Future Proofing my life: Deposit saving then MFW journey in under 13 years

LadyWithAPlan

Cash movements

SIPP £400 
Now only contributed £2,103.18 this tax year to SIPP  via my ltd co
 - I like to get in SIPP £10k a year as tax advantages as well 
I often add a lump sum at beg April once I see all the figures and earnings for tax year in

Extra MSE MFW savings: £10 so now £140 extra MSE -
Savings £10 from Airtime  towards mobile so moved that into house savings via my S&S isa 
£10 airtime+ £49 app refund + $100 hotel
Waiting on the refunds to come in but they can go against the cc which is paid down completely  except £130  even though mid month - I dont want to think I am richer than I am.,,

I also have some expenses travel wise - about $400 on my cc to be repaid but I will save that when it comes

 Hse Savings in Nov   £361.76/902.21
£10 airtime
rest from some monies in
£50 PB'S
£20 S&S ISA - mkts too wobbly to put loads in 
£21.44 - marc*s - cash be better given short term buying  but I am paying tax on interest 
 - the £1.44 was the tilly tidy

Hse deposit now £109,259.93 ... creeping to that £110k.
Still not added up MB for Oct but I probably have a couple hundred extra in there as well to up this months savings

CASHFLOW FLOAT  EF TARGET £2000    - + £100.88 so  now £360/£2000
 £100.88 added so 
This is only getting 1.45% so need to move but easy access  in main bank acct 
Marc*s is 4.75% but I like having EF easily grabble-able   but may have to move things around
I also have floats in 3 bank accts but idea is to get this to £2k then get float in banks to £100 each

NSD 2/13!
I was going to go out this eve but $24 cab each way  plus drinks  at $20 a piece... I left it a bit late  to leave as gets cold quickly as night falls and  i have just been moving money around for my budget and I have already spent loads this month  eg my £400 flight change - yes I had £90 left in vacation pot but.. plus the VW £103 bag... it is amazing how a budget really shows you where you are at, whatever I spend the rest of this month I cant save,.

My savings rate is not good - spending too much - I have it but I need to get more frugal as I want a bigger purchase - my home 
I know I have a big night out in London in 2 weeks.. and will take my friend out in the US for a lovely meal as a thank you for letting me stay  but beyond that I am being frugal  for the rest of the month- nothing I need. Xmas is coming up so gifts for others not for me.

I remember one of the MFW diaries on here caeler I think is how she spelled it - she went crazy intense to get the mortgage paid off  as in 25 days a month NSD.s. she wouldnt buy anything...... I need even 25% of her intensity... I have played enough (she says as I spend days by the pool )
The idea of moving every single penny out to save is ideal but again I am sitting here with next months rent already in my current accts.
i have moved money to pots so no reason to lower current balances

Exercise - 40 min swim today in the pool  
V healthy food inc seaweed crisps - a few corn tortlillas as well.
Lunch was omelette, loads of crudites, some organic turkey breast, Also had a vegan protein shake with frozen blueberries, 

South_coast

There's no better gift you can give yourself than he peace of mind of owning your own home 👍

LadyWithAPlan

South_coast said:

There's no better gift you can give yourself than he peace of mind of owning your own home 👍

Lovely!, thats a fantastic thought! I will remember that....  just need to get over the bank owning most of it at first  

KajiKita

When we first moved in here we used to joke that we owned the door knob and the bank owned the rest! 😉 it was an exaggeration as I suspect we owned the front room and the kitchen as well, as we had a decent deposit, but your comment reminded me. I am quietly filling in the £500  ‘bricks’ on a tracking spreadsheet until we own all of this …. 😊 This year it has averaged 1 to 2 ‘bricks’ per month of actual capital reduction. Not fast enough …. Yet! 😊

KK

LadyWithAPlan

KajiKita said:

