Twenty-something's aim to be mortgage free

ruby_eskimo

Glad that you're settling in well and your old-new job want you back in August.  That's why I stopped using YNAB because I couldn't face it when it got all angry at me for "overspending" when it was actually an emergency.  Plus I have a natural love of spreadsheets so I'm content with that.

wh_em

Hi all!

Had a bit of money come through today, £107.00. Put 10.70 into my investments category, will decide later where to send it. Put £40 into my EF which brings it back up to £961.41 - as I had to dip into it in the last week for fuel money. And then put the remaining into the household fund which is looking very negative today because yesterday we went out and bought a new mattress!! We've both been having bad back, neck and shoulder problems and after sleeping on a brand new memory foam mattress at my work digs I've realised that ours is awful. Purchased a new one yesterday, but have no idea when it will arrive - I am to expect a phone call! We will have to grin and bear the bad mattress for a little longer.

My parents were over this weekend so dad could do a few bits around the flat/garden. On Friday he installed a proper side gate so nobody is getting into our garden without us knowing about it now! He's spent the last month sprucing this side gate up as it used to be in my grandparent's garden as a shed door. I'm really pleased its got a second lease of life as my grandad made it himself! On Saturday it absolutely p*ssed down but dad set up a make-shift gazebo on the patio so we could finish off the brickwork together. Saturday afternoon and evening we all relaxed in front of the tv and watched The Gentlemen and Legend, both great films if you're into that sort of thing!

After my parents left today Mrs wh_em and I did a little clear out in the spare room. I'm desperate to get carpet in there now and we did a quick clean up.

There's still so much we want to finish around the house, plus a wedding to pay for, mortgage to overpay and pensions to top up I'm feeling somewhat overwhelmed about what to do first. Baby steps, I think!

Have a good one

wh_em

Just a quick update on the aims, I'm trying to post an update on every page so I don't have to go rummaging around too far to check back!

Aims for Dec 2020/April 2021
1. Emergency fund - £1121.35  £961.41/£4000 disappointed to be back under the £1000 mark, but hopefully will rectify ASAP
2. Mortgage OPs - £141/£1000 no change 
3. Family member loan - £200/£1000 no change 
4. Mrs wh_em loan - £0   £251.49/£7500 
5. LISA contributions - £253.50  £267.02/£4000 this has nudged up ever so slightly.

ruby_eskimo

Hope the new mattress arrives quickly, ours has a memory foam top and it's the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on.  It can be a little overwhelming with all the things you want to achieve but you're right - baby steps are the way forward although maybe not in the Dave Ramsey way (I find him...abrasive sometimes )

Competsoph

Hi wh_em

Sorry to hear about your back and neck. I’m a physio so keep active and hopefully your new mattress means more comfortable nights sleeping!

Do you have a spreadsheet with all of your details on? I set one up at the beginning of the year and I finally showed mr compet yesterday and he was so amazed. I’ve managed to save £9000 since the stat of the year! This is well on my way to my aim of 50% of my wage for this 12 months, although my house purchase seems to be getting ever so close so I think that will put a stop to all the proceedings whilst I find my feet.

Nice to see you checking back in, I like a little catch up! Good luck with the back! 🙂

wh_em

@ruby_eskimo i definitely think he has a good process but yes...abrasive is the right word! i feel much better about achieving the baby steps now i'm getting paid again!!

wh_em

@Competsoph 50% of your wages is fantastic! I used to use a spreadsheet but I found I wasn't taking enough accountability for the money I was spending. I used YNAB software now which is much better for me...although I still need to take some more accountability!!
How exciting that the purchase is getting close! Do you have an exchange date in mind for your new place?

wh_em

Hi all
It's payday today, finally!! It's only for two days work but that's better than nothing and means that its 7 days until I get paid for a full week's work, can't wait.
£45 to my investment category. I might even use some of it to make a small mortgage OP as I haven't done one in a while.
The rest to bills, fuel and food and then a little £20 or so to my emergency fund. Emergency fund is back up to £995 as I've been adding little bits here and there in the last few days.

Since the job I'm on is only 4 or so weeks of work I knew that I wouldn't be automatically signed up for pension contributions (I think its after 3 months to be auto enrolled) I had been umming and ahhing about the idea of trying to sign up anyway and whether it would be worth it as its only 3% from the company. And then I realised that if I didn't enrol I would be missing out on a free £200 odd into my pension just for 4 weeks of work, I gave myself a good shake and signed up ASAP.

I feel much more relaxed today knowing that normality has almost resumed.

Competsoph

@wh_em no date yet but hoping for one very soon. I’m feeling a bit anxious about spending lots of furniture although actually mr compet has a huge amount of stuff from his old house and my dad is having a midlife crisis and moving so he is going to give us his sofa and fridge. We actually don’t need to buy anything other than a washing machine.
Im trying to think about how to plan my finances once I’m paying everything for the house and my huge chunk of deposit has disappeared. Oh well, I’ll go back and try to get some tips from you guys.

Its nice to see you returning to some element of normality, it must have been tough over the past few months! Good luck with the interim employment!

wh_em

Hi all,
Just paid off last month's Amex statement, I put all my purchases on my credit card and then pay it off in full every month. The mattress we bought is bringing up the balance far more than I'd like so it's nice to see it much lower after paying the bill!

Total spending for July jumped up from June which I expected after being back at work, fuel to be bought, extra food to be bought, brand new mattress... amongst other things. I have to be honest I've been quite naughty now I'm back to work, I've been buying a hot meal for lunch almost every day! It's frustrating because normally I would bring something in, but the fridges, microwaves and kettles have all been taken away because of Covid-19. So if I want to bring something in I have to really think about how fresh that's going to be by 1pm in an un-air conditioned office! It's about £7 a day give or take, which I know is going to make people's toes curl! But its bringing me a little bit of happiness each day and its a treat to myself for getting a higher rate for this job. 

Little bit of money has come through the last few days so the emergency fund has had about £30 added to it! And another £17 to the investments category. I realised this morning that I'm focusing so much on the investments category that my idea of filling the EF and paying off my personal debts has fallen to the way-side. I think I liked the idea of watching my investment saving % go up. From 3.6% in March to 12.9% in July. I wanted to be able to account 25% of my monthly spending just to investments and overpayments but I think I've gone for that idea way too quickly. I need to take some more responsibility for the money I owe! From now on, only 10% into investments and the rest into EF and paying back this £8,500 that I owe to Mrs wh_em and my dad.

Have a good one