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Ding! Ding! All change, please... (now replaced with new diary on MFW)
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Good luck on your moving date. All sounds very organised as ever.Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
2) £3K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £22.5K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.1K) = 28.2/£127.5K target 22;12% updated 6/7
4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
5) SIPP £4.6K updated 6/7/253 -
Ew @greenbee - we had a very similar experience helping a friend to move. The house vendor was a probate sale and despite assurances that everything would be moved, they left the house full of everything. Our friend cried when she unlocked the door. We put everything we could in the garage and it took her (with her ethical approach to recycling) about a year to get it sorted. I remember she had to call her buyers and ask for a bit of a stay and because it was being bought as an investment they agreed.Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here5 -
Makingabobor2 said:DH hates brown rice....so he says. But has been eating if for well over a year now....he thinks its white rice and that I've added soy sauce to it!!
Oh ugh Greenbee that really does sound grim! I'm hopeful that our sellers aren't likely to do that - they have been open about the stuff they would like to leave (which is a good start) and we've been equally clear about the stuff we'd be delighted to have stay, and the stuff that really, is a "sorry but no". They also seem to be pretty closely aligned with us in terms of "standards of clean" - I'm never going to pretend you could eat your dinner off my floors, but stuff that gets spilled gets cleaned up, and generally speaking it's not "dirty" as such! (Messy is sometimes another question entirely!) The wishlist currently essentially comprises two parts - needs and wants - the "needs" will be getting ordered for a delivery on the sunday of moving weekend as we know they will definitely be required. the wants will be sitting for a little while to see if they are still wants once we've begun settling in. Among the needs is actually various bits which will be needed for the different level of cleaning the new house will need just thanks to its increased size from what I'm used to - I've always just used a standard mop & bucket for the bathroom, kitchen and more recently hallway floors for example, but just the hallway floor alone in the new house is about the same area as all three where we are now so I'm buying a steam mop. That way it can just be shoved round regularly in much the same way as I'd vacuum the carpeted areas. The one I've earmarked is also one that can be used handheld for things like window cleaning, too as well as general tasks. We're not going to have the luxury of having time with the place empty to enable any sort of cleaning that the place might need when we arrive so we're just going to have to get on with it I'm afraid!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her5 -
I’m interested to see how good the hand held window cleaner is. I’ve a few windows to do and was pondering on whether to get one.LTotal Debt Dec 07 £59875.83 Overdrafts £2900,New Debt Figure ZERO !!!!!!:j 08/06/2013
Lucielle's Daring Debt Free Journey
DFD Before we Die!!!! Long Haul Supporter #1243 -
@Lucille I have one I don’t use.I will try to work out a way to get it to you.I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb. ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.5 -
Thanks lovely MSE'ers for popping by and sending good vibes...they are all very welcome and particularly at the moment with so much going on! SH I'm really not sure "organised" is a word that can be applied to me at the moment - although it's lovely that it appears that way to others!
Sun's out here again this morning which is glorious, and the traffic was light enough that I was able to fit in a bit of an extra walk on my way from the car to the office. I did squeeze a bit of a stretching session in last night - and will be aiming to do the same again tonight too. Movement today will be the walk already mentioned, another at lunchtime and then probably another couple of miles after work as I head back to the car to wait for MrEH, plus that stretching.
Moving stuff:
- I have a note of the amount needed to transfer to the firm's client account for our deposit top-up, and will do that tomorrow morning. I'll take it from M@rcu5 in the first instance then transfer back from Coventry to "repay" ourselves so we know where we stand.
- I've created the room labels ready for moving day and just need to print them out - they will tie up with how the boxes are marked so the movers can see at a glance where everything needs to go, far easier than the removal men trying to work out which one is bedroom 1, 2 & 3, and what we mean by "living room"...half the time even we can't work out what we're calling each room, so this should avoid any risk of confusion! Must make sure we keep some blue tac out ready to fix them to the doorframes with!
- I've remembered to check the withdrawal limits for the C0v3ntry, so I know where I stand with that. I should be able to transfer the full amount for completion out in a single transaction I think, although I'll need to do two transactions from S@nt@nder for that.
- Got a couple of boxes packed last night while MrEH was out - a large one with pictures and some stuff from the front room cabinets, and a smaller one with the books from the hallway bookcase. those two can both be moved to the garage this evening.
MSE Stuff:
- this week is proving nice and light on spendiness - which allowing for the amount of spendiness coming up is probably a good thing!
