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Are we nearly there yet?
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Just going by the monthly leftover, we should have £3580.35 by May. (Although, January and some of February leftover will go towards our big holiday in March, so edited to be £2284.28)
DH will get a good bonus in February, and a smaller one in May - estimate of around £1200 in total.
I will start work in April, two months wages should be around £1440.
Hopefully we will have £4924.28 - which I will try to get to £5000 by selling things/top cash back etc - to put forward for a settlement of our debt which will be £10854.25 by then. Ah crap. They won't accept that. It's only 46% of it.
This is so frustrating. I can't stay at my parents any longer than that, it's driving me a little mad.Make £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Struggling.
Got our hopes up about going down the shared ownership route as a way to move out of my parents house sooner, (5% deposit on a £89k mortgage, lovely!) but it turns out that we just can't get a mortgage. We either need a 15% deposit on a non-shared ownership property (which round here would be a minimum of £19k and that's on a tiny 2 bed terrace in a sh!tty part of town), or to wait until May 2020 when our DMP drops off our credit file. Then potentially we could do a 10% deposit on a shared ownership, which would be about £9k, but we'd also need to have settled our DMP, so around £8k (if an offer of 70% would be accepted). So either £17k or £19k basically. Ridiculous amount of money.
It really made me feel down in the dumps, as I'd been picturing "our house". I then started wondering about moving out to rented again, as we'd been planning previously due to finding it hard to live with my parents, but the thought of that also made me sad.
Anyway! I've decided to forget about the living situation for now, as I have no clue what to do and it's not too urgent at the moment, and focus on getting rid of the DMP. That way, if we are ever in a position of having some money for a deposit or they bring back help to buy on older properties or there's some sort of housing crash post-Brexit, we should be able to get a mortgage.
So I phoned W3scot, who our final debt was managed by, and they said it had been passed back to Natwe$t. Phoned them and they said it's being sold to the PR A group and I should hear from them by 21st February. I've also had an updated balance and it's £237 less than I thought, which is good. I have been trying to search and find out whether PR A are good with settlements, but it's very mixed
At the moment we have 10.7% of the total debt saved, and by July should have 56%, which is when we are thinking of making an offer. I was phoning W3scot to see whether they would be amenable to a settlement, so it's annoying that I'll have to wait to find out if we can move on from this!
So now it's back to being as frugal as we can I suppose. All the little baby steps again.
I still need DH to phone up and cancel his phone contract as I can't do it for him, that'll be £8 a month. I'm cancelling Kids Fire on DS1's tablet, as the free version on DH's tablet seems fine, so that's £1.99 a month. It's really frustrating that PetPlan have ignored my email and don't seem to answer their phone, as that's £23.26 a month. That's the last of the bills sorted though then, and will free up £33.25 a month, although I will take out a cheaper pet insurance policy, so it won't be as much as that in the end.
I think it's going to be weekend fun activities with the kids that trip me up, as there's so many cool places near us, so I need to find some freebie ideas. Off to Pinterest!Make £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
DAYS OUT
Go to the library
Free museums
Visit family
Scavenger hunt in country park/woods
National Trust sites (as we are members)
Bike ride
Check if still a member of local museum
Photo walk (he got a camera for his birthday and loves taking pictures)
Use club card vouchers for a day out
DAYS IN
Gardening
Play board/card games
Plastic animals frozen into ice and using tools to free them
Make play dough/moon sand
Make a den and have a picnic in it
Baking
Day bath
Reading
Rugby in the gardenMake £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
It's the day to day living stuff that we fail at, and that will make the biggest difference overall, so it's these we need to concentrate on.
I'll add to this list as I think of things.
Batch make and freeze snacks/lunchbox items
Batch make freezer meals for busy/lazy days
Keep a track of banking, budgets and spending
Remember to take flasks of coffee and snacks out
Bake bread
Sell all the bits hanging around in piles!
Grow own veg (going to look at an allotment soon!)
I also need to make a big effort to get my 10k steps a day as it helps my physical and mental health, and I spend to make myself feel better, so it definitely is money saving!Make £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Yesterday I sold DS2's jumperoo for £20 and the living room looks blooming huge without it in! Only really spent £6 and gave the DS's a lovely day out, so it felt like a real win. Remembered drinks, flasks, snacks and lunch, and the £6 was a necessity. DS1 needs a new mattress really, but we don't know what he will be sleeping in when we move so don't want to splurge at the moment, so bought him a topper for £26, and with the sale of the jumperoo, total spends yesterday were £6!
Today we are returning some library books and then going to a free bird feeder making workshop this afternoon. I'm also hoping for a workout and a shower, it's the little things, hey? Fingers crossed I get time to list a couple more things for sale. I'll be paying some library fines so won't be a NSD but that should be it.
