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

LadyWithAPlan

Annual 1st review since my blog started

So I realised thanks to a fellow MSE'er that my blog is a year old (11/08/21) so I thought  an annual round up was a good thing.

Big huge  news is - having been paid some due invoices -though more to come) I have officially hit £100,000 in savings!! This is my house deposit but also includes my EF.
WOOHOO!  I cant believe it !
Just moved £2550 to premium bonds and some to my baby Van isa to perfectly hit that perfect round number. 
I do have some extra  cash in accounts but waiting on other invoices and move it all around then.

So a Look back - last years comments in italics 

Goals  11/08/21 67,711.70  11/08/22 £100,000
Goal 1: Build House deposit further  to £100k (or £130k  but thats seems a lot)
DONE (100K) 

22 recap - I did have in 2021 also an extra  £5.5k EF and now I am counting it all together.
 £26,788.30 saved so £2,232,36/month avg saved but actually another £10-15k to come in yet

Goal 2: Buy somewhere nice and  affordable in London  with a balcony, terrace and/or garden  in 2022.
22 recap 22 - NOPE - 2023/24 looks more likely)
I did put a couple offers in but then stopped looking. Interest rates and house prices are both going up but my savings rates is outpacing them and my rent is very reasonable.

Income;
I am freelance and lost a lot of my normal work due to COVID but took on a well paid project that was 5 days a week in 2020 hence my savings, but now is more like 2.5 to 3 days a week so this has slowed my savings down
22 recap - I did 3 days a week plus extra work for others. looks like now main job will be down to 1 day a week as of next month so this is giving me the kick up the ... to get my CV updated and get another contract job.
I would be worried about losing work but having that kind of financial cushion (Yes I know its for my house deposit) is a huge relief.

Programme
I am also writing a programme to sell online as an extra income stream, just editing it now. It is taking forever but I just need to make it a focus as I am allowing it to stop me going after extra freelance work. I keep saying 'when I have finished it then I will update my CV etc'  for months now... 
22 recap I did finish the programme apart from the last read through and then my mac died and the cloud had not updated. Either way I think I need to update my CV and get more work before the programme.
My new side hustle may still prove the key to me saving 

SIPP
SIPP     11/08/21        £26,731.30
             £35,460.70 - 11/08/22 -
It has been impacted by markets but has started swinging up - I have added only to maximise any HR tax level  HMRC contributions

FIRE    - calculations does not include my 100k house savings
exc home 12k pa 11.82%,
16k pa 8.87%.
Current spend inc rent 10.13% FIRE

2023 goals - for next year 

Next goal is £125k - so a LTV of 75% on a 500k flat,  then + 15k solicitors and stamp duty + 15k EF
so £125k initially - totally doable (as unpaid invoices) but then next goal £155k -  I cant believe I can get to £155k in a year - that is huge unless I do take on lots extra work which will probably happen and a lot of luck and my side hustle flying. I will leave this 155k goal though as its the ultimate goal.

House deposit 100,000/125,000

House buying costs 0/£15,000

EF 0/15,000 - currently in House savings 100k overall

SIPP - 50% of MB income + 5-10% of income - house is short term priority but any money over the 50K HR threshold is to be paid into SIPP

Side hustle happens lucratively

New contract job to run alongside my existing when  becomes 1 day a week.

Gym/swim 5 days a week

Programme goes live!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, happy diary-iversary! Fantastic work on the goals there. And nice goals for next year too!

LadyWithAPlan

Cheery_Daff said:

Ooh, happy diary-iversary! Fantastic work on the goals there. And nice goals for next year too!

Thanks, all day I have been thinking and celebrating I have 100,000 in savings. It feels surreal. I know I haven't bought a flat yet but I decided I wanted to buy a flat March 2020 - as COVID kicked in but was thinking I could never save that much. It is such a huge goal getting the deposit and then being a MFW, I couldnt share it with friends but its good I can celebrate it here.

I popped out to see a few friends locally at 5pm as one just had a major op and I drank soda water. I did buy a round - everyone else was  drinking alcohol but thinking of the fact I have been out every evening this week M-F and only drank Tuesday and 2 drinks Thursday  - whereas it would have been so easy to drink every evening socially. The cost, the calories, the health, the slowing down in my gym training ... summer can be hard socially to be super healthy.

Tomorrow I have been asked to go to a bbq with the aforementioned friend and her (still) boyfriend - there will be lots of drinking and great food but I am heading home to family instead to start  the house /pet sitting I am doing as a favour. So I need to be up early and pack for 2 plus weeks.
I am very glad  I do have the self control to not drink every day but I can see how hard it must be for those who do have addiction issues as alcohol is part of every social occasion it seems.

August so far  spent  - Grocery Challenge

  Grocery  £65.02/£170    + 17.50 Sains card
  £4.50/30 bulk - coconut oil and coffee

I also spent £17.50 on my won Sains** £50 grocery card - which I guess I should count really.

