Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

Elisheba

Morning, folks of thrift,

@Cheery_Daff I imagine a well in cellar was quite the mod con in ye olden days, instead of having to haul buckets in from fields away, but somewhat less useful now (unless we start living in some disaster film where the water supply is poisoned and Mr Action Hero needs to save the day). My humidity thermometers seem to roughly match what the dehumidifier says, so you dehumidifer may well be right. 

@KajiKita Yes, that's what I am telling myself about the decorations.  That they are an investment and will stand the test of time.  I hope I don't get annoyed every year though when I see the tree that it was too expensive!  It would be a sad state of affairs if I am still grumbling about it in 50 years!

Well, last night I got myself very excited when I saw that 95% mortgages are now a thing.  It seems they have been a thing for a good 2 or 3 years but I missed it somehow.  Now ever since I bought my very expensive car with the intention of going camping a lot in it, I have been aware its not exactly what I want.  What I really want is a motor home to be honest.  So what I think I will do is sell it in the New Year.  Those instant buy sites say I could get about £14.5k for it just now, so I could buy a runaround and still have £10k, which would be a 5% deposit. 

I think I should be able to borrow about £180k for a mortgage, all else being equal.  They are not the cheapest mortgages but I'm currently paying rent for no return at all, so any sort of mortgage will work out cheaper in the long run. There is a lovely mid terrace for sale about 10 miles from me for o/o £190k, which is in walk in condition, so something like that would ideal. There are also a couple of do-er uppers at about £200k which I love, but realistically they might be beyond my budget and then I would need to find the time and money to do them up. I guess it just depends on what is on the market when I am ready to take the plunge.

So the plan for next year has now changed a bit - 

1) First off sell the car and buy a new one (quite complicated bearing in mind I live very rurally and need to be able to drive to drop off cars and pick them up.  I'm hoping that a friend will be able to give me lifts if necessary.)

2) Follow all the advice in the MSE First Buyer guide for getting accepted for a mortgage.  
      a) Pay off the overdraft first and make sure I don't go into it again ever
      b) Make sure all the old credit cards are either closed, or in the case of ones I have had for many years, that they have all the right details.
      c) Continue to pay off the old debts as a matter of priority. Having an achievable target in the near future should make it easier to be more strict with myself and pay them off a bit quicker.
      d) Double check my credit scores
      e) Put some of the car money in my LISA to get an extra £1k in April. and possibly another £1k the next year if it takes that long
      f) Put the rest of the car money in as high interest accounts as I can, but with it still being accessible in case I am actually in a position to buy next year.  
      e) Anything else it recommends.  I needs to show a good debt to credit availability ratio, healthy finances, and the ability to absorb any interest rate hikes.  I think they like at least 3 months of having extra cash, so I think realistically this could be about early 2026.

3) Start putting money aside for all the moving house expenses once the old debts are kaput.

So yeah, exciting times.  If this is an 18 month plan, then who knows what could happen between now and then, but at least it is better (and more motivating) than a 10 year plan! 18 months is much more cheerful, especially in my mid 40s!  I might start a new diary in the New Year with these goals in mind - still on the Debt Free board as I'm clearly not debt free yet.  Will mull that one over. 

My original plan was to move back to Scotland, but with still needing to go into the office every fortnight its not really viable.  Once I have a house sorted I can look into whether I have enough spare cash to make other options possible - a small narrowboat on a leisure mooring near my family perhaps.  That will all have to wait until after the house though as I need to be able to show financial resilience which I couldn't do if I was paying for that.

So, lots for me to be planning for and mulling over this weekend! Hope everyone else has a good weekend ahead and doesn't get badly affected by Storm Darragh.

KajiKita

Ooooh ….! I’m getting excited for you 😊🤩This plan sounds more realistic than the Scotland one you were lightly thinking of ….

One thing you didn’t mention in your getting prepared for a mortgage is making sure you are on the electoral register. That makes quite a difference to your credit rating. 

Also, I wouldn’t close all CCs - keep one, pay it off in full every month and make sure that when the time comes to apply for your mortgage that you have 50% or less of the credit limit on there. 

Also, isn’t there a scheme to sign up to when you are renting that allows you to prove that you have always paid on time without any issues? 🤔
EDIT: Item 14 on this list https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/rent-a-property/#needtoknow-14 talks about it 😊

KK

Elisheba

Thanks, @KajiKita Yeah, I've been registered to vote everywhere I have lived since I was 18.  I have very strong political opinions!

I use my Amex every month for most purchases and pay it off in full for the cashback.  I might keep another one or two as well to show good financial management.  I'll look into the renting scheme as well, but my first reading was that it was to improve credit ratings for those with poor ones, and I think my rating has been fairly solid for a while now.  Can't hurt to look into though! Anything to improve the changes of a yes to a mortgage.

peb

Maybe not possible as it depends on transport links but could you move to Scotland and factor in a night in a hotel once a fortnight?  So travel down after work one day and back one after the day at the office?  

I certainly couldn't do it now unless say London 

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, this is indeed an exciting plan! 😃

Elisheba

Afternoon, frugal friends,

Well, the weekend was not particularly spendy so that was good.  The storm, although very loud and blowy, didn't do any obvious damage in my village.  The power remained on and the trees up, so can't complain really. I didn't go out on Saturday as we were on an amber warning where I was and I felt it was wiser not to, all things considered.

