Reducing Debt - being accountable and taking responsibility

DrSpendLittle

Our lovely couple who we've accepted an offer from on the house came for a second visit this morning. They are so nice and we are delighted to be selling to them. They were asking all about how to light the gas fire and where the stopcock and electricity / gas meters were I think the ball will officially start rolling on Monday when we get the memorandum of sale agreed. We've already instructed solicitors so we're good to go. Except we don't have anywhere yet to go to :rotfl: Oops.

It's so tiring keeping the house tidy and clutter free whilst it's on the market! :rotfl: We're both knackered! I haven't even eaten any lunch yet. I'm too tired. Ooops! The adrenaline of seeing the house buyers and spending 90 minutes chatting to them (we get on quite well as it turns out!) has well and truly worn off now. I've got some brioche buns so I think I'll make a fried egg sandwich. DF is in bed. Poor thing. He's done so well decorating and sorting out the loft this week.

In other news, I've had some spends today. I went into town and stocked up on meat from W4itrose and bought a pressie / card for a colleague who is leaving. Also did an Oc4do shop. I donated 7 items to the food bank whilst I was in W4itrose. It's always full, which is lovely.

Dinner is roast ham with a broad bean risotto and rocket. The ham is just soaking. I'll boil then roast in sugar and mustard. Yum. I got a big chunk so we can use it for mid week dinners or sandwiches. I also bought a big bit of braising steak so DF is going to cook that tomorrow. We should also have left overs for the week.

Right, I better grab some lunch or else I will keel over!

DSL

DrSpendLittle

I've posted on the house buying, selling, renting forum about where to stash equity on the sale of a property.

If anyone has any advice on this, I would very much like to hear it.

I can't believe that in 18 months, I've gone from being in nearly £14K of debt to now worrying about where to store a big sum of money!! :rotfl:

DrSpendLittle

Today is going to be a much needed lazy one. Once the Oc4do order arrives - it's due anytime in the next hour - I'm going to have some brunch and a quiet few hours reading or listening to the radio. Then I need to do a couple of hours work. I've an imminent deadline and a busy week ahead so I want to do some prep today to ensure I get a running start tomorrow.

I also need to start looking at the solicitors paperwork for selling. They sent a big pack through the other day. Once the buyers advise the EA of their proof of funds and solicitors details tomorrow, a memorandum of sale can be set up and the house will be Sold STC. Eeek. I'm quite looking forward to the sold board going up. Our for sale board blew down the other day!

I don't think it'll be too long before exchange as we're not buying anything and our buyers are currently renting, so we will need to start looking for rented accommodation at some point over the next month. I've already got a list of saved properties on my leftmove account so I may start ordering them in terms of overall convenience. I'll also keep an eye out on the for sale section too!

I'm hoping to have a frugal week - I've got a plan for breakfasts / lunches whilst in the office and there will be lots of left overs from last night's ham and todays beef stew.

Car being serviced this week - we did take it in last week but they needed to order a couple of parts so we're waiting on them.

Other than that, I can't see any big expenses.

Feeling very relieved not to be selling and moving into the enormously expensive new build. My savings plan is still in tact and I'm feeling rather positive about life after debt.

DrSpendLittle

Also, I've decided to keep on with my diary after 29th March.

I think I will rename it to something like 'Life After Debt: staying accountable and responsible'.

I'll use it to help me stay on track with savings and being frugal. The more we maximise savings between selling and buying, the more financial peace we will have in our new home and the more choice we will have regarding decoration, new bathrooms, new carpets, new furniture etc.

DF and I will also combine expenses when we move. We need to set up a joint account but have been waiting until we knew more about possible mortgage applications. We didn't want an unnecessary credit check. He's really on board with savings and is being more mindful about spends on things like beers. My debt busting ways have really inspired him into action. He loves his little trips to Aldee to get cheaper German beer

We also need to set up an NS&I account to stash the equity once we complete on the sale. I've gone from stressing about debt to stressing about what to do with a significant amount of cash. I won't lie, the latter is actually quite stressful, however silly it sounds. The NS&I will be a joint account. We may transfer bits and bobs into other higher interest accounts to benefit from some interest but we will risk paying tax.

Time for a coffee and a bit of radio.

DrSpendLittle

Oc4do accidentally gave me an extra pack of pork loin steaks! That's £3.02 of free meat and an extra evening meal. Whoop!

My freezer defrosting plans will now need to be put on hold for a couple of weeks with all the meat I've bought recently!

DF is making bread. He really enjoys it. Then, he'll get started on the braising steak.

DrSpendLittle

One other thing I must not forget to do, so I'll put it here, is to pay the minimum payment on my B4rclaycard once the statement is issued on the 16th March. It'll be for something like £40. Then, that will cancel out the automatic direct debit that usually comes out between 30th - 4th. I will then be able to pay the remaining balance off on 29th at 12:01am and be debt free without the risk of them taking the direct debit too and ending up being in credit by £40! Its all so complicated :rotfl:

enthusiasticsaver

Good idea to stay on here and remain accountable. Buying houses is expensive and being careful in the early days is a good move. Also presumably until you find somewhere you like it is best to maximise savings to give you the option of buying somewhere a little more expensive. Having cash in the NSI will give you the advantage of having no chain although I presume you are still looking.

Apparently my sisters house has gone on the market due to her impending divorce this week so off to check right move.

Good news on the free meat. Only a couple of weeks now

DrSpendLittle

Hi Enthusiastic, yup we're still actively looking but are realistic that we probably won't find anywhere before we need to exchange and complete. We don't want to feel rushed and we don't want to delay / lose our buyers either.

If we rent for a year and delay buying, we will 'loose' a mortgageable year so to speak due to DF's retirement age, so actually, it will become more expensive on a monthly basis for us. We could throw more at the deposit and cancel that out I suppose - I need to work through the maths in my head.

I hope the market is okay for your sisters house selling - I chatted with my EA the other day about Brexit and she seemed reasonably upbeat. I know it's her job to paint a positive picture, but she said people still needed to sell / buy due to job relocations, divorce etc. I'd never have imagined being able to sell our house within 1 working day, two weeks before Brexit. It depends on localised markets too- ours seems fairly robust. Little come on and what does sells fairly fast. Fingers crossed for her it works as smoothly as possible so ease the divorce.

T minus 18 days, 11 hours and 7 minutes

wishingthemortgaheaway

Sounds great dsl.

I have got a feeling that, when my friends got a mortgage the joint account had to be at least 30 days old before it would count.

Just a heads up really.

DrSpendLittle

Wish, when you say 'before it would count', do you mean show up as a mark on the credit file?