TT 87p
 NSD 3/13 still as bought drinks £13.something

I added £100 to my SIPP as well

I was a bit distracted with heat and news of the probable change in my contract so I wasnt as focused so I wont be charging my time and tackle it Monday.

savingholmes

First fantastic news on hitting £100K and some of the outstanding invoices getting paid.

Potentially sad about going to 1 day on the job you like - but as an outsider it seems like the proverbial boiling frog / lobster - where the role has met your needs less and less but you stayed - but this is a big enough change to cause a jump. Having said that you succeeded in getting other work alongside it so I could be talking about my hat.

Good luck with the house sitting and the new business venture.

SandyShores

Happy diary anniversary - and well done for hitting £100k - a great achievement.

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

First fantastic news on hitting £100K and some of the outstanding invoices getting paid.

Potentially sad about going to 1 day on the job you like - but as an outsider it seems like the proverbial boiling frog / lobster - where the role has met your needs less and less but you stayed - but this is a big enough change to cause a jump. Having said that you succeeded in getting other work alongside it so I could be talking about my hat.

Good luck with the house sitting and the new business venture.

I am so the boiling slowly lobster on this job. We keep waiting for a big restructure/refinance which will pick things back up but as things have stood for a year it has not happened.  I really like who I work with - the one director  so work will continue on just less.
So I think you are right its a good refocus as it will slow my savings down.

Easy to let things drift especially as without a huge mortgage and a large savings I feel luckily financially safe but I need to keep my eye on this next £125k then £155k goal. 
If I had bought a flat last autumn I would have been panicking on the news and also the slowness of invoices being paid though I would have really pushed. It just shows I need a large  EF once I buy and to actually not put everything down on a deposit and keep a bit back - with a 375k-400k mortgage the 10% limit is not easily going to be hit.

If the new side hobby does kick in then that will be huge but part of it - the brand deal wont be finalised til end Sept /Oct and go live from Dec so ...
I am really pushing for my other invoices to get paid up - I have said by end August

The house pet sitting includes loads horses that need daily feeding, in/out in the heat, eye washing /eye drops, one needs its tail  medicated every 3 days plus dogs...  fly masks and blankets ...

I did buy the training course on the super hot non air conditioned train yesterday so started that and once everyone has left in the morning I can focus on animals, work, and my course. 

@SandyShores Thanks! It feels like a huge milestone and glad I picked my blog back up to hit the one year and be able to clearly review the goals.

Sistergold

Oh well done on reaching the £100k mark! £100k is not easy and shows discipline on your part! 🥳🚀🏡

Cornish_mum

Congratulations on reaching 100K that’s absolutely fantastic. Well done CM

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

Oh well done on reaching the £100k mark! £100k is not easy and shows discipline on your part! 🥳🚀🏡

Thanks @Sistergold and @Cornish_mum it does feel like a milestone. An impossible target a few years ago - and yes indeed there was a lot more discipline than I expected - covid and no travel have helped plus even WFH still means less daily costs of tubes to office and food whilst there.

Now need the discipline more than ever as have large deposit and no house buying in sight til probably next spring - so need to get that £125k target next.


Hope everyone is managing to keep cool enough

Sunday a 0 spend day!! woohoo 
4/13 NSD
Spent day looking at routines for the animals and  a bit of MB. No travelling, no pubs, no sweets. 
Cost of petrol means I am planning to only move the gas guzzler 2 x a week  

EDIT Argh NSD 3/13 still - i had a £10 uber eats voucher running out today and no delivery to where I am so got some food delivered to my parents  as a treat
(duck in pancakes, king prawn chow mein and a chicken in ginger dish ... and paid £13 extra for food, delivery etc ... Ah well ! It can come out my gift budget. 


These horses all need way more looking after  than was said - I am just hoping the weather drops and stays cool so no mucking out 6 stables a day on top of eye drops etc, 4 times a day feed for one etc. Otherwise I will be blowing my budget on finding someone to clean the stables!
It turns out horses eyelids are super strong so trying to get the eye cream in the eyes is pretty tough plus I have to get two of them in from a quite far away few fields. Plus the fly masks and fly spray ... 
I do like horses and used to ride so its not a complete shock but there is this pesky lead rope that took me a few dozen goes to work out how it worked...

I did have fun learning to ride a quad bike though ) 

TT £1

MB - I didnt get a bonus amount for an offer so I went on live chat and they gave me £20 cash as a goodwill gesture! 

Focus this coming week is getting some work finished, the man many animals all being looked after, and getting my course moving forward 
No gym here but I think I will be fairly active but may try doing HIT daily once it cools down.

savingholmes

Quad bike sounds my kind of fun - although you have to be careful not to overturn them.

Good luck with the rest...