Sunday I popped to my nearest decent sized town, and got a few bits from Ald!.  Then I took advantage of my Greggs app to get a free hot chocolate, and spent actual money on a pasty and a doughnut - so that wasn't the moment moneysaving, but cheaper than a cafe and just as warm, and quite cosy, in my car. the when I got home I made some mac cheese with broccoli, and after I ate that I sat by the fire and read which was lovely,.

The whole new 'buy a house in 18 months' mantra has prevented me from buying a very cool, but also expensive, Xmas jumper this morning, so that is good.  I haven't actually done anything else on my buy a house list, but I didn't expect I would with all the Xmas stuff I have on at the moment. This week apart from Beavers I have 3 carol concerts, an Xmas lights switch on and a church service I am helping organise.  So its going to be super busy! All fairly fun things though so I don't mind.  I'll get on to the buying a house stuff in the new year.  

Dinner plan this week is more mac cheese tonight, then egg and mushrooms and HM toast on Tuesday.  Mac cheese on Wednesday, Mince and potatoes on Thursday, and I don't know yet for Friday and the weekend.  I am pretty busy so will need to have a think about what I realistically have time for. 

Off to walk silly dog now.  Hope you all had a good weekend!

Moorviews

We were on Amber Alert here too, although the wind was so strong that I wondered what on earth it must be like in the Red zone! It blew Friday right through Sunday night. 

It sounds as if you have lots of lovely festive things to look forward to this week and good plans for the long term. 

Elisheba

Morning, economising entrepreneurs!,

Its very Christmasy at Elisheba Cottage today.  I have an Xmas jumper on (one of the ones I bought at a charity shop a few years ago, not the very cool expensive one I didn't buy yesterday) and I have been listening to carols while I got ready this morning.  I'm doing a reading at the WI Carol Service later, so spent breakfast looking through a book of Xmas poems to find something suitable.  There are loads I like.  I'm not sure how suitable Christmas Day in the Workhouse would be https://victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/poem.html but it does pack a punch, no matter how full of Victorian melodrama and pathos it is.  I might just do Advent 1955 by John Betjeman instead, its a bit shorter and less weepy https://www.poetrycat.com/john-betjeman/advent-1955

All the little daily economies continue pace -

* Yesterday was a sink wash day rather than than a shower.  I fill my big Stanley flask with the left over boiling water every time I use the kettle the day before, and then I can have a sinkful of piping hot water without having to turn on the oil.
*Today was a shower wash, and I was as quick as possible.  I found this wonderful brand of solid shampoo and conditioner for curly hair and they are lasting forever.  Sadly no sooner had I bought them than the company said they were pulling out of the UK, so it'll be back to the drawing board when I finally run out of them..
* All my wages are stored in instant access high interest account and then I transfer the money for all the bills etc. over to my normal account as they come out.
* Amex is used for most purchase and paid off in full each month, and I get cashback once a year on it.  It was about £55 this year.
* I write down every purchase on Notion and allocate it to a budget pot so I can keep track of exactly what I have spent each month
* Only flush if you must when it comes to the loo
* Avoiding the heating where possible - oodies, blankets on lap, and a small electric footwarmer I bought in a charity shop years ago are so helpful with this. The thermometer says my house is about 14-16 degrees, which is fine for me.  As long as my hands and feet don't feel cold I'm comfortable.  We'll see how it goes at the end of the week as the temperature is due to be a bit lower outside.
* I am only going to use my dehumidifer when I am drying clothes I think, as having it on most days last week added £3.50 odd to the electricity bill. Its worth it to get clothes dry I think, but not otherwise unless more mould appears.
* Christmas cards aren't exactly money saving, but since I am determined to send them - I have sorted out my Xmas card and I have 82 with envelopes, and a few cards without envelopes, and a few envelopes with out cards.  That should get me through this year and possibly next without having to buy more. Will get them done this week so I have time for second class post. 
* Currently got a month free YT, and 3 month Kindle Unlimited for 99p so I am making use of them.  Watched the Christmas Special of Wartime Farm on YT last night which was very festive. Not sure my nieces would appreciate doll's house furniture made out of pipe cleaners though! 
* Meal plan is in place for this week - depends whether I get around to making bread today, what I will have for dinner tonight.  I might go and put some on straight after this so its all sorted.
* Clothes were washed on a 20 degree synthetics wash.  I put a couple of tbsp on green bleach in as I had towels and the shower curtain in there as well.
* Nancy Birtwhistle eco and budget recipes for all clothes washing and cleaning products except the dishwasher (I am still using up old dishwasher tablets). 
* Clothes were dried on a rack inside - I had the heating on on Saturday as well as the dehumidifer and they dried quicker than they do in summer.

I think that's all for just now. I have been fairly productive this morning and emptied the dishwasher and folded the clothes off the drying rack.  Just off to put on the bread.  Have a good day everyone and stay warm!

foxgloves

I'm getting on well with green bleach. I bought some from the local eco refill shop a few weeks ago, just to test it out & as long as it's activated with very hot water, it does seem effective. It removed a bad colour-run on the white collar on one of Mr F's rugby shirts & brings our belfast sink up nice & white where coffee machine dregs stain it. Also good for general cleaning. I have found a more substantial lidded tub so I can buy a bigger refill next time.
F

Makingabobor2

Another vote for green bleach. Thought it was expensive when I first got it, but you don't seem to need to use much, so it goes a long way.  My refill shop sells it loose, or in brown paper pouches.  I prefer the loose option and have found an old mason jar to store it in.  Its great for cleaning the loo with a good scrub with the brush as well, and even got some tumeric stains off the kitchen work surface.