Mortgage Free in 5 - 10 years

LegoHead

savingholmes said:

Sounds interesting. You sound like you're an 'all in' person - and that passion is commendable - just make sure you aren't then having to rebuy later. Having said that - I've massively decluttered this year - using Dk White's decluttering process - she is on utube too and has books. I've majorly reduced my home inventory and my life feels so much better for it. Less of a constant nagging to do list. No longer surrounded by clutter. I feel lighter and more able to focus on other goals.

Not so much all in, but not a fan of having things sat around doing nothing. I tend to focus on the higher value items that I wont use anymore. Won £800 worth of lego a few weeks ago so that is being sold. My second 3D printer has been gathering dust for a while so got £200 on ebay for that. Some collectible items or things I think will hold value well I tend to keep. 

Have been really fighting the urge to by a bike on interest free finance the last few weeks as I saw a really good deal. £4600 over 3 years at £106 a month doesnt sound like a lot at first. This is one of my struggles, trying to say no to good deals. Have convinced myself that missing out on the feeling of a nice new bike will pass and I dont really need it. 

Savings are up to nearly £10k now and still no debt. Started a natwest savings account with 6.15% interest but other than that and NS&I still have no real investment put in place. 

Next big project for me will be to fix up my citroen berlingo that is currently un insured sat on the drive. Now I think about it I have tax on it still so just set a reminder to SORN it tonight. If I can make it reliable enough again I will sell my other car, if not then this one goes. Only going to keep one car on the road from now on.

savingholmes

Sounds like you are making steady progress. 

With the kind of impulsivity you describe - are you ADHD? Sounds like you are mastering your impulses more easily than you did in the past.

LegoHead

savingholmes said:

Sounds like you are making steady progress. 

With the kind of impulsivity you describe - are you ADHD? Sounds like you are mastering your impulses more easily than you did in the past.

has crossed my mind a few times. At work I get incredibly depressed and irritated when I dont have anything interesting to do. Luckily this week had a couple of programs to write that kept me engaged well.

savingholmes

Might be worth getting a free online test and if you feel it impacts your every day life enough to bother - discussing it with your doctor. There may be something they can offer to help. It may also help you develop longer term coping strategies. Perhaps watch some utube and see if you relate...

LegoHead

Checking in after getting paid. Did have one major spend this month. I do alot of wild camping in the mountains and in the winter it can get pretty chilly. The coldest camp I did was by Helvellyn where it got down to -6 °C. I always wanted to by a proper winter coat and when my mate told me he had a 30% off voucher for go outdoors I went hunting. Short story is I spend £327 after discount on the warmest winter jacket I will ever need. I feel a little guilty for buying but this will be in use for the next 10 maybe 20 years and next time I am sat in the mountains I will be safe and warm.

I keep popping back here to remind myself what my goal is and not spending out on major things like new cars or bikes.... 

I did apply for a credit card start of the month as I thought work were going to send me to america for a week. Now thinking I should probably cancel it..

I wanted to stop obsessing about checking my bank accounts every day to make sure bills were getting paid. Some of my direct debits and standing orders pay out on the 1st and then about half a dozen pay out through the month. I switched a spare halifax bank account to natwest and setup standing orders for all these other ones so the money would be out my account by the 1st. Essentially everything is now automated including a couple of savings accounts so all I have to worry about is paying for food and toys after the 1st.

I would recommend automating everything as it takes all the guesswork and stress away.

My lodger paid me a deposit when he moved in which I spent on other things so my goal was to leave the deposit amount in the account he pays into and then move the excess to savings every week. Managed to achieve that this week and so whenever he moves out the deposit will be there ready.

Just hit over £10k in savings this month and have about £500 left to cover food and fun till December. 

After reading the latest MSE email regarding high car insurance I am seriously considering selling my Volvo which is worth about £10k and use my berlingo or similar.  I checked price for volvo in 21 days which came up as £1000+ and the berlingo is less than £300. Insurance doesnt renew for a while so this will be a task for around 6 months time.

savingholmes

Scary how insurance costs are ratcheting up so fast. 

Well done on having the deposit in the right account so you will have the money if/when the lodger leaves.

Well done on the savings. Looking at bank accounts / spreadsheets can be addictive. 

LegoHead

savingholmes said:

Scary how insurance costs are ratcheting up so fast. 

Well done on having the deposit in the right account so you will have the money if/when the lodger leaves.

Well done on the savings. Looking at bank accounts / spreadsheets can be addictive. 

Thanks, appreciate you are here on the journey with me :-) 

I got a bit OCD with looking at the spreadsheets, but now I am in 100% control of finances so only need to check the bank balance. If I dont have the cash in the bank then i cant spend it and I know every one of my regular bills is taken care of first.

LadyWithAPlan

I think you are doing well but don’t think you should feel guilty- it’s a useless draining emotion 
Maybe as saving Holmes said decide to spend x a month on fun 
We all impulse but working towards fulfilling our wishes and goals is a good focus 
Equally  if you want a bike then have a bike saving pot and save up for it over a few months so you can pay cash and not stress about a debt 

I would choose never to buy anything as a loan with the mortgage of a home exception / I make sure I either have the cash or I have saved up before to buy things I want - there is nothing I want that’s worth a monthly repayment. 

I have a series of virtual pots that include clothing, vacation, future tech which I put money in each month so when I want /need to buy something the cash is largely there . 

I just decided to change my flight and spend an extra week in the US -  flight cost was £400 but I already had some money in my vacation pot and getting cash back from my work hotel and the rest was in my bank account so I am saving less it’s true but I am not going in debt - that’s my hard line that’s useful - I may pay on my credit card but I always pay off in full every month 

savingholmes

I can get sucked into spreadsheets too. As LWAP said - having savings pots for our wants is legit too - or selling an item to pay for something else we'd prefer more.

LegoHead

good idea about the savings pots. I leave myself about £500 a month in my bank account i can spend on anything. Will have a think about the bigger purchases and will set up some pots :-)