When we first moved in here we used to joke that we owned the door knob and the bank owned the rest! 😉 it was an exaggeration as I suspect we owned the front room and the kitchen as well, as we had a decent deposit, but your comment reminded me. I am quietly filling in the £500  ‘bricks’ on a tracking spreadsheet until we own all of this …. 😊 This year it has averaged 1 to 2 ‘bricks’ per month of actual capital reduction. Not fast enough …. Yet! 😊

KK

Do you own the bathroom yet on your chart?  I assume its more fun to fill in rooms than just squares in a line. Owning £1k more each month is decent - soon the pendulum willl swing til you are owning 3 bricks a month more - though those pesky rates arent helpinh

I have a £500 bricks  flat  chart I have been filling in since 2020   I drew it  by hand - 2 floors , 2 beds with large balconies  on both floors and an extra  toilet downstairs !  Mine is on my bedroom wall ! I loved filling it in! 

It went backwards though when I decided to put £10k+ into my SIPP  each year instead vs my deposit due to  HR tax reasons and  deciding to wait.. which was quite sad for my chart  ...  I am now only finally being able to start filling in again - next square £109,500 - just £200+ quid away. 

beanielou

South_coast said:

There's no better gift you can give yourself than he peace of mind of owning your own home 👍

This is so true. 

I was just saying yesterday how blessed I am that my mortgage is finally paid off & that DS is grown up & flown the nest & not eating me out of house & home. 

Karmacat

La Plan (I love that!) its definitely a worthwhile plan to step back from the spending for a bit and up the savings rate.  There'll always be stuff you want to buy (ask me how I know!) but a delay of a year or two will make no difference.  Your work sounds like you need to have better clothes than I needed for my work (I was usually sitting on the floor and crawling about, so at minimum I needed to be decent 😂) but I bet with clever accessorising you've got plenty.  And I'd bet a million dollars you're good at accessorising!

LadyWithAPlan

In light of all the save more spend less wisdom I read this on frugalwoods yesterday ... 

7) DONT BUY STUFF
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate, and the fact that we spent circa $13,000 in 2014 (sans mortgage), is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things. You can’t really hack your way to frugal. You can and should take advantage of discounts, coupons, rewards points, and the like. But at the end of the day, the only way to truly save money is to not buy stuff. Money doesn’t walk out of your wallet on its own accord.

Karmacat said:

La Plan (I love that!) its definitely a worthwhile plan to step back from the spending for a bit and up the savings rate.  There'll always be stuff you want to buy (ask me how I know!) but a delay of a year or two will make no difference.  

Its my new LaPlan plan  

Karmacat said:Your work sounds like you need to have better clothes than I needed for my work (I was usually sitting on the floor and crawling about, so at minimum I needed to be decent 😂) but I bet with clever accessorising you've got plenty.  And I'd bet a million dollars you're good at accessorising!

My few hundred pair of shoes and boots would agree... I may get rid of a few pairs on vinted if i have not worn them in 3 years or more unless they are v loved.. I did buy some work clothes in France 3 weeks ago so I am fine with the exception of new knee length flat black smart boots - but not seen any here I love - bar a Michael K*rs pair for $275 and I dont want to pay that much  so I walked away...

In light of all this sense on my thread  Karma @South_coast @beanielou @KajiKita   (none of it coming from me)  I went shopping today(!)  for family Xmas gifts only as my friend was going fairly near a mall type thing I havent been to in a decade so saved me part of a cab fare) . last but one full day here.

I managed to buy nothing - i didn't look for myself bar the boots  but with frugalwoods ringing in my head I couldnt see anything I loved for others. I did pick up a few things in one store (like a TK Maxx which is also here) but the queue was so long in one shop I put it back and left.

.However I still spent LOADS despite buying no xmas gifts!!

3 ubers  (2 on way back so I could pick up some meds for my friend as her local pharmacy said they had what she needed in stock but then hadnt when she turned up) so $42

$41 Whole foods  - on $11 sushi for lunch plus eggs, coffee, lime corn chips and pico de gallo for the house

The eggs - organic free range were $6.99 for  12 so more expensive here - approx £5.60

$3.49 on the very first candies/sweets I have had since I watched that brain doc (i have eated some corn chips but no sweets) I think I was stressed from not shopping

so a spend of  $85 / £70.81  which I could have avoided by staying by the pool 

BUT positives of my trip out:

- i could help my friend as I was out already plus picked up couple things for house as we ran out of eggs this morning.

