Future Me & the Rabbit Hutch House

Peaches113

So having lurked on MSE forum for a couple of years I am finally mustering the courage to start a diary to keep myself on the straight and narrow and to try and make proper inroads into 'becoming a grown up'. I've read through many of your diaries and have taken inspiration and learnings from all of them so let me start off by saying thank you for sharing. I ramble a lot so apologies in advance!
So Future Me & the Rabbit Hutch House. The rabbit hutch house is my first 'only me' house which I bought July last year. Its a teeny terrace house, that I am striving to turn into the cottage of my dreams (despite the fact it was built in the 1990's, is very much NOT a cottage and has about as much character as a carrot), but its in a lovely village round the corner from my folks. It needs a bit of work to get it homely having been rented since it was built, but it's mine (well 14.89% of it is) and as a committed introvert having my own space is pretty amazing. Previously I had owned a house with my sister for 10 years but this was before my financial awakening so I did absolutely nothing money wise for 'Future me' (but thanks to house price increases it did end up getting me a nice chunk of money for my deposit). Along with being a committed introvert, I am also a lazy s*d so I have tried to adjust to this intrinsic character flaw by doing things for 'Future me'. You know when you really can't be bothered to do the washing up before bed but then you think 'Future me will appreciate that in the morning' or, since my financial awakening, wanting to spend money on tat and thinking 'future me would probably rather I put that money into a savings pot to pay my car insurance rather than on a life size sculpture of a giraffe'(I joke but you get my drift..) So anyway as mentioned above I've been lurking on these boards for a while gathering inspiration and ideas and have made small baby steps but I find my motivation lacks and I'm hoping having a diary will make me more accountable and allow me to, in a rambly fashion, cement some goals and plans. I am wholeheartedly looking for support and ideas so please do throw any you have my way.
Well on to the financials. I have started with a mortgage of £140,000 which feels like a massive amount of money for one person to owe, especially when you realise it is debt and not just, you know, 'one of those things'. To date I have managed in a haphazard fashion to overpay about £1,300 on top of monthly payments which takes my current mortgage debt at a still huge £135,425. I read a lot that the first year of home ownership is a difficult time to make big inroads into overpayments so I'm trying not to get to disheartened at the pitiful progress, every £ paid is a £ less to pay interest on and all that. And here comes the crux of the issue and the bit that makes me secretly a little bit annoyed and frustrated. Doing it on my own. On paper I earn a decent enough salary but after bills and you know staying alive there is little left to overpay with. I wish wish wish I could share the costs, not because I want a partner (I am very happy to be on my own and have been for donkeys years) but because essentially I want someone else's income so I can make bigger payments! Not really a solid reason to go out and find a boyfriend! Anyway I digress. So here's to a hopefully start of some accountability, setting some goals so Future Me can enjoy the Rabbit Hutch House and pay that mortgage down so I can maybe buy an actual cottage one day. I'm going to post an SOA below so again any ideas and or support gratefully received.

Peaches113

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2300 
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0[b]
Total monthly income.................... 2300[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 606
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 226
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 35
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 18
Telephone (land line)................... 19
Mobile phone............................ 12
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 12 (Netflix & Prime as too tight to pay for a TV license!)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 270
Road tax................................ 11
Car Insurance........................... 26
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 80
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 25
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 8
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 18.5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 46
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 200
Horse Livery............................ 150
Software subscriptions.................. 25[b]
Total monthly expenses.................. 2181.5[/b]
[b]

Assets[/b]
Cash.................................... 12500
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 10000
Other assets............................ 0[b]
Total Assets............................ 187500[/b]
[b]

Secured & HP Debts[/b]
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 135425...(606)......2.19
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 17966....(226)......0[b]
Total secured & HP debts...... 153391....-.........-   [/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR[b]
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-  [/b]

[b]
Monthly Budget Summary[/b]
Total monthly income.................... 2,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,181.5
Available for debt repayments........... 118.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]
Amount left after debt repayments....... 118.5[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -153,391
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0[b]
Net Assets.............................. 34,109[/b]

