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

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

Oh hello @LadyWithAPlan. 

Was just going through your diaries and have joined in to cheer you on and say hello! You have a good plan going here and well done as you have made great progress with saving your deposit! I can not wait for you to have a place of your own! 💋 Xx

Thanks for the support and encouragement.. I think you may be more excited than I Just someone stop me from buying that art.. I need the cash in my deposit!

@Grogged I opened my NSI today  and added some cash for my first ever PB  as  I heard you re they could take ages sorting it out. I always assume everything is automatic,...

Grogged

I find NSI weird in how they handle deposits.
They seem to vary from now to 3-5 days later.
I'm glad you've made the October cut.

LadyWithAPlan

Monday round up -the nights are really starting to come in..

NSD 4/8
A NSD -I did pop to the gym for a Pilates class but did not pop into any shops after.. It is the first class I have been to at the gym, I normally do weights etc but it got me out the house as otherwise I would have just worked all day from home

I made a turkey chilli for dinner in the slow pot that was tasty, plenty for tomorrow and possibly Wed too. It was nice to smell it cooking as well. My freezer and fridge is super full. I do understand my parents having 4 freezers especially with the growing they do. Mine is a double shelf on top of the fridge.. If I did buy another freezer I would have to pay for extra electricity as well as the new freezer so I think I will wait til I move to the 'home'. Of course I actually have to start going to see places rather than just looking at right move. I may take a half day Friday and go check out Limehouse flats to start getting idea of what I can buy with my budget and where.

 Lunch was a smorgasboard from my Waitrose magic bag - most got frozen but there was some nice salad in there inc a potato salad that I never buy myself and was yummy.

Premium Bonds applied for today and paid - hopefully in time for the Oct draw. I have great expectations

Baltazar (my robot vacuum) had a day off today but he will be on again tomorrow,

I had a busy day of work and then stopped to do some post weekend MB tidy up so deal with free bets and free spins. I thus have not worked on my programme. Plan is to get up early tomorrow and get 90 mins done before I start my day..

Free Money
I have a further £12.02 (woohoo!)  to withdraw from Prolific to add to savings and thus update  but waiting til tomorrow lunchtime in case more gets approved.
My first ever attempt at tracking free money and my goal of £100 and I am nearly there!

August  Free Money  = £95.57
Nectar  points used £17.50 
Green Jinn £1 + £2.13 I did not know was there  + £1 = £4.13
Co-op  75p + 50p 
£12 Too good to go voucher
£10 uber eats voucher 
Amazon £6 gift card offer

£20 – neighbour sale

£12.18 Prolific C/O -  + 12.02 - waiting til Tues morning in case a bit more to withdraw 

Lidl coupons 49p

LadyWithAPlan

Grogged said:

I find NSI weird in how they handle deposits.
They seem to vary from now to 3-5 days later.
I'm glad you've made the October cut.

I have not been assured yet I have... but hopefully!

Suffolk_lass

Premium bonds - I got the confirmation email the same day and the debit from my account the following day. My account was already set up and running first though

LadyWithAPlan

@Suffolk_lass yes it's the set up - first their online system could not recognise my postcode  - despite me being on the electoral register and never having this postcode recognition issue before..
. Apparently they gave me the NSI number minus on digit over the phone - I triple checked it .. so now I cant log in and waiting for up to 2 hours for an email with it - they could not tell me over the phone despite knowing ALL the security answers, annoying antiquated systems...

Cash has gone out of my bank acct so at least I should be in the draw for October.

I have cashed out a further £15.24 from Prolific! Towards my house deposit
Plus a 53p TT to balance saving to £68,653 of my  £100,000    goal.

Free Money nearly at my £100 goal - will get there I am sure on Prolific alone as doing a 7 day study for them

August  Free Money  = £98.79

Nectar  points used £17.50 
Green Jinn £1 + £2.13 I did not know was there  + £1 = £4.13
Co-op  75p + 50p 
£12 Too good to go voucher
£10 uber eats voucher 
Amazon £6 gift card offer

£20 – neighbour sale

£12.18 Prolific C/O -  + 15.24 

Lidl coupons 49p

Suffolk_lass

What a nightmare! I know there was a big fuss in 2020 as they decided that with nobody in the office and their inadequate computerised telephony system causing problems, it was the perfect time to stop issuing prizes by cheque, with an absurd, unachievable deadline by which to register online.... This resulted in everyone who had bought bonds in the fifties and sixties having to contact them to change details to add email and bank details. It was in the papers for weeks. At least you got to speak to someone!

