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

South_coast

LadyWithAPlan said:

In terms of funds you could literally just buy one which is 
FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund    
Number of assets 7,446 holdings

This is (mostly) what my S&S ISA is in - we won't mention the UK Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund which I thought would be a useful hedge against inflation, but has remained consistently 10% down ever since I bought it 🤦‍♀️ No longer contributing to that particular one, and at least it's shrinking as a percentage of my portfolio (currently 8.46%) with every purchase I make of the Global All Cap!

LadyWithAPlan

South_coast said:

LadyWithAPlan said:

In terms of funds you could literally just buy one which is 
FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund    
Number of assets 7,446 holdings

This is (mostly) what my S&S ISA is in - we won't mention the UK Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund which I thought would be a useful hedge against inflation, but has remained consistently 10% down ever since I bought it 🤦‍♀️ No longer contributing to that particular one, and at least it's shrinking as a percentage of my portfolio (currently 8.46%) with every purchase I make of the Global All Cap!

Ouch (on the UK) since brexit and the UK losing its AAA s&p rating ... it may be worth selling it anyway and investing elsewhere .. as it will probably take years to recover given where our economy and national debt looks like.. It is harder to sell underperforming though.
Yeah to the all cap - though I have a fair % in small cap as well, I like small companies..

WelshmansDaughter

I used to use a steam cleaner for floors at work, they are brilliant but just on their own, the hand held ones don’t really work as well

Queen_of_the_Hive

debtfreewannabe321 said:

I am impressed with your clear choices vs wants LWAP I think it helps in manifesting exactly what you want. When DP and I got together we were in a rush to get away from the house I was living in (I owned with my Ex H ) and I wasn't in a good head space with two divorces going on at the same time...I didn't even think about what I wanted we chose what was available houses were flying off rightmove as quick as they were going on after covid (out of the city, in a very small town with small minded people was all that was left in our price range) I regretted it from the first day we moved in. This is why having only just done it up I was getting it valued and looking and thinking and meditating on "what do I want". I viewed probably 20+ houses and stuck firm to what I wanted- somewhere with lots of light (like you), somewhere with a bay window (always wanted one and love the style house that usually comes with it), close to the posh part of the city (cathedral and castle in walking distance), AFFORDABLE so we're not in the uber poshest part, but we basically bought the worst house up this end of the street at a price we can comfortably afford (we even put on our vision board - mortgage per month sub £700) and with house insurance included it comes to around £670. 
Pinterest was my friend and I built an online vision board if you like, as well as a physical one that sat prominently where we could see it daily. DP & I wrote gratitudes out every single day for weeks after meditating and speaking to one another like we'd already found our dream house. We sold after one viewing and the first house we viewed......it's the one we bought we carried on looking though and everything paled in comparison, so really we could have been done a lot quicker than we were.

Sorry to hear about MWAP but I think when you get to a certain age you do start to think...... I am not wasting my time on anything that is less than perfect for me. I certainly did with my Ex.  And DP did the same with his ex...sometimes timing is not right and sometimes there just isn't enough there for longevity. 

Just a thought on the house buying.......how much is the market moving there % wise. Would it not be better just to buy somewhere asap, somewhere that you know will sell in a heartbeat again, but meaning you're paying down the mortgage and earning equity as well. I made a mistake buying my last two houses, I didn't like either of them. However my initial deposit was £17k in 2016. 8 years on, it is £120k. I didn't like either house, neither were long term homes I kinda knew that, but I wanted my money to grow steady enough and I didn't want to waste money on rent. Perhaps South London could be the key for the next 5 years? Look for places on the up- places that are being heavily invested in. Then as soon as the works is all done, sell up and move back to North London, I think you will make more money doing that then having it sitting in savings? Sorry long message but I was catching up on weeks worth I'll be off now

Just catching up @debt@debtfreewannabe321 - what brilliant advice. I agree buying something to increase the deposit for the next one is a wise thing to do. It is a shame they were not the properies that worked for you. I'm having a bit of that feeling in my new place. I love the house but the area is a bit too quiet and a bit too retired vibe (which we did know in advance!). I did though have a very low deposit - 13k and we are paying it down over a relatively short time frame so may move again with a bit more of a deposit. 

Love the idea of having daily gratude as. There are so many reasons just to be greatful for just being.

savingholmes

I have Vgd funds too - think mine is global all cap excluding UK. It's generally been doing fine.

Great news on the coffee machine even if the steam mop wasn't great.

TallGirl

Great news about  the coffee machine sounds like a great buy and the savings you will now make. Enjoy. 

