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

LadyWithAPlan

South_coast said:

Ahhhh, LaPlan.... I have just been indulging in one of my favourite hobbies on your behalf - browsing on Rightmove 🤣! I have found you two maisonettes with gardens, a 2-bed house, and a flat with two big balconies - all within half a mile of a tube station (one you can actually see it from the balcony). I've even found you one where you could wield a sledgehammer 🤣! All probably in highly questionable areas, as I know absolutely nothing about London, but it's kept me amused for half an hour 😀!

Send me them! Please do indulge in a hobby  
I don’t like big service fees though - some new builds have £250-300 per month service fees!! 
im looking north and east but could be anyway as areas I have lived and now live - all central - can’t get me a garden or even a 2nd room 
though as tall girl suggested maybe I do look at one beds 

savingholmes said:

Lovely wins on the prizes. How many competitions do you enter?

It depends - all about time and effort 
it’s advent competition time now so most companies do online or instagram /fb etc daily for either 12 or 24 days - so trying to do the most important ones eg holidays, vouchers or specific things 
there is a very good Compers mse thread that lists competitions it’s where I started 

at one point a few years ago I was doing loads as in looking up things I wanted to win - one year I tracked and won about £15,500 of prizes ! Some things i  wouldn’t have paid for but great for Xmas gifts as well and have done some unbelievable mad experiences  thru the hobby
i also have won stuff for family so a visit a famous sports person for one family member, hotel nights in london with theatre trip for my parents ..  it’s a really fun hobby but it takes effort and consistency and sometimes you don’t win for months but you will 
since I started the MB that has taken up time away from comping - but mb I have made a lot - 1st year about £10k I think now avgs £4k a year - only on £2-3k this year but I travelled a lot and you can’t do it abroad unless you vpns etc 

I have only been doing say 30-50 competitions a month this year so win less but now I am doing that a day on the advents - that much effort and you will win 

my biggest tip is look at local Companies event’s restaurants or specific items  etc as it helps the entertainment budget - there is a lot less entries so better chance of winning 
more if it’s hard to enter so if you have to visit a store etc but I rarely manage many of them 

this year   I won 2 lots of much wanted tickets - to a festival in london that is over £80 minimum a ticket - I won over £240 worth of vip tix  for that 
a west end show I wanted to see -£90 a ticket - I googled that and found a ticket competition to win and I got them ! 

I won other theatre tix, some kitchen stuff, fake tan (my niece will love)  some bits from various events .. 

LadyWithAPlan

Quick heads up Quidco are doing 24 hour flash back cash backs in an advent thing 
yesterday was 25% cb off boots - seemed too good to be true but it has tracked thru! 

I had a mad day yesterday but quickly clicked thru and spent £92 - £35 on a gift set for my mum £60 on the - if you spend £35 you can get this £198 set for £60 - which has loads things I will use like my day cream and serum plus lots of gifts for my family I will portion out for stocking - plus I bought some eye makeup remover 
10% student discount 
to £92
25% from quudco over £23!! (Payable July 24) 
4% zip zero 
plus airtime rewards of maybe 3% 
so this will come to under £58 ! 

Did a help a friend in hospitality shift yesterday not done one in decades - just 3 hours and then partied there for free 
will invoice for the work not sure how much but  

Watty1

Interesting on the competitions. I used to have fun doing them, just concentrated on the horse stuff and won supplements and tickets and a few small things but best of all was winning a rug that is probably 20 years old now and has been worn by 3 different horses but still is fabulous.  I might look up the comp thread as it might be a better use of my time when I'm struggling with work than playing games.

South_coast

LadyWithAPlan said:
Send me them! Please do indulge in a hobby  

😀😀😀

OK, so this one is probably a bit small (although I don't think they've helped the feeling of space by placing a desk in front of the patio doors), but I thought the utility under the outside stairs and the two-tier garden were quirky:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141267404#/?channel=RES_BUY

This one looked like a good party house, plus very handy for the tube (and the bookies 🤣):

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141921134#/?channel=RES_BUY

A house! With what looks to be quite a big garden:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142399619#/?channel=RES_BUY

Sledgehammer time! 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142633556#/?channel=RES_BUY

The 3-bed is my favourite. It's got zero kerb appeal (but that doesn't matter when you're inside looking out), but loads of potential. You could have a study and a spare room, or knock the small room in with one of the larger ones and work in the room with no window (no distractions!), and the overlooked garden could be sorted with some planting. 

