Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

ladybird1106

Fingers crossed 🤞 that all goes smoothly now with the move
love 🐞

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks LaPlan I did do set up with their video so could try again with another one. I got most of it but some is still so unclear and we ended up with double what we should in some in and outgoing bits.

Ref buyers, I think it was more the broken trust and communication that I'm upset about rather than the money. We did have a good rapport with them and the things they have come back with are just ridiculous and weren't even on the survey. Meh anyway I'm over it now for the most part 😑🤣 the work is mostly done so feel I can move forward now.

Thanks 🐞 appreciate that. And I hope the same 😊

Off to take the excess bits back to ;&Q today and grab some food shopping. I've made a very strict shopping list so hopefully no more than £50...I will report back if I manage it ☺️

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all, 

DP & I had a busy day yesterday, we took back the items to B& Q and had to buy a few bits more of something else so actually ended up spending £6 more. We popped into the big EA office in the city and spoke to the lady that has been dealing with our sale, she was lovely and we ended up chatting for far too long but we caught her up on everything that had happened since she delivered the bad news she was impressed we had nearly done all the jobs on the list we had promised. And said we shouldn't have had to do them, they were just trying it on and now it is at our expense. We have said we will try and get them all done by next Monday. Then we don't have to think about this any more.

We went to BK whilst there for lunch, we never eat in there usually as it isn't accessible unless by foot so made a nice change. It didn't really agree with my tummy though, as most junk fast food doesn't. I didn't have a pot for eating out this month and that was our second unbudgeted meal out this month and we are only a week in. I kind of felt DP should do some fun bits though as he is supposed to be on holiday and still doing DIY, only effectively for other people now. Considering we have been non stop at DIY for a few years now we are hoping to take it a bit slower in the next house. And perhaps budget for each job- that will be a novel idea to us  

We went to S'bury's after that and got a meticulously planned food plan/ list. I budgeted £50 and I think we actually did okay. £53.43 and this included lots of treats we wouldn't usually allow ourselves like expensive raspberries, some vegan treats and posh fizzy drinks. We also were super lucky and managed to get a £2 veg/fruit box. It had fairtrade bananas, organic mushrooms x 2, 5 packs of new potatoes, 2 punnets of raspberries, lychees, apples, and a few other bits I can't recall now. Basically they just threw all the things in one box that had split open. They could have probably made 2 or 3 boxes from that! I have never had one before as that shelf is always empty when I go so I felt very lucky to get a good box a man at the till  who was just in front of me was a little rude and rifled through the entire box before I could get there from the other end of the conveyor belt and was huffing and puffing about how he never gets one. I said I hadn't ever had one either but he asked if he could have it and then made me feel guilty and rude when I said, well no, as we didn't pick up all those things as we shopped because they were in the box I was a little gobsmacked once I had time to think about the exchange after he huffed his way out of the shop

We also went to a discount shop on the way back home and got some new pegs (mine all snapped? even though I keep them indoors when not using them?) and some cleaning items and a new bed sheet for DD. £22.15 spent there - but over half was on a sheet for her bed so that was okay and it was definitely needed, I had to throw her last one away the other week as it had holes all over it (teach me for buying cheap I guess- oh hang on no it won't I just did it again ) and she has been using our only spare one. I am quite minimal when it comes to bedding and we only have one spare set each so it was easy to store away. 

I have used spare money from the food shop budget (£150 per week) to cover the discount shop. 
I have used the money I was collecting for the item I had a full refund for to go towards my prime membership that is due next week. All paid up with survey money so I am really happy about that one. DS1 is sending over his half soon too.
The only thing Underfunded is my dentist appointment I had where I had new filling. I need to find another £50 in the budget. Perhaps from low food spends or maybe some from surveys. 

DP is enjoying budgeting with me which I am thrilled about as he found my paper version too complicated. It works for me and I have been using it as a backup whilst we learn ynab. And I am glad of that as yesterday we had a few things wrong in ynab and couldn't figure it out, so a few quick sums from the paper budget showed us where we had gone wrong. We spent a good hour or so fixing it all and it is right now. If he is going to continue wanting to help me budget then I think we will keep the ynab and pay for it. our money is 7 days old but I suspect that can go back to zero pretty quickly on a new month

I said let's do a mock up budget for when we move- I will let him set it up to practice - and then we know where we are at with it for the new house and where we may need to cut back for a few months (as our bonus money has been halved and the maintenance doubled!). 