- we estimate that MrEH will need one more feeding of his Oyster this month, and one or other car will need more fuel - possibly mine this time. That should leave a little over £400 in surplus in the joint account which allowing that we've paid part of the removal fees from it already I'm quite pleased with. I think the removals firm will want a further chunk of the fee when we finalise the booking, so that will also be able to come from that surplus.
- Did the freezer audit last night with MrEH's assistance - and that highlighted some things that we'd forgotten about, so I'll be adding those to a meal plan. More on that below.
- Banks checked and all OK. My car insurance still hasn't hit the credit card, and neither has the refund for the cancelled accommodation, I'll need to keep an eye on both of those things.
- I ran an eye over the new budget again yesterday. I'm still trying to earmark any possible savings to be made to the figures I'd used currently with a vie to enabling mortgage OPs once we're in. at the moment I think I should be overestimating for water, and I might be for energy generally as well. I suspect on both of those we're going to see monthly payments set higher initially allowing for the fact that the previous occupiers use will no doubt be used to calculate so I can't bargain on anything yet on those. Car maintenance is one area that I probably CAN drop a little though - it's currently set at £145 a month and I reckon I can safely drop it to £135 - there is currently a good buffer in that account as well although that will drop once the insurances have been taken out. I'll keep looking.
Food:
- the freezer audit highlighted a third of a bag of mixed seafood, a couple of white fish fillets and a single tuna steak, so those will be combined into a thai fish stew for Friday evening I think.
- there is a small pack of lambs kidneys and a tub with a small number of lamb meatballs - I think those will also be combined into a quick curry over the weekend at some stage.
- the haggis we knew about, and that will easily pack up and travel in the same way as the Stornoway puddings will.
- Frozen veg is going to be incorporate into meals in place of buying fresh over the nest few weeks - although if I end up moving some of it I'm not concerned.
- I remembered to get the sliced ham out ready for this evening's omelettes - there may be enough that I can save some for adding to tomorrows risotto rather than using cooked sausages in it, we'll see. I also plan to get some more of the wild garlic pesto out to stir into the risotto.
One here for long standing MSE'ers - who may well remember the infamous tinned sprouts (which I think belonged to Hypno, and travelled with her through several house moves?) I've been reminded that we have something similar to this is the shape of a jar of ferociously hot chilli oil. This was given to us by the owner of our then favoured chinese takeaway nearby to our old rented flat in London, with a warning that it was VERY firey, and as a result we've never quite had the inclination to open it...it did however come with us on the move to where we are now and we do indeed have every intention of taking it to the new house as well... !🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her8 -
I well remember Hypno’s tinned sprouts 😂😂😂
Mind you I don’t think I fancy trying your hot chilli oil either 😂😂😂I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb. ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.3 -
I remember the tinned sprouts!!!LTotal Debt Dec 07 £59875.83 Overdrafts £2900,New Debt Figure ZERO !!!!!!:j 08/06/2013
Lucielle's Daring Debt Free Journey
DFD Before we Die!!!! Long Haul Supporter #1243 -
@beanielou that’s very kind. Never got the hang of doing quotes.LTotal Debt Dec 07 £59875.83 Overdrafts £2900,New Debt Figure ZERO !!!!!!:j 08/06/2013
Lucielle's Daring Debt Free Journey
DFD Before we Die!!!! Long Haul Supporter #1245 -
We also moved into a house which we were absolutely PROMISED by the liar vendor would be completely emptied out only to find she had left behind all the stuff she no longer wanted, including 2 horrid wardrobes we couldn't get to the tip because of the size......so with all the other crud left along with those, we had to hire a skip the first week to get rid of it all. Thankfully we also had a good hunt around the shed & garden for any further leavings, as there were plenty of them there too. It wouldn't occur to me just to chuck all my empty paint cans under the hedge instead of binning them, but nope, this had been the previous owner's solution to empty cannister disposal, so into the skip they went, along with old broken chicken runs & a plethora of other old tat. I don't often use the word 'liar' except concerning certain politicians, but she really was - a very difficult person from whom to buy. No forwarding address to use for a big moan about all the 'leavings' either, as she was also hoping to leave all her debts behind......for which I was chased for a couple of years & although I dealt with this assertively & one by one the letters & calls stopped coming, it did waste a lot of my time. The most troublesome was the fact that she left without providing meter readings & owed the electricity company 3.5K !! All I could provide them with was the county to which she had moved & as I was receiving so much of her post, all different name variants she regularly used. Was so glad when finally I got through to everyone & the letters finally stopped, but it took a good couple of years.
F2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 5.9kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)9
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