They are all the same price as I searched up to £450k and had it price descending, then realised I really must go to bed so had to stop scrolling 🤣!

LadyWithAPlan

South_coast said:

LadyWithAPlan said:
Send me them! Please do indulge in a hobby  

😀😀😀

OK, so this one is probably a bit small (although I don't think they've helped the feeling of space by placing a desk in front of the patio doors), but I thought the utility under the outside stairs and the two-tier garden were quirky:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141267404#/?channel=RES_BUY

This one looked like a good party house, plus very handy for the tube (and the bookies 🤣):

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141921134#/?channel=RES_BUY

A house! With what looks to be quite a big garden:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142399619#/?channel=RES_BUY

Sledgehammer time! 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142633556#/?channel=RES_BUY

The 3-bed is my favourite. It's got zero kerb appeal (but that doesn't matter when you're inside looking out), but loads of potential. You could have a study and a spare room, or knock the small room in with one of the larger ones and work in the room with no window (no distractions!), and the overlooked garden could be sorted with some planting. 

They are all the same price as I searched up to £450k and had it price descending, then realised I really must go to bed so had to stop scrolling 🤣!

Just in from work and a leaving do  - and a trying to cheer up a friend whose year has been difficult ..and had a quick look  at these and am loving the fact you have come up with areas that could be great but I havent considered ... some lovely flats here! so tx for these and tomorrow I will have a sober look
This could be a first mfw-er finds a fellow MSE-ER a flat
brilliant  

South_coast

🤣 Maybe not knowing anything worked in my favour - I just put "London" in as the search location 🤣!

Watty1

The Stirling Road EoT is my fav.  Sledgehammer house has potential but I suspect the budget might get out of control!

LeighofMar

This was fun to look through as I've played around with RM before too and put in my criteria of 2 bed, 2 bath minimum, parking, and working fireplace. Tried to look under $400k. It kept coming back with $600k and up and still would only give me 1 bath or everything but parking or everything but no fireplace.  I was amazed.

The maisonette is the cutest with that garden. The 2nd property is awesome with the 2 bed 2 bath. Lots of light. I love looking at any real estate.

KajiKita

I remember when I *finally* found our current place. We’d been fairly seriously looking for c. 2 years after selling to be chain-free buyers, I was living away from home during the week, Mr KK was living in a rented place he hated and I would join him at the weekends to do that housework as well, in all honesty we were really struggling. 

I was in work one morning, fed up, frustrated and honestly a bit depressed. I was having a break between tasks and randomly, went onto Purplacious Bricks, having not really looked at it before, drew a wonky circle around the area we wanted and 💥 there it was!!! I literally couldn’t believe it …. I had a really strong feeling it was the place and immediately sent Mr KK a link …. Many, many months later (in spite of neither buyer nor seller being in a chain and us having a pre approved mortgage) we were in ✨❤️✨

KK

LadyWithAPlan

Hope everyones week went ok - I felt quite harried and doing a million things at once ...and all of them not well! I also did have some fun, saw friends and did a random side job as a favour for a friend (and earnt thus  £52 I have to invoice) 

I did win a packet of Percy pig sweets on the M&S Advent ! 

