Its a new Me! Wannabe Debt free ... and get a Mortgage! 27 May 2019 at 1:14PM in Debt free diaries 35 replies 3K views

Lemon_Tree

You're very right property debt is a different kettle of fish to debt debt. You're so lucky you didn't have to sell anything, the whole process is soul destroying

SandyShores

I can't believe its so long since my last post here.  The family seems to have had constant colds/flu since November and time has just gone on.  I think we are all good for the moment.

Well, everything has been going on in the background and we are now fully committed to buying our new home.  The only thing with new builds is that the date is all very loose.  I'm not sure @Lemon_Tree how anyone who  has to sell a house in a chain could buy one.  That would be really stressful.  Anyway, I am feeling less stressed for the time-being and have to concentrate on decluttering and thinking about packing up.  We've decided there will only be a few things going with us and we will have to buy some new things - so there will have to be some ebaying and strategic moving around of furniture and ordering in a few weeks time.  Did I say a few weeks!!  I need to get a shifty on.

On another good note, I have been keeping a very close eye on the food budget - for the first time ever I am counting the pennies and trying to stick to £60 a week.  As a result we are wasting less food and definitely eating better.  The other day could have been a takeaway moment, but I knew we had left over veggies in the fridge that were crying out to be eaten.  Cue a delicious, home cooked 'free' meal.  I've also lost a few pounds and have started to eat more healthily, we have a few icecreams in the fridge but don't keep chocolate in the house now - its a once in a while treat.  I just feel that every £1 wasted could be a quid towards our new home.

Hope to have good news about a moving date next time I post - who knows.  In the meantime, I need to start getting organised.  I think last time I moved I downloaded a moving checklist which was really helpful.  I will go and have a look for one now.

SandyShores

No moving date yet but we are working towards May at the moment - will be nice to move in the Spring.  Decluttering like crazy here - I figure the less we have to move, the easier it will be.  Am still trying to keep the food budget down and its not going too badly.  Every £1 saved is going to savings - and everything left from the move will go into a back up fund.  

SandyShores

Can't believe I haven't posted on here for so long, but lots has been happening, including our move which went well.   We are now the owners of a new house and a nice new mortgage.  Looking forward to paying it off and its nice to own a little bit more every month.  

SandyShores

Another week gone by and we are starting to settle in.  Nowhere near back to normal, but getting there.   Can't believe we own this shiny new house :):) (well about 5% of it so far) :)

SandyShores

Have joined the mortgage free wannabe thread.  Planning for the long-term I want to knock 7 years off the payments.  Short-term we want to get the garden done - we aren't planning on moving so we will hope to enjoy it for the next 20 years at least.  Its sets the overpayments back a bit but I think its worth it and can only add value.

I feel I ought to start a new thread as I've now got my mortgage, but I think I'll keep going on this one for a bit.  Let the dust settle and so on.  I was reading about how moving house affects you and how you can get emotional at leaving your old home.  I have felt a bit like that, the same feeling when I go on holiday, excitement but also slightly anxious.  I've already started settling and just a few more things to do the house and it will really be feeling like home.  Its odd cos I almost feel like we're on holiday - when do I pack to go home again - oh I am home!!

I'm keen to get back to regular exercise and weight loss.  A few more pounds and all those size 16s will hit the dust (well charity shops).  Talking of which there's a few more opening this week so hopefully one of them will take the bits and pieces I've put back that were too good to throw out.  Unfortunately fleabay fees just don't make some things profitable and I don't like to post breakables in case of damages.  I'm also trying to be a bit firmer with myself and declutter rather than hang onto things.  Decluttering the mortgage, the weight and the clutter

Kakiste

Well done- so many good changes! I've bookmarked your diary if you don't mind. 
First thing I'm doing once I got debt free (in just under 2 years time!) is to plough the same amount of debt repayment money into savings for a house deposit.
Congratulations on your new n
home.

SandyShores

Thank you Kakiste.  Please feel free to bookmark, its not very exciting, but I find it keeps me going in the right direction.  Two years to be debt free isn't long at all - good luck on your journey.  Thank you, I am so excited to be a home owner again.  We had a long time in rented, and there were many years when I thought we wouldn't ever be debt-free, never mind be able to afford to buy again.  So keep going, small steps forward all the time. 

This year I've been following the save £1 a day thread, where you save a pound a day from 1st December to 30 November.   Instead of just spending my nectar points and the like, I've been swapping them for my shopping money.  So if I get a few pounds of points I use those for the shopping and put the equivalent in the shopping.  I've just popped over to your thread and will bookmark back if that's okay.  I've been receipt scanning too - Zipzero, Huyu, Shoppix and Receipt Hog - and I put it into my £1 a day pot/swap with grocery money.  The aim is to have £366 to spend over December.  I used to pay council tax over 10 months and then rely on the 2 'free' months to repay the overdraft, but I've gone to payment over 12 months and I think this will be better as I'll have the money before xmas when its needed.

I've also joined up to Mortgage Free Wannabes, but not sure if I will make many overpayments this financial year after all as we want to get the garden done so that we can enjoy it while we pay for the house.  We won't get ourselves into debt to do it, but it feels slight odd to be spending money when we've been saving like mad for so long.  Overall though it feels right as its part of our investment in this property.

SandyShores

I'm always saying I can't believe its been so long just lately but its almost 3 months since I last posted.  I've been through a bit of a slump about the new house, wondering if we've done the right thing, bought the right place etc.  I've looked through the forum and people say its quite common - Its even got a name 'buyers remorse'.  There is just one house on the estate the same as ours in a much quieter spot - but that hasn't been released until now and wouldn't have qualified for help to buy equity, so that's off the list.  Then there is another that is a bit smaller but in a quieter spot, but the garden isn't as nice and we love our house so much, plus I don't know if we would have coped with smaller at the moment (we already downsized).  We fixed our rate for 5 years, so we definitely can't do anything until then - not that we are actually thinking about it but it helps me to think that if we hate the house then we can sell up and move somewhere else.  DH is horrified that I would even think about moving again - the thought of moving again is exhausting, but it helps me to have options in my head just in case.  Now I have options sorted I feel more settled, I also think that once the garden has grown I will feel happier.  Moving from an established garden to a bare patch feels very strange.  We've planted lots but they are mostly quite small and I know that once the garden is established we will feel more at home.  Anyway, family are calling so I have to go and attend.  Feel better for writing this down and will be interesting to look back on this one day and see what has happened.

SandyShores

Two weeks later and feeling much more positive and settled in our new home.  All plants purchased and planted now just looking forward to seeing them grow in the spring.  There are a couple of very soggy patches on the lawn which I think are because the soil is clay.  I need to look up if there's anything I can do to help it.  Confession time that I now have £650 on a credit card (shocked face).  Its on a 0% Santander card for 15 months, so I'm going to pay it back at £50/month which means more money for the mortgage overpayments.

Still running a couple of times a week but I need to up that and also start up my hand weights again and find an online pilates class.  Christmas savings going well.  Shame about Zipzero, but I keep hoping they will come through with at least some money.

I've been doing the lottery a bit lately and have decided to limit myself to £10/month.  So I can choose which days to enter, but once that £10 has gone I will need to wait until next payday.  I'm still putting £25 into premium bonds each month and will start making some smaller mortgage overpayments soon - hedging my bets