A journey to financial security

LadyGnome

I am impressed by your focus @MissMoneyManager .  We have a couple of BTL and whilst it probably means we have a slightly smaller house than we otherwise could have done, now that MrG and I are in our 50's we can really see the benefit.  It gives us both the option to scale down work earlier once the children are settled and mortgage on this property is paid.   One thought, could you borrow more against your BTL to give you a bigger deposit or cover the stamp duty for your dream home in a year or two.  This would reduce your income from it but the extra capital might help.
On your tax return, have you been working from home at any point during lockdown, if so claim the WFH allowance (I think its £6 pd).  
One piece of advice I would give based on many years of managing my budget (I bought my first property at 26 and I am now 51 and several properties further on) is you need to add a treats / what the heck splurge line in your budget.  I became almost miserly at one point resenting spending money to have fun.  I broke out of that by formally allocating some money for fun, for days out, for tickets for events.  Knowing there was defined pot of money that was allocated for things like the cinema and meals out allowed me to enjoy it.  Mortgage Freedom and Financial Independence are a marathon not a sprint and you do need to allow yourself some breathing space to relax.

MissMoneyManager

Thank you @LadyGnome 😊

It is good to hear your positive take on BTLs. I suppose like any investment there are risks associated with investing in property but I am also paying into a pension and investing in funds so I feel confident that I am doing the best I can and like you I hope it will give me the opportunity to scale down work in the future. Thank you for your suggestion regarding borrowing more against my BTL. I am over the 50% LTV mark so this would certainly be an option for me. OH is also around the 50% LTV mark so it would be an option for him too. I hadn’t really considered it before but I am definitely going to do some research. At the moment the rent receipts covers the mortgage, management, insurance, small amounts of maintenance etc but there is no income leftover for me personally (I hope that makes sense) so it wouldn’t feel like I’m losing a lot.

Yes I did work from home during the first lockdown so I will claim that thank you.

Your advice is something that I am trying to work on.  I do allocate some money to beauty and clothes in my budget and in fact I think I am bit more spendy in these areas than many other MFWs. BUT I do not really allocate anything to having fun. This is not purely to save money but working so much and studying in my spare time meant I have often had to say no to social events and over the years you realise you are being asked less and less. I have had at least one UK holiday and one holiday abroad each year but during the hardest studying and saving years these became a maximum of 5 days long to prevent too much disruption to work and study schedules.  After a while I became used to this lifestyle and I know getting more balance and working on freindships is something I need to focus on. You have given me the idea that perhaps if I make myself allocate money to this category without having any plans this might push me into making more of an effort to arrange these sorts of things instead of having an oh well it is more money in the bank mindset.

MissMoneyManager

I have just realised my previous post makes me sound like a bit of a billy no mates    I do have a very good relationship with my cousins, aunts, uncles etc. A best friend that I speak to literally every day and see every week and a few other good friends.  I just want to work on being more available and up for doing more such as days out, dinners etc. and not just being the person who is always too busy to even ask.

MissMoneyManager

Another long weekend ahead, well I will be working on Sunday and Monday (BH double pay 😊) at my second job. However the weather forecast here is sunshine all day every day for the foreseeable so I will be enjoying some nice dog walks when I am not working and expect I will spend tomorrow in the garden therefore I do not anticipate spending much if anything.  Also OH has booked dinner out for us tonight at one of my favourite places, quite unusual for him to do something romantic like that so I am really looking forward to it. Pay day from my main job today and that brings my new house savings to £11250. Still a long way to go but I’m feeling happy with the progress and it definitely feels better to be past £10k. Hoping to be able to put a bit more away next month now I am properly back at the second job.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend 😊