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

So firstly expenses. As you can see when I say it's tight I mean it is TIGHT. The exttra (in good months) gets put towards the mortgage. That entertainment budget usually gets swallowed up by something else and is currently being out towards my sisters hen weekend which is scheduled for August (COVID19 permitting). The car, ah the car. So basically I took a promotion at work at the beginning of the year which meant a decent payrise but means I now have a 45min-1hr commute each day. Whilst I was quite happy with my older car it started displaying some troubling symptoms and my trusted mechanic suggested it was probably a dead duck that wouldn't cope with a 70 mile a day commute. So weighing up my general anxieties over not having a car (and *cough* it only being me so having no one else to borrow a car from in the situation that it goes kaput) I went for a brand new car for the security of knowing I wouldn't (shouldn't!) have to worry about it. But that now means a massive £300 is tied to that which whilst not ideal the comfort of knowing it works and should keep on working makes it kind of, slightly, worthwhile. The horse is another issue but basically I pay his everyday costs but he's on 'loan' to my yard manager. It's a slightly complicated emotional situation so currently this stays as it is. I feel like I have trimmed the fat from most areas, food shopping could be lower but as you can see I don't get out much so like to have my comforts at home. I actually budget myself £140 each month but consistently go over this so might as well be honest with what I actually spend.
And onto the much more exciting savings. So I currently have £2,800 in EF, £2,900 in general savings, £2,400 for a new bathroom and £4,500 for installing gas central heating OR getting new windows OR putting in a bigger woodstove OR any number of things I dream up but haven't got around to doing OR just feeling like a comforting buffer given current state of global affairs. I need a real plan with this money...but maybe will wait until a level of normalcy resumes. On a side note I *think* my job is pretty secure providing I don't get the sack for being rubbish.
So goals. Having been a home owner for nearly a year now feels like a good time to set some goals.
First off I would like to increase my overpayment each month (which has been pretty intermittent throughout this year TBH) from £100 to £250 (this would cover the interest payment each month so it would feel like my whole mortgage payment was actually going to, you know, pay the mortgage. To do this I would have to reduce the money I am currently putting into my EF/savings. I feel slightly nervous about this as take a lot of comfort from having a little lump sum and would ideally like to get it to 6 months expenses (so £10K!) which will take forever at £50 a month. Which is the sensible choice here? I get 1.2% on savings so fiscal brain says well of course pay off the mortgage but anxious human brain says argh but what if you get the sack for being rubbish and can't get a new job because the world is upside down. One to think on. Anyway that's enough rambling for today. On a side note if anyone can point me in the direction of a good overpayment calculator I'd be hugely grateful. I'm pretty dense when it comes to creating excel spreadsheets and I read with extreme jealously when people say they've been playing with their projections and have now decided to do X,Y and Z because their magic spreadsheet showed them the light.

regularsaver

Hi Peaches113 and congrats on beginning your MFW journey. I have enjoyed reading your thread so far. I know what you mean about having an anxious human brain regarding paying off as much as you can against balancing building the EF. Your 10k target is the same one I have too. I am about at the same stage of house ownership as you but have a little more stashed in my EF currently than you do but its taken a long time to build. For me I went with balance, making OP's whilst also adding money to the EF every month. However small the mount you make in OP or into the EF, it will add up over time and for me, having that EF in place makes me a little less anxious. Thats worth more than money to me. Once I hit my EF level, then I will use that money to make large OP's. Thats my plan anyway. Hope that helps in some small way. 

Peaches113

Thanks Regularsaver. You're right, I know you're right and I need to be patient and take the small steps. But I'm just so bl**dy impatient! I think part of the issue is I read diaries on here from beginning to end in one sitting so it feels like everyone else is achieving massive payments at breakneck speed but in reality its because I've spent 3 hours reading about 4 years hard work!

South_coast

Hello! I felt a lot of parallels reading your intro, from the long and painful commute, to the expensive car, to the trying to make a bland home more personal (1970's block of flats for me). And while I do have a BF, we don't live together, so he doesn't count (merely from a MF-perspective, of course 😂)! 

Don't beat yourself up about the EF, if you add all those different pots up you've got way over £10k. If you were to lose your job, I'm sure keeping a roof over your head would justify a raid on the bathroom/heating/windows/whatever funds. Could you maybe split the £118 "left over" and the £200 towards the emergency fund into £159 each towards the EF and OP's so you were achieving both? Not sure what your timescale is for the improvements, but that cash could just sit there as a buffer just in case until you had the full  £10k you're looking for in the EF. 

