Twenty-something's aim to be mortgage free

wh_em

I’ve come up with some new goals for December 2023… they are ballpark figures, I can’t tell if they are too ambitious yet!

1. Emergency fund - £12,600
2. Mortgage OPs - £500
3. LISA contributions - £4,000
4. Increase pension contributions to 15% (need to wait a few weeks for this because of work, currently paying 5% I think)
5. S&S ISA contributions £5,000
6. Renovations fund £6,000

wh_em

1. Emergency fund - £12050/£12,600 (95.6%)
2. Mortgage OPs - £0.00/£500 (0%)
3. LISA contributions - £0.00/£4,000 (0%)
4. Increase pension contributions to 15% (need to wait a few weeks for this, currently paying 5% I think)
5. S&S ISA contributions £0.00/£5,000 (0%)
6. Renovations fund £1796/£6,000 (29.9%)

wh_em

Morning!
Just made some slight adjustments to my goals. I realised I had already saved £5,060 for my renovations fund! I use YNAB and it allows me to spend from the pot as I’m saving so I didn’t notice I had already saved that much until I clicked on the line for more info! I have adjusted the goal so it’s £12,000 now. 

The LISA total was bothering me because the deadline is April (whereas my other goals are December 2023). I have included my LISA payments made since April 2022 and will set myself a deadline according to the tax year. (And restart when the new tax year starts!)

1. Emergency fund - £12050/£12,600 (95.6%)
2. Mortgage OPs - £0.00/£500 (0%)
3. LISA contributions - £700/£4,000 (17.5%)
4. Increase pension contributions to 15% (need to wait a few weeks for this, currently paying 5% I think)
5. S&S ISA contributions £400/£5,000 (8%)
6. Renovations fund £5060/£12,000 (42.1%)

With the LISA contributions I tend to plod along at £100 pm until March and then I draw from my other non-ISA savings to get the rest of the £4K in for the year. So I’m not worried that I’m “behind schedule”. Perhaps one day I’ll put the full £4K in on the first day of the new tax year but for now that doesn’t make sense to me.

wh_em

The renovations on the new flat are going really well! Every room has had a deep clean and I rented a carpet cleaner to really get the carpets looking (and smelling) good. I’ve also repainted the living room and both bedrooms just brilliant white for now. The walls looked really tired in the bedroom and the living room colours whilst new were soo dark and it felt like you were walking into a cave! 

I’ve had a few friends pop round to help which I’m so grateful for 🥰 it really makes it so much easier to just have to support next to you when you’ve got to do some gross jobs. One of my friends got really stuck in with the kitchen clean and was actually doing a better job than I was!

Also had lots more people offering to help and being really happy for me. It made me realise just how much things have changed in the last 18 months in terms of putting down roots and building a life for myself!

The garden needs a complete re-do as it’s like a jungle out there right now. I’m going to cut back as much as I can by myself just to see what’s there and then plan what I want to do with it over the next year or so. I love a project and I love gardening so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in!

Moving day this weekend which I’m equal parts excited and nervous about. Excited because I’ll finally be in and nervous because my last moving day was probably the worst day of my life! I’m a little worried about where my emotions will be on Saturday but I’ve got a friend there for moral support and I’ve paid for some proper movers so that should take some stress out of it. 

On my last moving day my dad and I moved pretty much all of it by ourselves with an hour of help with my neighbours. I was exhausted by the end of it and couldn’t walk properly for two days 😂 let’s not do that again!!

wh_em

1. Emergency fund - £12050/£12,600 (95.6%)
2. Mortgage OPs - £0.00/£500 (0%)
3. LISA contributions - £700/£4,000 (17.5%)
4. Increase pension contributions to 15% (need to wait a few weeks for this, currently paying 5% I think) - complete
5. S&S ISA contributions £400/£5,000 (8%)
6. Renovations fund £6056/£12,000 (50.46%)

wh_em

It’s been a busy few weeks!

I moved house over a week ago into my new flat! The first few days felt a bit strange because the area I’ve moved to isn’t as central and therefore not as noisy. It felt a bit lonely..but I’m pleased to say that I’m over that and I love the new flat. I love that it’s MINE and I don’t need to ask permission for anything 🥰

Before moving in I started some painting but ran out of time so every room is a work in progress and that’s ok. I’m telling myself that I can take as long as I want, it doesn’t all have to be done in the first 6 months. I have a tendency to want to get everything done immediately and I end up wearing myself out and getting frustrated, so I’m hiding my time with all of this.   

I’m also haemorrhaging money at the moment so as of today I’m going on a no-spend mission for a while. I’ve bought enough stuff now to get the flat in a comfortable place and then I can save some more to do the decorating. All in good time!

I also booked my first big holiday since 2019 and I’m excited and nervous about it. And another part of me keeps thinking “you could have spent that money on new carpets” BUT I need this holiday. I haven’t had any time off work (bar Xmas) since July 2020 so I really think I deserve to take a break now. 

A__L

Currently reading your diary @wh_em and it's so inspiring! My partner and I are in the process of buying our first place and I am constantly looking on here for advice. I am definitely going to try and follow your approach to saving