- I didnt buy myself another $7+ coffee (so £6 saved) - BUY NOTHING was ringing in my head

-I went to the whole foods and it reminded me that I used to do Nanowrim* years ago and during one I wrote a female led thriller based in this very city  I am in now and there was a big action scene at the Whole Foods Car park - this same one as I was at today.  I even took a pic today of the car park  I edited the novel 3 times as well but then stopped. My mum who loves thrillers kept saying it was v good  but wasnt convinced with the ending... and I never figured that end issue out as its really a part one.. It makes me wonder about digging it out again.. but then of course I would need to self publish.. do all that work and I know its hard  to make money that way.  

Anyone here actually made money self publishing? Any tips?

-Plus I had late lunch  of sushi $11 rather than ordering a takeout as I was full when my friend suggested it.. she is suffering from being ill - normally we would be out far more but I am chilling and saving a fortune..

-I went to a The Co*tainer Store - it specialises in every kind of container and also builds bespoke storage solutions for peoples closets etc. I fell in love with everything.. so cute containers for your fridge, pantry, shoes, closet spaces to die for, very Home Edit (its on netflix and instagram if you havent seen)  I didnt buy anything but it inspired me to declutter and also to dream about the home I want. You do need less stuff OR a lot of cupboards .. and in the UK especially London flats are smaller so time to decant my life!

I am not going to get the pool and jacuzzi I have here BUT I can choose to have a super clean, organised decluttered space full of things I love and use. I have spent all daylight hours outside here never inside  so I know I need a garden in the UK with room for a bbq and a table and chairs and shade to work or a decent patio. I know I want light filled rooms..

I am ready to head home now and start again ... I was due to fly home tonight only the travel agent messed up - but I will have 2 more days of swimming and chilling so thats ok. I am getting a decent tan that will last approx 5 mins in London

Free money

Track extra income from ebay/free money/refunds etc  £124.66 not £140
Refund from app**     
I only got £31.86 back not £48.99 I was expecting - I guess its the 4 months have passed so I wont complain .. 
I got my hotel credit £82.80 back though today - I am putting this towards my £400 flight change in my cc.

SAVINGS  - £285.32/902.21   +     SIPP  £410
The £31.86 APP refund I am saving   £21 (well £25) into my premium bonds and £10 into my sipp  rather than it partying unattended in my bank accts


Per month  tracking
Track my NSD's - Target 13 days/month  2/13
Track my Grocery spending in GC thread £83/£150  grocery    + £0/100bulk 
Track what I save in my hse deposit  Nov 285.32/902.21   +     SIPP  £410
Cashflow EF  £360/£2000
Track extra income from ebay/free money/refunds etc  £123
Track Minimalist game  0/17   starts on my return     Gym -  schedule when back - no swimming today as rushed out early.

KajiKita

The ‘don’t buy stuff’ mantra is incredibly powerful. As a natural spendthrift, it is probably the thing that has made the biggest difference to me since starting here. Also, unpicking what the reasons are behind that urge to spend - it’s usually some kind of emotional sticking plaster ….

I also end up having a debate with myself about whether to buy things with my ‘monthly pocket money’ or not e.g. the paint we need for the living room wall behind the fireplace …. If I buy that in cash from my pocket money today, today would be an NSD which would be awesome for a Saturday …. But, that’s a whole chunk of my pocket money gone … 🤔😉😂

KK

CathT

Hello,

I've been catching up with your diary over the last couple of weeks - it's a great read. I hope you can find a great property in your budget. It really is an eye opener seeing the true cost of buying and living in London, I'm quite a bit further North than you.

Enjoy your last couple of days of sunshine - it's gone much cooler here lately.