Mrs S…on the road to financial freedom

MrsSave

Hi,

I’ve been on these boards for quite a few years with a few different diaries over on the debt free wannabe board. However I’ve decided to make the jump over here as other than my mortgage, I have been debt free since 2018. 

Life has changed quite a bit since the end of last year. I am currently going through a divorce and have just remortgaged the house into just my name. The transfer of deeds is in progress too. I am thinking of July 2022 as month zero on my journey to becoming mortgage free. Only £105,000 to go 🤣

I won’t be able to make massive overpayments each month and I’m not looking to make major cutbacks to become mortgage free as quickly as possible. I’m aiming to make small overpayments every month but to still enjoy life. 

Here goes…

MrsSave

I have a new pot on Monzo for mortgage overpayments where I’ll send any spare money and then send it over to the mortgage. I started it yesterday and have transferred a little into it already. Partly from my weekly food budget (I budget £75 a week from Thurs - Wed, and will split anything leftover between a few different pots on a weekly basis) and the rest is part of a Prolific payment.

I do a few surveys for some extra money but not loads at all. It all helps though. I think that when the last mortgage was paid off during the remortgage it was overpaid as my direct debit went out 2 days before. I’ll wait to hear from the bank to confirm that but if that’s the case the extra little bit will be amazing!

I am trying to stay on top of finances though by budgeting. Like I mentioned I am budgeting £75 for our food shopping which should be more than enough for me and my 2 Primary aged children who I have around 75% of the time, though will be closer to 50% over the holidays. I have also set a budget for the school holidays for our days out and things. 

ManekiNeko

Happy shiny new diary! ☺️

MrsSave

I have worked out this morning what an ideal 6 month emergency fund would be. If I had £7,800 I would be able live comfortably for 6 months without my wages, longer if I was being frugal. I’m almost a quarter of the way to my target.

I have cashed out on Prolific this morning and have split that between a couple of pots. My mortgage overpayment pot for July is currently just over £8. I know this isn’t much but that has been in 2 days and with also sending extra money made to other pots. As I mentioned before I’m not going to be able to make huge overpayments. I’m a single parent, not on a huge wage and we love going away so the holiday pot is an important one for me too.

ManekiNeko

Well done on your OP 🎉 every little helps as they say and it's just great you're in a position to OP at all during your very first month with the house in your sole name.

I will be in a similar boat in terms of only being able to make small OPs, I'm on long-term sick leave so my income is from disability-related benefits just now.

Holidays with the family are really important, they're precious memories you'll look back on fondly for many years to come.

southern_chick

I’ve followed you over from the debt free wannabe board and will be cheering you on.  Any overpayment is a bonus so well  done on starting a pot for it.  I’m a single parent on a low income trying to overpay my mortgage so I feel your pain!! One payment at a time and we’ll get there   Good luck xx

savingholmes

Good luck on your journey. I took on a huge mortgage after divorce last November so will watch with interest.

Humdinger1

@MrsSave have followed you over and subscribed! Big adventures lie ahead and I'll be cheering you on.   You have totally got this! Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

AntoMac

Good luck @MrsSave
Even small overpayments can make a real difference. It’s also sensible to build up your emergency fund too. When I needed a bit of flexibility on my mortgage I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful my lender was, mainly due to the various small overpayments I made having added up quite significantly over time. 

MrsSave

Thank you all for the messages and for following me over.

It’s food shop day today and I still had £8.33 left over from last week. I kept £5 of that in so after transferring this week’s £75 in I now have £80 for the week. I do need to buy a soda stream gas refill this week which is why I kept that £5 back. Today’s delivery is currently estimated at around £62 so after adding the gas on top I’ll have roughly the £5 left in case of any top ups. I have also still got my £10 Morrisons voucher which I intend to use later (after meeting someone for a first date 🙈).

I can’t remember if I mentioned dating again in the last diary, but I met someone a couple of weeks ago that went really well but no spark so turned down a second date. Meeting someone different this afternoon and am a lot more excited about this one than the last (though we could meet and it be a disaster……will keep you updated). I did wonder if it would feel too soon, but my relationship with my ex was really over a long time before we moved out I was just scared to make that move. I feel like a teenager again 🙈

I have started a new way to make a bit of extra money, which I think shouldn’t be discussed on this site so won’t go into any specific details. I had thinking about it for a couple of years, but know you had to really understand what you were doing and have the time to do it properly. I also wanted to wait until the mortgage was sorted as it could have a negative impact on that. So far I have made a little profit, enough to pay back the money I used to start and for a buffer. I’m aiming to build that buffer up and then start using the money. I don’t believe everyone agrees with it but I feel I have the headspace to do it now.

The boys are with their dad this weekend so I’m planning to do a few much needed bits around the house. I keep on top of the basic housework, such as dusting and hoovering but feel a deep clean is needed now so going to work on starting that. I also have some flowers to pot and a bit of diy that could be done.

MrsSave

Yesterday’s food shop came to £61.66. I didn’t get a new soda stream canister yesterday but plan on doing that today. The date went well 😃 and we’ve both agreed there will be a second one. I feel like a teenager again with the butterflies and even if it goes no further than a couple of dates I’m feeling pretty happy right now, especially compared to the start of the year.

When the remortgage was complete I had a feeling I’d overpaid the last one due to my direct debit going out a few days before completion. This morning I had just over £500 refunded. Yay! I’ve split it between a few different things. I put a chunk into my clothes pot as I’m losing weight steadily at the moment and feel so much better/fitter/healthier about myself and want to wear things that look/feel good too. I split the rest between my emergency fund, mortgage overpayment, new sofa pot, money for a bit of diy this weekend and topped up a holiday pot to the next £50. 

I made my first overpayment to the mortgage this morning and paid £60 off it. I’m really happy to be off the starting block with that. My emergency fund is 1% closer to my goal too.

I have decided to tackle the kitchen this weekend as my main project. The tiles were painted a year or so ago and they’re not looking great at the moment so I’m going to get some tile paint and re-do them. I also need to re-seal between the tiles and the workshop and one wall could do with a freshen up so will paint that (it’s a white wall so I won’t need expensive paint). I had some money in the house pot anyway, but after adding some this morning from the refund there should be plenty there for that.