opened the account.

The new mortgage rate has also been applied to 1 of our accounts. That makes a few pounds difference but we have kept the payment the same so it should add up over time. The other mortgage goes to a lower rate in May, and that will be a bigger difference as the rate drop is over 1%. We will keep the payments the same on that one too. We can then stop the overpayments if we need too. But it is nice to know we are helping to pay it off a little quicker.

To add to the mix I am awaiting the £250 switching bonus to hit the account, I think with that and the extra my husband sent is the reason for the large payment we could make to the CC. So it is not a normal month but I will take it thank you very much. Just waiting for it to arrive. We should then get the same in May. I am also looking as our LTV as we are on the cusp of 75% and if we hit it then we get a much better rate. So I am hoping with the little over payments and if the online calculator values the house at a bit more then we could be there. I will then look to switch as soon as I can. However I am not holding out too much hope for that too soon.

I am also getting more and more unhappy with the level of cleaning that gets done by my cleaner. I need to speak to them about it. So after that if it does not improve I am taking the plunge and cancelling them. I am not sure how I will find the extra time in between work and everything else, but I did it pre baby so I am sure I will be able to do it post baby. If not it will just have to be a floor a week (we have a 3 floor house) I can then do extra if we have guests and just lock them out of rooms I have not cleaned!

Pengwern

Doing well so far this month, the desire to buy anything is not so strong at the moment which is nice. I have just used the present fund for the first time, I saw I had £40 and decided that the budget for my nephew was £20, so I managed to pick something up from Sains sale for £18 which was even better. I then dutifully transferred the money into my account. What a refeshing experience, so I will definately be keeping that idea up. It makes it a lot easier and kept me from spending too much.

Off to go and look at bank accounts and see if the NatWest account is worth it now they have changed the rate.

Pengwern

I've have switched from NatWest To coop bank and used their switching service so I should get their £100 bonus. This should take place in May, I will need to keep an eye on it to check no funds go missing.

Ended up purchasing a new plant pot for the font door. This is instead of the washing line and pole. I got given an olive tree so the pot was needed. It has saved me the cost of the olive tree and I spent £50 on the pot.

I have also just upped the payment on CC3 to £150/month. I was just paying the minimum and making manual payments but this will be a lot easier. I'm still hoping to send another £50/month. We will see how that goes.

I hope everyone has a restful Easter Sunday

Pengwern

It is the end of another month and I get paid tomorrow. I finally received the cash back from sticking with my mortgage provider, so £200 went straight onto CC3. I have also managed to not spend £100 this month, so once I get paid that will also be heading in CC3 direction. Do not feel like it is saving yet, more not spending. Saving is something that is budgeted for and can be done at the start of the month. I just have to make sure I keep my purse closed and only open for real essentials. I feel like I have done ok this month and if I can do the same next then I make begin to feel that I am turning a corner.

Off to update that signature of mine.