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Future Proofing my life: Deposit saving then MFW journey in under 13 years
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Hoping everyone is keeping warm.... beautiful and crisp but v cold - so staying n today as I was out yesterday day and then evening - my free Xmas tree with the £6 Mr T lights looks lovely .
I am keeping my eye on my elec meter usage - largely as I know I am waiting to be paid so. I can just put cash on My cc but am choosing to only spend cash I have - however I refuse to be cold.. so snuggling under my heated throw and then switching the heating on/off.
Voluntary Spending so far - so easy using ynab to see these exact figures£112.80 (w the £40 from friend taken off)
Train to see friend £21
Ubers £89 *firend paid £40 towards) I am challenging the £17 odd still
Drinks £17.50
Junk food - I am tracking sweets and crisps £1 - crisps - we ate 3 packs but only paid for one..
'
Minimalism - on day 2 I did 4 things so 6 things and I have yet to do my Dec 3 3 things.
I did add my first par of unworn shoes onto vinted - v easy
MSE wins
My subscription i saved £5 for applying for student version £4.99 instead of £9.99 £5 saved
Lets see if I get this £17 + off - at least I challenged it and have contacted bank as uber say they dont know what it is but it in my cc account clearly stating uber
Sunday food
Slightly hungover I made stock in my pressure cooker from my FR chicken carcass and then made beetroot soup. So yummy and good for you especially on a day I am not going outside. I will freeze one portion of stock or maybe soup... I get bored of too much but in this weather I may be eating it all donw v
Only couple slices of GF bread left - I will make some - need some more eggs as I made GF pancakes as a sweet treat last couple nights
Had some red pepper crudites with houmous
I will also do the turkey mince chermoula rice later - not difficult.
NSD - yes today is a NSD! 1/13
I do have to get some more gifts etc but want to enjoy nsd after yesterday
YNAB thoughts
I am really liking it so far and I like the easy categorisation. I also like the fact it is making me v aware of having to move money from pots which have cash in eg grocery into the uber fun pot! So it is giving me the clarity and visibility of my spending. Lets see how it changes my spending..
I am also finally refusing to out anything on the cc until I get paid and can cover it from new income rather than my hse deposit savings .. I will not be going cold and hungry but I want to really love on my current level of income.
I will definitely be looking to spend down my vouchers on groceries rather than give people cash...
I have a fabulous large purchase to make - a London flat
Per month - Dec 23 SPEND/SAVE
Track my Grocery spending 0/£200 grocery + £24.29/£100bulk
Track what I save in my hse deposit Dec £20.69/£980.69
Cashflow EF £0/£2000 - now 0 as drained it so -£100 - I will add it when I get paid next week
Track extra income from ebay/free money/refunds etc £15.86 (due dec 6th)
December Voluntary Spending £112.80
My Dec streaks to track
Track Minimalist game (Nov 310) Dec 6 items (up to Dec 2nd)
Gym streak
YNAB Age of money :: Target 13 days - I day old
Track my NSD's - Target 13 days/month 1/13
DON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... 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.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest4 -
That is so dodgy of Uber, fair enough if there are waiting charges if people are taking ages getting out to the cab, but how can they not know if there's a 'toll'?! And just whacking money out of your account with no explanation is literally stealing! Thanks for the heads up, will make sure we don't use Uber until they can clarify if the cost is actually the cost2
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How on earth are they allowed to do that!!That’s extortion.I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb. ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.3 -
That’s crazy, I can see Uber losing a lot of custom if they think they are being reasonable.Mortgage End Date: Apr 36/Aiming for Apr 28/Current Jan 33
Mortgage OP 2025 £4850/7000Mortgage OP 2024 £7700/7000
Mortgage balance: £38,328
2029 Holiday fund £356/7000
”Do what others won’t early in life so you can do what others can’t later in life” (stolen from Gally Girl)2 -
@beanielou @skint_spice @PenniesIntoPounds yes its worrying... At least having to move the money aound ynab to pay everything in cash means I am super on top of everything I spend so could catch this ...
EDIT They have given me £8 credit in my uber I see as I asked for it on the £48 charged v £40 bill but I am still trying to figure out the £17.52 and £1.50 random charges - they are saying its isnt them though it came at the same time as the other real charges and quotes UBER* TRIP so I am discussing with my bank and therm still.
EDIT £1.50 is to cover congestion charge though why I was only charged it one way given I returned back to where we started,....? The £17.52 they are saying they dont know .. but its your details ...
Premium bonds won £25 I just checked.
Thats £275 over the year and I have 15k approx in there so I am definitely behind the curve on them - I pay tax on my interest income though so
Still its another 1/8th (or 1/100th ) of tile in my kitchen to be
Track what I save in my hse deposit Dec £45.69/£980.69 goal
Minimalisam Game Dec 3rd 3 .....
found 2 things so far - need to find a third as day 3 ..
.....In My MG decluttering I went through the fridge ...
I also chopped up some of the olde cooking apples from my family and pressure cooked them for 5 mins with sugar, cinnamon, DF butter - v lovely with DF yogurt..
