The Last Leg; 6 years later, debt free in 2021

greensalad

Been doing some forward planning for 2021.

We're currently only £18 short on what we need to pay HMRC in January, which is really great! Most of the extra cash comes from the overtime I have picked up. So I'm sure we'll be able to find £18 by January and it means we can pay the bill without anything having to "give" elsewhere. 

Also got a rough plan for how I want to utilise our disposable income over 2021 so we can still meet our targets for house saving. Currently after we've saved for the HMRC bill, we'll go straight back to saving for the house and hopefully have enough to have filled our LISAs up with another £8,000 maximum by June, meaning we'll have £20,000 in house savings locked in LISAs (including the bonuses). 

We have a few upticks to our income next year. Firstly, paying off the big HMRC bill in January which is actually a student loan bill means an extra £340 per month in OH's paycheque as it'll all be paid off. Plus he plans to reduce his pension contributions in April which were set for 1 year. He's going to move it back down to 5% instead of 9% just to get us on the property ladder and then we'll assess boosting it again. That's well over an extra £500 per month. 

Crossing my fingers for a possible pay rise for both of us. Mine normally gets confirmed before the end of the year so it should be soon if there is one at all. OH's is a mystery as he's new to the company.

I think once we get to June next year and have our LISAs filled we'll be able to utilise all our spare money to pay off the remaining balance on his credit card in one month. That'll mean it's cleared in July. Mine will already be cleared next January. So no consumer debt for the both of us come next summer! Only my student loan will be "debt" and that doesn't hurt mortgage applications much. 

Anyway just rambling. I've been making lots of plans for 2021 now as I feel the year drawing to a close. I wrote my reading list for next year, 52 books, and trying to be more disciplined than this year (corona and not commuting really threw my patterns off). I have stacked up 5 books I want to finish before the end of the year and that'll take me to 35 completed this year so not way off target, and next year I'll try and pick some less lengthy tomes!

I also bought a few new (used) books for 2021 which is exciting as I haven't bought new books in a while. 

18 days to go. I've got £60 left in my account with no intention to buy anything. I'm thinking up my Christmas shopping plans ready for December. 

greensalad

Done some housekeeping finance wise today. Closed an old Halifax account, and planning to close an old MBNA credit card. My aim is to only have one line of credit open when we come to mortgage applications, which will be my Virgin CC which will be fully paid off by then but still kept open. I don't really know if that's the right thing to do, as I see some say you want to have lots of credit open and others disagree. So I thought just one open is probably best.

Also trying to dig out access to an old Barclays account. It's the oldest account on my credit score so I want to keep it open but I don't have any access to it at the moment and I don't even know the account number, only that it shows on my credit report. I've written a letter to post to the branch I opened it with as I can't go in due to lockdown.

greensalad

Oh and Christmas shopping! We did the Secret Santa draw yesterday and I got my auntie and my OH got my auntie's partner. Went straight online and ordered two mini make-up sets for her from Clinique, and a sports top for him. Should arrive in a few days. That's presents well and truly started.

Still nagging OH to call his Mum to tell me what her and his sister want so I can get that bought. No idea what to get OH. I've got £75 to spend but will need to do stocking out of that plus the "hamper" I always make for him (with all his favourite snacks). I've bought him a top, so I need probably one more gift of about £30 but I want it to be something he wants rather than just something I think he'd like. 

lantanna

I think I’ve read they like you to be using some sort of credit facility on a regular basis so that it proves you can handle it responsibly. I will have 3 CCs on application. Only one with a balance, which I use for groceries and pay off in full each month

greensalad

Yep we'll have two between us. The Virgin card my partner has that we both share and use for regular spending (gets paid off every month) which has a limit of about £20k. And I'll have mine empty with an £11k limit. I'm hoping that should be fine!

greensalad

More Christmas presents bought! Well... in flat form.

I found a pattern for some adorable Christmas Goose decorations. Lovely geese toys all stood up with little Christmas hats on. So i'm going to make them for family. 

