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

LadyWithAPlan

@South_coast     OY !!! lol 
I am trying to block my Oct + Nov spending out - if I had been running ynab it would have been yelling at me by day 2... I think I am frugal but my spending doesnt agree with me..

AND  the bill is coming home with me as I just got my mobile bill - I used to have a worldwide service so could use my data/phone abroad everywhere at no extra charge but now I am back to a £6  a day charge outside of europe (I am deliberately with 02 cos of this )
However my mobile - normally £12 pm  (sim only) will be £52 this month due to the overseas charges.
I also had some of my expenses paid for my travel but some outstanding  still so I have already paid for the cc charges but am due them back -
Glad i didnt get  a new mobile - will start carrying a battery pack around and I may need to just buy a suped up one.


Just seen that Monzo also started doing cashback - you have to opt in  but there is 4% CB on B**ts within next 7 days


First advent win of Dec! 

No idea what it is but just had a dhl text saying I have a delivery from the company today !! 
I won something brilliant last year from them which was at my flat when I got back from Xmas  
so exciting times - will look at the 3 possible prizes  - all useful  and part of a side hustle 
EDIt I just looked on SM and it’s a useful bit of kit worth £140 which I will definitely use 

MG  14 things in Dec 
Dec 3 3 things so 
Dec 4  5 things 

NSD DEC 4TH    so  2/13
I do have to do xmas shopping but cant face ynab yelling at me for putting things on cc plus I am aiming for nsds.
I should get paid something today  or wed so can then have the budgeting my cash..

Ramit sethi - listening to him on why he thinks one shouldnt buy a home but rent instead and invest the difference into the stock mkt ,his reasoning  no costs of looking after the building, it’s more expensive , it ties you down etc - I still feel I need to buy for long term ease  but I want my work stuff to settle a bit and to get back to consistent paid invoices before commiting,. 

Eat that frog - 
I did do a frog that I have been putting off but once I started last night I enjoyed it   - part of a new possible side hustle that popped up earlier this year .. took me 3 hours but ready to be delivered to someone to process it for next stage then comes back to me to work on...
finished late but I woke up pleased I had something done that on to my to do list for months 

Food
The turkey mince version of the chermoula rice was lovely I used brown rice instead and of course lamb takes flavour well but I don’t like to eat a lot of lamb  - will make again 
cost was the harissa paste (£3 but only used a third of jar, chermoula paste £2.50 
- used a large half a jar plus fresh mint , and the protein plus all the pantry staples tomato puree rice stock (I had made some fresh) garlic 
. Plus  I had more beetroot soup today along with rollmop herrings   and last of GF bread as a snack.

I do need some essential pantry in but plan to go to either Iceland or sains to use vouchers up

Electric - I can see I am using just under £2 a day at present on the meter  so I have adjusted my budget for that. 

PennysIntoPounds

Congrats on the win and the frog!

LadyWithAPlan

PennysIntoPounds said:

Congrats on the win and the frog!

Yes I have been entering quite a few each day. Fingers crossed for you as well.

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks hun, I need all the good vibes I can get 😁

Watty1

I may consider YNAB next year. Nothing doing this year as per my plan to coast into next yera.

savingholmes

On Sethi - the issue is there are also studies that suggest you run out of £ in retirement up to 13 years earlier if you are renting. You live in London the potential equity gains are enormous from buying. He is looking at the US property market. There is also a lack of rented property available. Do you really want to be reliant on someone else's good graces or where they can suddenly up your rent by £500 a month with very little notice?

Personally I get a lot of feelings of security from my home. A sibling however is renting and loving it - but he chose to go abroad to get a better standard of living than he could achieve for the same £ in London. It's all choices. He has however got very little pension and is reliant on a big win materialising to survive his retirement years.

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

On Sethi - the issue is there are also studies that suggest you run out of £ in retirement up to 13 years earlier if you are renting. You live in London the potential equity gains are enormous from buying. He is looking at the US property market. There is also a lack of rented property available. Do you really want to be reliant on someone else's good graces or where they can suddenly up your rent by £500 a month with very little notice?

Personally I get a lot of feelings of security from my home. A sibling however is renting and loving it - but he chose to go abroad to get a better standard of living than he could achieve for the same £ in London. It's all choices. He has however got very little pension and is reliant on a big win materialising to survive his retirement years.

Indeed the security is a huge factor.
I think its always good though to look at other opinions  and the research rather than 'accepted wisdom' - especially when I am making such big decisions.

If I has bought as a 20 something I would have made loads on equity but I would have restricted my life choices.. It would have been v profitable though but I cant go back.

I think actually I have made the right decision renting so far since then   - as always done it cheaply as well, lived abroad - and been able to add into my SIPP for massive  tax benefits  and I am getting 12% interest income on some of my house deposit... even with my sudden £500 rent increase I am still financially better in the short term renting.
 My interest payment alone on a mortgage a month would be about the same as my current rent each month except I am getting £600 back approx (after tax) on my savings being invested - this also does not include  any costs of home ownership/repairs etc.. Plus I get the HR tax benefits of SIPP/Ltd Company so money wise right now I could keep on renting and working it that way. So there is no panic

However you are 100% right on security and retirement planning and  now its time to turn the ship as I am getting older and London house prices have stagnated  - A home where I can relax and be comfortable...Plus having a mortgage and being able to play the official OP game will be fun
 However it is always good to see the other arguments and actually looking at inflation vs house prices.. I will be buying but it does suggest buy as small as possible so I can keep investing in funds in my SIPP/Isa etc.