We have £300 left in the bonus pot. The ynab was getting confused as we start our month 25th to the 24th of the next month. As the bonus pot has dwindled to such a paltry amount anyway I said let's use that to bridge our month. He gets paid on the 25th. But let's have a random week where we budget extra for pocket money, entertainment, food etc all from that £300 and leave your pay in the account untouched. Then let's push our month back to the 1st-30th. We will only start using your pay on the 1st? He agreed it was a good idea so I think that is what we will be doing. It will make everything much easier and it was always our goal to find some extra money to do this anyway. 
Hopefully today is a NSD we have plenty of food, we don't need any more DIY bits I don't think. And DP are feeling a little under the weather so really just want to get on with some DIY sign it all off and move forwards now and draw a line under it all. We even picked up some moving boxes yesterday in the hope we can start packing soon!
Right off for now, that is a long enough update  

debtfreewannabe321

Mortgage is at £96,339.51 today. I wonder if it will drop to £95s before we move ...£6.57 is our daily interest rate 😳
I'll enjoy this smaller mortgage while it lasts anyway, before we add another 20+ grand to it. 🤣🙈
We own around 55% of this house and once we move we will own 50% of the new house. 
£120k+ mortgage seems huge and a little overwhelming.

debtfreewannabe321

DP & I did a mock up version of our budget for the new home. 
I'm so pleased he's on board with learning to budget with me. My ex was never interested and liked to let me do it all and then randomly spend all the money I'd set aside for things. It's a learning curve trying to budget between two of us doing it and me lessening the control I have over it now 😂. I'm really happy he's on board with it all though. Including my plans to save for jobs we need doing in the new home before we do them. 

I got my maintenance review through it's not greatly changed, gone up slightly though.

The mock up on the new home suggests we have enough -thank goodness because mortgage, council tax and maintenance to DP ex are all going up!

 And we've decided to put less towards our EF now it has almost reached £2k and we are putting more towards living and fun. So we've put money into those pots -not a lot £50 for takeaway (that will be one family one), £50 for entertainment (that's one cinema trip for example) per month. 
I think a better savings for future/ living for the now balance is needed.

I'm glad we went all out saving and paying down the mortgage because it meant we could move, it meant I reached 50% LTV on the mortgage and we've been able to do a few other things too we couldn't usually afford (paying for vets and camp without overdraft or CC).

But time to reassess now and balance it out a little better 😊

We're going out today after DP has finished a coat of paint on the job he's been doing this week. Not sure if it will be a NSD but hopefully low spends ...we both have money left in our pocket money 💰 so should be fine.

HotDog2020

I love a good budget and it is great that your DP is joining in, two on the case and you'll nail it. I love the idea where you factor in a takeout and movie night, gosh we all need that, that way you know you have something to look forward to, and then also you don't oversplurge because you have been too restrictive...good luck with all the plans.

debtfreewannabe321

HotDog2020 said:

I love a good budget and it is great that your DP is joining in, two on the case and you'll nail it. I love the idea where you factor in a takeout and movie night, gosh we all need that, that way you know you have something to look forward to, and then also you don't oversplurge because you have been too restrictive...good luck with all the plans.

Ah thanks Hotdog. It makes sense because right now whenever we have a day out it is coming out of either grocery budget or clothing or our pocket money meaning there is never anything left for these categories.

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon all, 

Well DP is amazing, he's used his 4 day holiday to do 1 very big DIY job, 1 medium DIY job & 3 small ones. We hope and pray that we have no more DIY left to do now. Aside from perhaps some filler in walls where we take pictures and mirrors down.

We had a nice day out Saturday too, tried to be frugal about it and we sort of managed until the end. We found a new art gallery, a new museum to look at and also a cathedral we hadn't visited before. All free. Had to factor in diesel for trip there (couple of hours driving there and back all in) and parking. We failed at the end because we just happened to be in a city where there was a big Swedish furniture shop that I am a fan of nosing around for ideas. We got a meal in there (really wasn't all that nice but we were hungry as had the packed lunch hours before) and we found some reduced curtains (2 pairs), picked up some new glassware (4) and found some poor looking plants (2)in the reduced section and also got some candles. So we ended up spending around £70 on that and the food together. oops. I am glad we don't have one of those shops locally to be honest. 