LadyWithAPlan

@Suffolk_lass my issue with my NSI number was solved when I rang them up again this afternoon and on hearing that I was missing one digit (and not received the requested email) he suggested adding on various digits to try and guess.
On my first attempt I got it and got in..so I am in the draw for Oct to the tune of £13k .. moved from my Marcus savings.


On the home front - I finally rang 3 estate agents about seeing flats as I have yet to actually start looking and that is the point of my diary.  I EA is near me I dont think I can get what I want in this area so thats why I am looking further out. I do want to see a few flats maybe Friday to get me enjoying looking and learning about the 3 areas I am focusing on plus it makes my goal a real tangible thing.
One EA  also got a mortgage broker to call me, I can easily get a contract mortgage with another - I asked the  charge he said £250 on completion plus he also got paid by the lender.
I was advised not to allow a broker to charge me on top??


Woke up to a shirty text then whats app voice message from a  friend annoyed with me as it was her bday yesterday  and I didnt call, I didnt know and  was working til late.. I had missed her lunch a few weeks ago as  well- I had told her I was out the country and I would probably not be back in time - which I wasn't  .. I am too tired to deal with it tonight but did text her something calm .. She lost her father earlier this year  so she is probably overly emotional. If I try tonight to chat when  I am tired too it will not end well.

A certain Scottish utility company has raised its ugly head again - the woman in the accelerated complaints dept has not been in touch in ages  since our agreement, despite me emailing her  and he was quite aggressive. I told him very clearly I had no time for this nightmare, was not filling him in and i could always approach the Ombudsman for the third time on it.. no gas meter for 3 + years now.

I went to bed crazy late last night as I stayed up Netflixing and reading. So I was useless today though I got up at a decent  time. - to wfh . so this afternoon despite a fridge full of food I popped out to the recycling and to buy sweets and chocolate  to get me through the work I had to do. I don't care about the cost - more that I know better. I go to bed too late and then I dont train, I dont eat well, I am not as productive so I will only charge half a day for my time ... grrr 

Still the point of a journal is to catch patterns and then correct them so I am off to bed shortly as only had 4 hours sleep if that.



Spending
£4.81 - mainly sweets /chocolate and bit reduced bacon for the freezer but was on my Tesco gift card I won last year so I will count using that  as free money (?)

Aug 16th to 31st  Groceries Challenge  £44.78 / £70

Free money I guess I can add the Tescos though it feels like I am cheating slightly (though I counted using my nectar points I had previously which is the same thing)?? Feedback on this??


August  Free Money  = £98.80 + 4.81 tesco =  £103.61

Nectar  points used £17.50 
Green Jinn £1 + £2.13 I did not know was there  + £1 = £4.13
Co-op  75p + 50p 
£12 Too good to go voucher
£10 uber eats voucher 
Amazon £6 gift card offer

£20 – neighbour sale

£12.18 -  + 15.25  Prolific C/O 

Lidl coupons 49p

NSD still 4/8 - will see if I  can hit my target  before next Monday

Grogged

Everyone has a grrr day, I had a meh? day recently, so much planned and meh? happened...
Are you able to change utility company?
Fingers crossed I've met my first PB millionaire! 😆
Yay! to house hunting.
On paying a broker, I would if they were cheaper when factoring in their costs into the deal.
I think I may need to sign up to prolific, but that also means I need a PP account (never really needed one).

Grogged

Thanks for your thoughts on REITs.
I think I'll invest in SUPR but take a different direction based on current events.
I'm looking at HICL (to alongside GCP and TRIG) which invest in infrastructure.
My thinking is that as we come out of the pandemic most countries are looking at stimulus packages based on new or upgraded infrastructure.
I think the supermarket space has permanently changed and these are no longer just shops but distribution centres as well.
With the likely sale of Morries and possibly Sainsbo I think the new private buyers will be looking to sell and lease back stores, so it seems like a good time to invest.