The other thing that stands out immediately for me is the £80 a month towards car maintenance. I'm assuming you have to pay for servicing, but if it's a new car it will be under warranty and it won't need MOT for a few years. There might be some cash you can free up in the budget here

Good luck 😀!

jenni_fer

Good Luck @Peaches113!

Thick_n_Thin

Good luck, will be following with interest 

longway2go

Hi Peaches,
I think SC is right in relation to your EF.  I do fight with myself about building the EF which seems like the boring thing to do) or making OPs which sees my mortgage figure drop and I know once the EF is filled to the desired level everything cn go towards OPs which is more exciting. What I am doing now is linking my mini targets to an amount of the mortgage and an increase in my EF and therefore I order to hit the target my EF has to grow but its rolled into an OP target so doesn't seem as dull. 
I use the money saving expert mortgage overpayment calculator which is a bit addictive as you can see how things can snowball with OPs. 
Have you tried batch cooking? I started about 8 months ago and save both time and money so might be worth trying if you haven't already?
Good luck with your journey. I will be following your progress

Sistergold

Hi there Peaches113
Another single lady with a large mortgage here. Wave wave. Have enjoyed reading your diary so far. You are doing well in your journey and all the different savings pots can always be used in times of crisis like the other ladies said. The emphasis on building EF is critical for when you don’t even have a penny after buying your house. So if all your savings are already over £10k then that’s fine and you can just build the actual EF pot slowly as well as overpay if that makes you feel like you are making better progress towards mortgage freedom. I also just feel so impatient with my mortgage sum and have to stop myself from just concentrating on overpayments at the expense of everything else! 

Will be with you on your journey!
xx

Unicorn_cottage

Hiya! Lots of luck. Don't beat yourself up you are doing really well. What are the software subscriptions btw?
Am sure you will have looked at this overpayment calculator? https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/ I love it because it gives you your results in really big letters and says how much sooner you would be mortgage free!

Peaches113

Thank you all for being so lovely and welcoming and thank you for the suggestions. @South_coast having a BF you could send home at the end of the day seems like a very sensible set up and one that I can wholeheartedly agree with! With regards to the car maintenance payments you're right in that a large chunk of that is for servicing (due to my horrendous mileage) but I also put away £30 a month for new tyres for when that time comes. I suspect they will cost around £100 each and I read on someones diary here (forgive me I can't quite remember whose) that an emergency spend should only be an emergency spend once and then it should be budgeted for because well, you know it's going to happen. So that is what I am trying to do (although it wasn't so long ago that I was one of those people that was taken by surprise when every year I had to pay car insurance, I mean who would think that an annual cost would happen, well annually?!? ) I'm a reformed character, as I never get bored of telling my nearest and dearest . @Unicorn_cottage the software subscriptions are for YNAB (the tool I credit with sparking my financial maturing) and more boringly for my windows & anti virus subscription for next year. With the start of lockdown I finally bought myself a laptop so in the same vein as the tyres figure its sensible to put some money aside to pay those when they're up for renewal in a year.
So having had a little think and a big read of others diaries I yesterday applied for a new regular saver for this year and will put £100 a month into there. So my minimal pennies can at least earn some pitiful interest and most importantly I can't loot it when the desire to buy more plants becomes overwhelming (on a side note I am addicted to buying houseplants, holidays and fancy outings I can do without but I NEED to live in a jungle). I've also have another play with the MSE overpayment calculator and if I can manage to overpay by £200 a month then this should comfortably take me under the 75% LTV when my remortgage is due in 2 years. So that feels like a goal. And if I want to overpay more than that then I need to EARN SOME MORE MONEY Current job that's not really possible, just had a promotion and where as usually would be able to be quietly confident on a yearly bonus, given current circumstances I think banking on any kind of bonus for next year is very unlikely. Still waiting to hear on last years bonus which has been delayed but fingers crossed will get news on that next month. So earning extra money, can't really get a second job as current job means I need to be available basically 24/7 (management in a 24hr a day business so always possibility that some catastrophe could occur) I don't own a lot of sellable 'stuff' so that only really leaves my own creativity. So time to pull my finger out, stop wasting my evenings playing on my phone and start practising and see if I can make any money drawing pretty pictures of peoples pets. So second goal, earn some money using colouring pencils (vague as you like ) Thank you all again for taking the time to comment, I'm terrible for reading diaries and not commenting (my introvert ways are strong and extend to online forums!) and I really do appreciate the support. Right, lets do this...