LadyWithAPlan

 @TallGirl yes the lovely thing about having wanted something for so long and not buying it that when you use it daily you really appreciate it, even when it is not the colour I originally wanted - but a £300 diff in cost ... (may be a lesson on house buying)
I also started using my bone china antique cups again with the machine. I  have been using the very fabulous Aeropress for years (very good coffee maker and only £35 plus filters)  more than my stove pot  as produces better coffee but as you using hand pressure then you have to use sturdy mugs. So I have added back into my morning routine a touch of elegance with some old family china and the SME* 50s retro gleaming.

@WelshmansDaughter tx thats useful to know.. I will try on the floor but picking it up to do windows/wall tiles/clothes  the heat travels down the handle  and i had to drop it to prevent serious burns .. so noone buy a DAEW** 12 in 1 hand held for the clothes, windows steaming element .. 

@savingholmes I have a lot of that one too My Vanguard has most the equity funds in in varying amounts as I always look each time I buy at the trends and what I think will out/underperform for the next cycle. I dont switch it though much. 

My other SIPP is much smaller and I have some REITS and a few single stocks, the Van sipp is doing much better. However I have definitely made money on my Mitch*** & Butler shares especially with the 20% vouchers you get as a shareholder. We use them for the family dinner celebs so save loads. Plus I get some dividends I reinvest but part of the next stage.

@Queen_of_the_Hive yes the buy something to get into the market does make sense but it is something I believe I could have done a decade (or 2) ago rather than now, but I was not even interested in house buying and was travelling a lot around the world and having fun.  I am aiming to buy a place for the next decade if not forever.

I  still have my FTB advantage - so to buy now and then upsticks in 2-3 years I will have used up that £22.5k advantage on SD plus of course moving/buying costs of probably £5k.. 
Plus I am getting 12% interest on over 50% of my deposit  which covers over 3/4s of my current rent ( I do though have to  pay tax then on my interest income) and of course the interest on my house purchase

The short term maths
I have just looked and on me borrowing £350k say at 4.42% at 18 years.

October 2024

payment £ 2,352.37

of which

£ 1,289.17 is interest

The interest is more than I pay in rent.

Borrowing £300k 

£ 2,016.31 pm of which

£ 1,105.00   interest

I do know though I need to move out from where I live in between 18-24 months so I am aiming in the next 12 months to earn more, specifically to save more to then buy next summer, each year my mortgage length goes down ...
I am buying a home despite the current maths as its the missing piece in my future plan to have a paid for or nearly home once.
I did look at the rent v own calculators and the maths is still v pro me renting  
I have started widening my RM field in London and looking at places further out, I still dont want a shared garden though but maybe I dont really want the work of upkeeping my own ... hmmm

EMS/SLOW CARB update
I am feeling great, still doing the ems 2 x a week and hardly managing to get to the gym. However I walk a lot so the body is looking and feeling strong, leaner and healthy. The eat lots of beans  4 hr body plan is continuing to really work for my life and allergies. I feel full, leaner and less  inflammed.
I will be having an early cheat day this week as opposed to Saturday as I have this won immersive dining experience with a friend so I have informed them re my GF requirements but I will enjoy being cooked for and having a fun time drinking more bubbles/white wine etc.

LadyWithAPlan

TT OP cash isa  £3 as transfer went bit awry £283.01
I had transferred £3 over last week to my TT OP isa but the app (CH*P) was having issues connecting to my bank. In the end it sent over £3 twice.. Moving forward I will do direct bank transfer from my bank not from Ch*p .

Gift Reimbursements - wording reminder?
I organised, created and paid for a canvas for my friends bday and have told her publically in front of them, via whats app group et etc that its from me and our group of friends as a group gift -.. however only one of the 3 others has paid me the cash. Just £13 each but it is annoying and I dont feel I should have to chase the other 2, nor do I want to.

Any ideas on polite reminders as event was last weekend and they had said yes to being involved and its £13 each for the printing /postage only and i pulled in a huge favour from a graphic artist to make it look amazing  so if that had been a paid for thing it would have cost £££'s. As well as my time.

Watty1

I have no idea on the friends not paying think, when it happens with me I just pop a message on the group chat saying delighted xx loved the gift and if xx and xx can ping over their contribution this week I'd be super grateful and if they don't I leave it there because I end up telling myself life is short and I don't want to fall out with someone over such a small amount

It is frustrating though I will admit.

Suffolk_lass

For you 40% tax payers, obviously maxing out ISA and pension contributions makes absolute sense. I'm very happy with the scraper savings account behind our Coop current account that is paying 4.75% (just checked) - although with some easy access cash ISAs paying 5.1% they might even put it up.

It's where my slush emergency fund sits, taking the TTs from both currant accounts. My Save £12k in 2024 total tracks this, with honey sales and PB wins, interest and dividends that are not reinvested, and we are at £60 short of £5,000 so far this year