MissMoneyManager

Hi all,

Unfortunately I had to let a week go by without posting. A short working week due to the bank holiday meant there was a lot to fit in! BH weekend was as planned we had a lovely meal out on the Friday night at OH’s expense. Saturday was spent with a morning walk to the bakery only a few pounds spent followed by lounging around in the sun and a BBQ using only things from the freezer. Sunday and Monday were spent at work at my second job. I did find time to order a new handbag last week, I was looking for a summery day to day alternative to my current daily bag which is 10 years old and I still love.  Of course I have bought a few since then but they have worn out or are just for events, so I don’t feel guilty about the spend. £155 spent on a Co@ch bag (original RRP £375) so I am excited for that to arrive. Weekend just past was a Friday night in and a family BBQ at ours on Saturday. Probably around £60 of joint money spent on food and drinks for 10 of us so not too bad and much cheaper than a meal out would have been. I am more than happy for us to spend money treating our family. Also we booked 2 nights away in Norfolk with the dogs for September in a lovely looking annexe detached from the host's main residence. Total £190 including breakfast which feels like a great price to me especially for somewhere dog friendly. Having written out the spends for the last week I think it looks more spendy than it feels but time away with OH and family time are helping towards getting a better balance between work and leisure time so I can’t complain there.

I hope everyone else is doing well 

Chiglepig

@MissMoneyManager, that sounds like a really good price for two dog-friendly nights. I've been trying to find something similiar to go and visit friends in the Malverns, but can't find anything suitable that isn't either stupidly expensive, completely booked, or only available for full weeks.

MissMoneyManager

@Chiglepig that is usually the struggle I have. It is quite important for the accommodation to be detached for us as well because if we were to leave the dogs to pop to the shops or something they would bark whilst we were out as the surroundings would be new. This one was found on A1r Bnb, the actual price was £170 and then a further £5 per dog per night cash which is much less than dog surcharges I’ve paid before. I think that was 2 nights minimum. Last year we went to Cromer for one night in a detached annexe and that was only slightly more expensive also A1r Bnb so if you haven’t checked on there already it might be worth a try.

MissMoneyManager

Afternoon,

A year after we decided we wanted to get a pet tortoise and much research later we have decided to go ahead    Pets in general are not very MSE but in my opinion the joy they bring is so worth it! However I am trying to be as MSE as possible and have found a tortoise table in apparently "excellent" condition on gumtr33 and am going to collect it this evening for £40.00. The same table brand new on Pets@h0me is £101.99 so I am happy with that saving.  The tortoise will grow out of it as it becomes bigger so will hopefully sell again in future. 

Sistergold

Wow tortoise sounds exciting! I love pets but after having children I just can’t bear another dependent, for some reason! Having said that if ever I were to get a pet it will probably
be a tortoise or a rabbit I think. 

Congratulations on managing to get a good feel for the table! Xx

MissMoneyManager

Hi all,

Thank you @Sistergold

The weekend passed with little expense. Friday night in, and the weekly bakery trip on Saturday morning. During the day Saturday we had some help in the garden from the mother of one of OH’s friends who is a gardener. We have now have a completed border made with sleepers and some new Hebes (tortoise food) and Weigela (also tortoise food). Expense for this was paid by OH because he generally pays for home maintenance expenses as I have my own home maintenance to pay for. I also pay half towards his mortgage and pay half of the bills. We share the expense of furniture and things that will come with us when we move. Sunday I was at work.

I have been doing LOTS of tortoise research. We have now ordered a big outside planter on legs (180cm x 70cm) which will be the outside enclosure. This should be plenty big enough until we move and make a permanent outside enclosure as the tortoise/s will likely be around a year old and tiny. We will then use the planter for a herb garden I expect.

I am really wishing I could overpay my BTL mortgage but I know it is unwise to do this due to the large amount of savings I need to accumulate for a deposit. I keep all rent receipts and expenses in a separate current account which now has around £1500 buffer. I want to be able to pay for all maintenance from this account and annual tax bill but things such as a new boiler would totally deplete this as it stands so the buffer needs to increase.  I am wondering whether just to make me feel like I am doing something positive it would be worth just overpaying by £10 a month for now out of the BTL account. But this is such a small amount I am not sure whether there is any point.