The chermoula rice recipe worked well with turkey mince instead - it is better with the mint yogurt you serve with it - that elevates the dish
DON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... 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.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest5 -
LWAP - I managed to get an ISA at 5.2 fairly easily - is it worth looking for one for you too? You can put in up to £20K in a year. There are some with limited withdrawals so definitely look at the rulesAchieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £175.8K Equity 32.38%
2) £4.3K Net savings after CCs 13/5/25
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £20.6K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.1K) = 26.3/£127.5K target 20.63% updated 16/5
4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
5) SIPP £4.4K updated 16/54 -
savingholmes said:LWAP - I managed to get an ISA at 5.2 fairly easily - is it worth looking for one for you too? You can put in up to £20K in a year. There are some with limited withdrawals so definitely look at the rules
Tx but I can only have one cash isa a year (til april 24) and i am just finishing my help to buy isa - max £200 monthly but get 25% up to £12k , I will hit 12k in March ,.. I started with the max £1200 in Dec 2019 on the last day you could open it ! and £200 a month since faithfully
So if I buy under £450k then I will get an extra free £3k on my 12k ...
So annoying they finally change the rules (to be able to have more than one cash isa) - just when I dont need it!
I will get a cash isa 6th April - but as planning to buy by then I will need one that allows 2-3 withdrawals
Oh by the way YNAB now has some decent forecasting tools - they have a google extension called Toolkit and some great charts in there ... I know you dont need to use it anyway but either way YNAB saved me £8 at least today on the uber thing....
DON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... 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.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest3 -
Thanks @LadyWithAPlan; I am now debating YNAB. You are doing brilliantly on your house-buying journey love Humdinger xx4
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Humdinger1 said:Thanks @LadyWithAPlan; I am now debating YNAB. You are doing brilliantly on your house-buying journey love Humdinger xx
I had decided I didnt need to have more software to deal with but as an mse who loves tracking and focus - as we all do- its v easy useable tools and for my life right now where I want to buy a home its the right level of focus for me..
Just using some of the toolkit for ynab reports and seeing what I am saving for in pots plus essential spending vs income etc has given me a higher view of where I am at.
Partly of course as I have had to relook at budget from scratch I can see clearly this (v mathematical) equation ...
on current income
Sinking funds + essential living + fun + sipp = not much room left to save for my house deposit
Lifestyle creep definitely happened - I have had a high income (variable and lower at present) but as my rent went up over £500 and I have kept spending the same .. no wonder I can't make much traction on increasing the house savings. I am treading water and my cash float has disguised this and the fully paid off cc each month takes the slack.
Having stark linked to your bank accts reports of how much you have spent and you can get as specific as you want with as many categories as you want and historical ..really shows you where you are vs what your plan for the month/year was in a quick snapshot as opposed to updating your own s/sheets etc
I am doing more than fine - but this £400-£450k purchase is my choice for the next 50 years of my life so i have to make choices - and ynab makes you when actual cash comes into your bank account assign it to certain categories
And when you spend - if its more than you have in that category such as my cab fares Saturday night you have to take it out another pot/category that does have money eg grocery or house savings so it instills next level of discipline and tracking.
I am not stopping going out entirely esp as December however I remember @caeler diary when she was going for 25 NSD a month and did nothing for a year plus as she strive to get her mortgage paid off - no vacations, going out - squeezed her budget so hard and so much so family members thought she had lost the plot but it was short term focus for a huge long term gain - and my mortgage is going to be £300k-£325k and 4/5% rates on that are £1200+ in interest alone each month - so far better to get serious now about the biggest purchase of my life.
I also have added all my savings and SIPP accts as tracking so I can see my NAV at the EOM at a glance when I log in
So my solutions for a 2024 fabulous home purchase that is beauty, benefit and good for my life (so not huge payments or stress) after my ynab 4 days in
A) increase standard monthly income - with a contract extra client who pays consistently. 2 days a week
B side hustles (my MB has been £1k a month recently but thats not consistent - avgs £4-5k a year now many bookies stopped me - I have made £3268 in 2023 on it so far - Dec to come - its tax free at least
My Spring 24 side hustle still looks promising and could bring ££££'s
Summer 24 is happening but no guarantee on income
C) Decide which of my sinking funds need to shrink/pause given the larger 2024 purchase
- £100 in vacation pot would be better in house deposit if 2024 is the year to buy - so have pulled it down to £40 a month.
My future tech pot at £60 a month - yes its important but macbook is fine and I can bring it down to £30 instead - and that £30 can go to house deposit
Check on all subscriptions and see if student discount
I can choose to cut my spending on fun or at least dont overblow my budgets every month on it. This is a short term push for a very long important lifetime gain
D) Spend more time making income than nickel and diming my expenses
- get the expenses and categories in line and then focus energy on earning more money
E) look at my hobbies and side hustles and get clear which ones I can make money on now quickly
- are they fun or are they side hustles that earn income. Get real about this and choose to spend my time better - its just a years focus to get in the right home.
Nick Tree Mapping out money youtube videos on ynab
I suggest you watch the Nick Tree Mapping out money youtube videos on ynab from set up to everything before trialling it - I watched quite a few and then had the 2022 starters set up guide going as I set up ynab as he answers all the questions much better than the official videos..
Also add on the TOOLKIT for YNAB Chrome extension as it gives an extra layer of amazing reports and data - he has a video on that as well. I can change a category of planned spending and it shows immediatlely cash I need to bring in each month to cover that outspend etc , forecast data etc
Plus being able to see in a permanent database all your spends gives you clarity - and easier/quicker than s/sheets for under £100 a year . There is a 34 day trialDON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... 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.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest6 -
LadyWithAPlan said:
D) Spend more time making income than nickel and diming my expensesMortgage start: £65,495 (March 2016)
Cleared 🧚♀️🧚♀️🧚♀️!!! In 5 years, 1 month and 29 days
Total amount repaid: £72,307.03. £1.10 repaid for every £1.00 borrowed
Finally earning interest instead of paying it!!!5
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