Things to do today -
Home workout
Shower
Return library books
Pay library fine
Take snacks to town for DS1's inevitable mid morning crash
Finish packing list for Disney
List a couple more things for sale
Make some more snacks for the freezer for next term's lunchboxesMake £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Yesterday's list
[STRIKE]Home workout
Shower
Return library books
Pay library fine[/STRIKE]
Take snacks to town for DS1's inevitable mid morning crash - didn't get time to do this and ended up spending £1 on a cupcake from the library bake sale. Gah.
Finish packing list for Disney
List a couple more things for sale
Make some more snacks for the freezer for next term's lunchboxes
So, some things to carry over to today, but I'm not sure I'll get time to do them all, as we have a busy day today. Swimming lessons and a visit to the in-laws. At least it should be a LSD (need to book nephew's birthday present).
Today was pay day and I love moving all the money around and getting it all sorted. Plus, it was bonus month, which is even better! Means I've cleared the credit cards, repaid DS1 as we borrowed from his savings last month, put money aside for spending for our holiday and made a start on our F&F settlement fund.
I've also put money in the bills account, usual 'yearly savings' in that account, etc but this time I've worked out how much "spending money" we have each week and only left one week's worth in the actual account. See if that helps. I think sometimes we see how much money we have left and get complacent. We don't buy the weekly shop here, so for any additional food, toiletries, kids activities, clothes and fuel, we have £63.23 a week. That feels tight to me, but I spent a long time working out the budget so it should be doable... We've also got a monthly amount for haircuts, cat food, and savings for the dentist, but I'm not including that as it's not flexible really.
Today's list -
DS2 swimming lesson
Visit to Grandma (remember hot drink in flask)
Book nephew's birthday present
Finish packing list for Disney
List a couple more things for sale
Make some more snacks for the freezer for next term's lunchboxesMake £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Yesterday's list -
[STRIKE]DS2 swimming lesson
Visit to Grandma (remember hot drink in flask)
Book nephew's birthday present [/STRIKE]
Finish packing list for Disney
List a couple more things for sale
[STRIKE] Make some more snacks for the freezer for next term's lunchboxes [/STRIKE]
NSD yesterday as booking nephew's present didn't require a deposit in the end :money:
Made some baked falafel for lunchboxes - not that the 3yo will try them... "I don't like them!"
Today should also be a NSD as we've got DS1 swimming lesson at lunch time and no other plans really. Might spend some time in the garden but that's easier with my mum around as she knows what she's doing haha, so might be a job for when she's back this afternoon.
Checked banks and everything is good. Updated my spreadsheets. Feeling on top of things! (for now...) I did get an invoice from preschool that I'd forgotten was coming, so I need to work out what category to "borrow" from.
Today's list -
Finish packing list for Disney
List a couple more things for sale
DS1 swimming lesson
Workout
Nappies on the line
Empty compost bin
Gardening
Put clothes away
Put another wash on
Make some playdough with DS1
An optimistic list today. If I spend less time faffing about on the Internet then it should be fine hahaMake £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Today's list:
Finish packing list for Disney - hoping to do this now
List a couple more things for sale
[STRIKE] DS1 swimming lesson
Workout
Nappies on the line
Empty compost bin
Gardening [/STRIKE]
Put clothes away - just DS1's to do now
Put another wash on - will do this before bed
Make some playdough with DS1 - doubt we'll do this now, but to be honest I'm amazed at how much we have got done today, so that's okay
Did a little bit of weeding in the garden with DS1 and then he sprinkled a wildflower mix on the dug over patch. Gotta save the bees! We've also planted carrots and onions in the winter plot in the garden, and we've got sunflowers, cress, chilli peppers, runner bean, radishes and a coffee plant on the windowsills. Productive afternoon I think
Going to focus on my Disney packing list in a bit. Give the boys an afternoon bath. Veggie balls and pasta for tea. Then put away the rest of the clothes, put the boys to bed and then put another wash on. LovelyMake £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300 -
Congrats on your baby boy and you are doing well with getting the debt down. Some exciting savings plans as well so hopefully when the DMP is gone and off your file hopefully you will be able to get another house.
Enjoy Disney.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£301.35
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£80000 -
enthusiasticsaver thank you! It's nice to get a comment so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself, although it is still useful haha.
Someone in your family was expecting a baby at the same time as me last year, weren't they? Can't believe that was nearly a whole year ago!Make £2025 in 2025 #18 - £569.66/£2025
1p savings challenge #32 £24.85/£667.95
March - 0/15 NSD, £189.29/£168.75 made, PAD £72/£186, £184.87/£400 GC
Total debts Jan 1st £11706.68 😭
Jan 29th £11354.92
Mar 1st £11015.300
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