SmlSaving's go a long way!

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Morning becky how on earth are you awake enough to type at 6:30? I'm a bleary eyed coffee monster who only gets out of bed because the children make me!

You reminded me about my Emergency Fund which is currently at my happy level of £6,000 :T

This also happens to be the same amount that we would be happy spending on a car when ours gives up...hopefully it will last another year or two.

It took us about 18 months to save up the Emergency Fund and I've popped it in a one year fix I think at 1.60% as we save up another £6,000 in our Holiday Fund which is on track to be achieved in February 2020.

You see we've committed to a family holiday in 2021 with the in-laws for their wedding anniversary :cool: I can't say I'm thrilled at the idea as we can rub each other up the wrong way and that's our double our normal yearly holiday budget :eek: But hopefully it's all roses when it actually does happen and the kids will have a blast regardless.

I'm going to go wrap myself in a blanket on the sofa now and do some studying....must...not...snack...must...not....snack

:beer: here's to the angel delight revolution I appear to have started :beer:

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Phew, yesterday was a busy day especially with DD having a friend over and DS was in tears when I picked him up from school He's very good for the teachers and so when he gets told off, especially if he thinks it unfair, he falls to pieces a bit. I call him my marshmallow cause he's soft and sweet..until he starts planning on how to destroy the school with a mega-robot anyways :rotfl:

I'm supposed to only work three days a week but have been doing lots of overtime this year so the house and garden have become somewhat messy. Plan today is:

- do a load of washing and put dry clothes away
- make a slow cooker full of jalfrezi with homegrown chillies for dinner with the naans I made Saturday.
- hoover the house
- fill the green bin whilst tidying the back garden (I was going to clear the driveway of weeds but as it's one of the few garden jobs that DH does I'll leave it for him)
- have a shower/bath
- read about The European Union which is required for my course.

Here we go...

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So yesterday I changed my plan a bit and I did clear some of the front garden as I realised that the lavenders needed a good chopping. That one side does look very nice now

I also failed at reading my chapter, I'm hoping to be awake enough tomorrow to read it as my brain feels mushy today.

Ah yes, I failed today oh frugal gods. for although I did bring a bowl of spaghetti into work I did not partake of it :shhh: as I 'borrowed' a fiver from the biscuit tin and bought a spicy wrap instead.

There were also a great many chocolates devoured.....which is no doubt why my clothes keep shrinking :rotfl:

Radish72

Do I know you

Your name seems vaguely familiar, like you appear for a while and then disappear for ages, but this might be my age :rotfl:

newgirly

Hi Radish :hello: I didn’t know you were posting on here again, hope ur well

Ps. U may not remember me either :rotfl:

OhtobeMortgageFree

Just popping in to say Hi and good luck on your journey!
We sound in very similar situations. My house is worth about £20k more but I also owe an extra £20k. I also work part time hours and have picked up lots of overtime this year.
I set up the TSB account earlier this year when it was 5% interest, paid monthly. (I think it's 3% now?) The intention has always been to set up three accounts (another for my husband and a joint one too) but tying my husband down to get to the bank is a challenge in itself so currently we still just have the account in my name. It's fairly straightforward to transfer the money across each month. I aim to do it at the start of the month that way if I forget then there's still a lot of leeway to get it done.

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Hi Radish I remember you too, thank you for popping by. :hello:

I had a diary for years which saw me through my first house purchase, engagement, marriage and the first born arrived (MSE MFW readers knew about my pregnancy before anyone else!) I had a break and came back to post when we bought again and then dd was born and it turns out I can't function when sleep deprived - let alone keep a diary!

Thanks for the info re the TSB account OhtobeMF, opening an account this week is on my to do list
It's taken me 15 years to convince DH to let me change his bank account to chase cashback/interest. I can't say he is pleased :cool:
:rotfl: especially as I've told him I'll be doing it at least every two years!

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I like making plans :T

Phase 1 was getting my emergency fund together.

Phase 2 is to save £20,000 by January 2024

How
From February 2020 when the regular saver ends I should have at least £250 to save every month which will bring me to circa £13,500.
Meaning I need to find roughly £150 extra each month to hit my target of £20,000 which will hopefully be enough of a push to keep me motivated.

Why not just overpay?
Basically I want the flexibility of readily available cash because:
a) I want to be in the best position in Jan 2024 whatever house prices and interest rates look like then. In an ideal world I'm thinking of an offset mortgage to utilise those savings.
b) It's very hard to get back your over payments if a disaster happens and you need them. I'm thinking job losses/family problems/evil neighbours/accidents etc.
c) Most lenders don't like mortgages under £50,000 so getting good remortgage deals can become harder.
d) I don't actually want to pay off my entire mortgage until I can do so with my 25% pension tax free lump sum.
e) I want this 'cash' safety net in place before I start throwing every penny I have at my pension and in an ISA.

Ummmmm, i think that's it

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Evening all

A £3.20 tilly tidy to the mortgage today and only five days till pay day Unfortunately there's the large credit card bill to settle before I can see what activities we can get up to for half term. I have enough NatWest rewards to get cinema tickets for a film and if it's dry we'll visit the local pumpkin field.

Today I've felt very productive with bread, pancakes and ramen noodles made, the small compost heap got turned and I ventured into the attic to find our winter attire - I love me hat and gloves!

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A £3.25 tilly tidy to the mortgage today making it almost to £300.00 overpaid this year Shows how those little amounts all add up!

I've a grocery shop arriving tomorrow which is an expensive one....there was 25% of wine so I've stocked up 8 bottles for Christmas. Now I just need to hide it so it doesn't tempt me

I went to roller derby tonight, I'm very very slowing learning how to glide the track on one foot - my head defeats me every time! Has a lovely time and came home to DD sobbing in bed and hubby ranting at me Jeez