THIS from Schroeders - this is interesting - especially as it also does not into calculation my SIPP tax benefits which make it even better.

Which is better, property or pension? House prices have tended to rise over time, so it is not hard to understand why people say property. £100,000 worth of UK property 25 years ago would be worth an average of around £454,000 today. This obviously varies by region. In London it would be worth around £580,000 and in Scotland, £407,000. These figures exclude any costs of ownership such as maintenance, repairs, insurance or taxes; any income generated by the property (not relevant for primary residence, only buy-to-let); and the impact of leverage/mortgage finance.

However, that same £100,000 invested in the global stock market (again, excluding any costs) would have grown even more, to around £631,000. This is almost 10% more than in even the best performing regional property market, London. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter whether you look at this over 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 year horizons. The stock market would always have resulted in a bigger increase in your £100,000 compared with UK residential property.

and ...

Sadly, thanks to the gender pay gap, things look even worse for women. The average house in London would cost over 14-times the average woman’s salary, compared with 12-times for a man. This housing pay-gap holds across all regions.

- this is from Oct 2023 FT article

UK house prices have fallen by a modest 2.8 per cent in nominal terms since their peak in March 2022, but 13.4 per cent in real terms, according to analysis of the Nationwide house price index by estate agent Savills. After adjusting for inflation, average real house prices are no higher than they were in late 2015, Savills said.  “Because of high inflation, the adjustment in the average price of a UK home has been much more significant in real terms,” said Lucian Cook, residential research director at Savills. The analysis suggests the average buyer will have seen a real-terms loss in the value of their home if they bought after December 2015.

beanielou

I am so happy to own & the sense of relief & security when the mortgage was finally paid off was to me priceless.

LadyWithAPlan

PennysIntoPounds said:

Thanks hun, I need all the good vibes I can get 😁

Try and look for local to you Xmas comps - as far less people enter. The one I won so far was specialist product ..

Watty1 said:

I may consider YNAB next year. Nothing doing this year as per my plan to coast into next yera.

Yes enjoy your coasting for 2023 you deserve it.

 I am honestly seeing why - even as an experienced MSE, budgeter and sinking pot person - why they rave about ynab - as there is nowhere to hide  from yourself what you are choosing to spend on 
Though been reading on reddit how some couples - one husband had been stating a few hundred dollars earnt less a month (variable income) in ynab  for years so he could keep it for himself and possibly nefarious purposes! Eventually the reconciliation caught him out!
I am doing it solo though

LadyWithAPlan

beanielou said:

I am so happy to own & the sense of relief & security when the mortgage was finally paid off was to me priceless.

I can see that and glad for you for your sense of peace and security.  I look forward to that day

I think buying a house  just part of a journey I personally haven't felt called to take yet, I am a wanderer by nature plus I chose to not have kids which is another reason people often need stability and affordable housing. I helped my parents with their business and pushed them to pay off their home as they got to their 60s which they did and it is great to know they have a 100% paid for roof over their head. 

For me it was only post 50 (!)  and covid hitting that buying seemed like a good thing and now 3 years into my diary 2024  feels like its time.

The  open minded research though  does make me think about not buying 'too much house ' so I can invest the difference into my SIPP  cos of stock mkt increases over the next 20 years and huge current tax benefits.. So many friends have HUGE mortgages in London and the stress levels are unreal. Some of them have IO mortgages that I have been saying for years pay it down but they spent elsewhere... and what were £1300 pm IO payments are now £4500 pm!! 

That avg woman stat a london home is 14 times her avg salary -   as the  avg london home price  is £731,178 (I wont be paying that!) £400-450k max)   OUCH - but probably not far off !

Food
Cooked in halogen a defrosted YS gammon joint - couldn't use the sauce as GF so i slavered it with rose harissa paste. Absolutely gorgeous. Served with roast sweet potatoes and red peppers in same halogen plus peas on the side with mint...
Delish! Half left for tomorrow.
Still got more left and more beetroot soup - froze some.
Finished the turkey cheroula off as well with rice and  edamame
plus lots of DF yogurt and frozen blueberries

May be going out to some Xmas luxury do tonight - requires serious dress up and am feeling lazy but it is Dec ..

NSD DAY 3/13 - putting off that Xmas shopping one more day ... 
this no pay if invoices is delaying me which is fine,.
I found some craft blank cards and envelopes so want to make my own xmas cards this year - I do in when I have time and I find it fun and they are unique. Have found some glitter and got glue but need to add something so will see what I can find..Maybe some printout coloured reindeer or something

Track extra income from ebay/free money/refunds etc    £155.86
Free money as a comp   win £140 However I wont be selling my advent win it will be v useful given how much I travel
Loving my first advent win It is actually something I was discussing buying when I have room in the budget.
 Last year I won 2 advents so £250 item  and a £1k voucher .. so hoping to equal that

MG - 10 /5 done already today - inc 2 shot glasses for charity as I have loads of lovely crystal ones so these were given and are just not that lovely
got a busy  - nights out every night this week so I am glad I am staying in now.

Work for side hustle thing Thurs - doing some this eve. ...plus lots of advent comps ... on fire after prize one!