I ordered loads of fabric from Stoff & Still plus the pattern. I'm going to make two for myself (in a bluey colour scheme) for my living room. Then I'm going to make a green and neutral one for my Nanny, a red one for my Mum, and a checked grey one for my MIL (I asked my SIL, apparently the whole living room style is grey now). It cost £50 for all the bits but two of those are mine. Still that's three presents covered and I think they'll be well appreciated ones too! In fact that's my Nanny's present entirely done. I'll get one more thing for the MIL and for my Mum. Not sure what yet.

Christmas shopping done so far:

OH: one top, need another medium present, stocking fillers and hamper food
Mum: one goose, need something else
MIL: one goose, christmas chutney and pickle (already made), clementine vodka (need to make), crackers and truckle cheese (need to buy)
SIL & partner: chutney, pickle (made), crackers and truckle cheese (buy)
Auntie Secret Santa: clinique kits (bought)
Uncle Secret Santa: Under Armour top (bought)
Grandpa: brandy (need to buy)
Grandad: no idea, knit him some socks maybe or a muffler
Nanny: one goose, chutney and cheese to share with Grandad

Cousins are a difficult one. I really struggle with them. I don't like spending a lot. Most people don't buy for their cousins but because my Dad is estranged from the family it meant they never got many presents because he's their only uncle. They were young and I'm ten years older than the oldest and twenty years older than the youngest so I just filled in the gap. But now that C1 and C2 are 21 and 18, getting them a big present seems a bit much. C3 is 10, so I usually buy her something a bit more as I'm really her stand-in auntie. Any ideas? Last year I got C1 a pen holder thing that clips onto a notepad because he started Police Officer training, and C2 a small make-up palette because she likes that sort of stuff. Can't remember what I bought C3 but in the past it's been things like fluffy rucksack, piggie bank, books etc. 10 is a little older though. 

Baileys_Babe

You are doing well.
Could you give C1 and C2 flavoured vodka or homemade sweets or if they do not live at home homemade chutney, cheese and crackers.

greensalad

Baileys_Babe said:

You are doing well.
Could you give C1 and C2 flavoured vodka or homemade sweets or if they do not live at home homemade chutney, cheese and crackers.

Oooh, C1 definitely some beers. He does live at home still but I'm sure that would go down well. C2 not sure on the vodka, she only turned 18 a few weeks ago and I don't think she's ever been "out" in that way because of COVID! Do kids still go out out? Haha. I know I'm only 30 but I was drinking out at 15 with Mum's permission! Maybe just a nice top or something... I know they like brands at that age. Calvin Klein bralette? I get discount at work so that could be good. She often orders sporty type clothing via me using my discount. 

Just ordered another present, waffle fabric to make mum a dressing gown she has requested. I'm going to have to get started on everything as soon as it arrives! Hope I don't have to post anything if we can't see each other! I guess if we're still on social distancing by then we'll probably meet close to home for a day outside presuming we're allowed. 

Also worked out a gift for OH, a big big puzzle (1,500 pieces) should keep him busy. And a bottle of whiskey to enjoy as he does it!

Ordered cheeses from the Arundel cheese company. Truckles so they last forever. Around now I like to just buy it when it comes to me and always find Christmas Shopping is complete by December and I'm happy with what I've got!

Kakiste

Sounds good. Puzzles and whisky sounds like an excellent gift.

greensalad

Not much money saving going on. Just did a final grocery shop for the month, arriving Saturday, and have just squeaked in under budget. However we're having McDonald's for dinner to "celebrate" my OH getting his PS5 today so that will probably take us right to the edge of groceries/takeaway budget this month. We normally exceed it so I'm pretty pleased to have kept on budget even with a treat tonight.

We were going to do takeaway next Friday as it's payday but instead we're doing make-at-home greek gyros.

Also, all this year I've been saving for us to buy car insurance as an annual payment instead of monthly for the first time. I had budgeted £500 for this, not sure where I got that figure from. I decided to run the numbers through a quote checker and found Sheila's Wheels, who we're already with, are actually cheaper and only £350 per year so I'm quite pleased to be able to reduce my required amount needed in YNAB. It doesn't renew until February, but it now shows I'll need to save £150 less than I thought over the next few months! Just hoping I can argue to get the "new customer" quote I've just seen vs whatever renewal cost they throw at me.