MSE free money £210.01 (dec 8)       £50  + 4.15
£50 from Hali  CC as their live chat in finding a dodgy transaction was a farce - I could see it in pending, the merchant agreed it was wrong, my accounting software and ynab had pulled it through but the Hali LC people could not actually find it for 24 hours!!! I offered to send them a screenshot and that wasnt a possibility!! I spent on/off 27 hours and so complained - if I had been elderly on a limited wage it would have been v v stressful. Shocking inefficiency  - so I complained. £50 winging its way to my cc

I also used my cost* coffee free voucher - £4.15  as I was there anyway and saw it expired 7th Jan so...
 think I will only track free/surveys/vouchers etc as I spend them.. so I dont double dip


1st YNAB party - AGE OF MONEY   5 DAYS OLDEST EVER!
finally got paid something  after I pushed but am owed lots more but  I can do the YNAB dance and for the first time assign actual paid in income !
EDIT Just spent a happy hour oohing  and yes playing at the ynab dashboard... Its great how it makes you assign your cash as it comes in - and you can see whats left  shrinking as you pop it into assigned 'pots/categories' from tax  to utilities to hair and toiletries! I do this anyway  on paper for years and sometimes on s/sheet but having the clean cut restrictive dashboard is very fun and it does feel next level as there is nowhere to hide  your spending
Also love how I have made payee such as s/mkt voucher, free money, cashback so I can see at a glance how my mse ways are helping..


CC
I paid the CC off in full  via ynab as well  today  and was interesting to see it drain away my salary ...  largely last months spending!  I am also owed some work expensesso once that gets paid that can go  direct into savings and next months rent instead as It is all paid off via cc.
I do have the £50 good will and 2 to be returned items re amazon so balance left of £156 which is already covered. So i am flat on cc card this month now.
Now the trick is to not overspend on xmas and going out over what I have now budgeted as if I overspenf  then have to use more of my next incoming money against paying it off - or move some of my nicely  little building category money down...

I definitely could not save much of my income for the house on this pay coming in ... cos of my cc (last month  vol spending £1900+) and other bills - this is where I think ynab will work magic on me on seeing how slow my savings progress is if I dont earn more and/or spend less.

The income/expense report is also great as I can see how I go.

Hse savings £140.69 /£980.69  Dec
Ef mini  £64 (!) I had to drain it as I waited for payment... I do have a house deposit as an ef right now..

Moved £300 into my SIPP -  £300 in Dec total so far - I can also see markets are up so I have an extra £600+ in growth but wont track til EOM. 

Tax  - Moved tax money over into prem bonds but left a little bit in the virtual pot of ynab as it Xmas .. I am testing my ynab strength ,...

Voluntary  Spending - ahhh.    £233.28 Dec  - much better start than Nov! 
Had some tech issues last minute so ending up throwing money at solutions but  £106 can go back (late postage and found a cheaper option) and one usb died on me £38!!  so I did spend £16 - but as more side hustle related am  leaving it in the 'necessary spending work' category

Was out last night at a leaving do after college  - some chips and 2 rounds of drinks.. but tube home - very glad I wasnt on the elizabeth line as people got stuck for 4 hours - also was out the night before but worked and then got free drinks for hours
So far

Toiletries      £40.00 - part of the fabulous 25% cb on boots (plus airtiem/zipzero and boots pts)
Xmas Gifts    £52.65 also b**ts offer  - lots more to buy 

Social  Cabs/trains   £89.80 all  but was given £40 by friend so £49.80

Coffee out   £9.75 but of that £4.15 was free

Drinks out      £44.30 (3  big nights out so far in Dec so thats good)

Meals Out/Takeout/Meal Boxes  £25.78

Junk - crisps sweets etc  £1  + crisps in drinks bill but  

Track my Grocery spending  £23.98/£200    grocery +   £24.29/£100bulk 
£23.98 Hello fresh - coming out of grocery -  plus had some snacks when I was out but that comes out my meals out budget 
one more HF box to order before I can access my £29.38 I already paid then I will halt it ...
I do need to get some greens in etc - also on last roll of toilet paper but I have  £40 + £2- sains vouchers from the double points so I will shop there again. 

Bulk the coffee I ordered never arrived and the order has disappeared  - so I have re-ordered same price.
 
MG   45 items decluttered in Dec plus Dec 8
Dec 6 only one thing
Dec 7 20 things - ran around when got home late and managed to clear my desk of 20 things   
Dec 8 - only two things so far but...I will 

NSD 4/13
No spending today