We are doing well putting all spends into y-nab. We don't have a lot of money left until payday and we are 3 weeks away from that I mean we have budget pots for things but no pocket money as we hadn't factored in money for cinema, dining out, I kea and 'fun' this pay period so it has all come out of our money. We've had fun though and I am glad we could do a few things whilst DP had a few days off. We have food money and all bills are paid and all savings pots filled so I am grateful for that  

We are hopeful for a move before the end of the month. We are on the last bits of tying up questions for enquiries (already answered a load and just seeing if we need to get indemnities now for the bits we can't answer). Once we have exchanged we can all agree on the move date. The top end of the chain has given us his preferred dates around having his kids and work, we can do any of them as DP manages his own diary for work and can have holiday whenever he wants (he's held back 2 weeks for the move), we aren't sure on the bottom end of the chain. The last date in the month the top end has offered is the end of the month around the 27/8 I believe. So with that in mind, and praying nothing else goes wrong we may be moving in 3 weeks. So at the weekend I collected a load of boxes from someone local (i may have mentioned this last time) and I have made a start on packing. I have done around 10 boxes now, I am trying to do the bits we don't use on a daily basis so they make no difference to our daily lives if they are packed up. Namely books and ornaments so far. 

We are also debating a locker again for storing some bits. We are saving money on the removals by going to the cheaper one. And I have a lot of antique delicate breakables. We were thinking of getting a cheap locker big enough for those items just for a week...we will put them in there a few days before moving and collect before the week is up so they are moved carefully in the car rather than being possibly thrown around a big van (can you tell we've had stuff broken many a time before now).... Will think on it some more but I think it makes sense for peace of mind. I have things that can't be packed in boxes such as antique side tables and they don't come apart so don't want them being damaged. 

My back is feeling very weak again lately so I have decided to start packing before exchange and praying I don't jinx it all now. A few boxes a day and I can get it done I think, on my own without DP needing to use his holiday to help. He will be needed for all the un-plumbing jobs, and getting the gallery wall down as I can't reach any of it up the hallway, and taking down bits of furniture. The kids are away most of this month too so it makes sense to start now. Look at me trying to be all organised.....let's hope it all goes to plan.

Today is a NSD, I am going out in a bit to meet my sister but we are off to the park so praying for no spends. My FLD is meeting her new puppy this should be fun. One old man vs a bouncy pup  

I have cashed out nearly £20 on pr0l1fic this morning and added it to the y-nab ready to assign section. It will cover some of the overspends of late, but not all. DS1 paid me for the prime subscription so we have the whole amount ready to use in a pot for when the free month runs out in about a week's time. 

I've prepped dinner for this eve, new potatoes (we will be eating them all week thanks to the cheap box we got the other day ) with tofu and stirfry veg. So I can go out and have fun with the dogs for as long as I like now and know I won't be tempted to get takeout later because I'm hungry and have nothing prepped. Right off to the park we go....

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all, FLD met his match yesterday with the new pup 😂 he never ever growls or barks in fact people often think he's broken especially considering what breed he is. Yesterday he barked twice warning her and growled several times and when she didn't listen he came crying to mummy to lift him off the floor because the pup was being so mean 😂😂 was pretty funny. He's been sleeping pretty much ever since we got home yesterday. Not sure we will be joining them on Many walks until the pup calms down a bit for this FLD or I might have to rename him GOD grumpy old dog 😂

NSD yesterday. I'm getting really lapse at recording them though.
No idea how many I've had this month so far.
Today I need dog food and I've decided to buy a new duvet. I've been struggling with the one I bought last summer all year. I wish I'd never bought it. But because I'd spent money on it I persevered. It is made from horrible materials that don't breathe and I am certain it's what's causing my hot flushes. So I've spent days researching for a new one including our original reason for popping into the big yellow and blue swedish shop the other day...I think I've decided on one that is supposed to temperature regulate you and is cheaper than the I kea one...we will see. I can get cashback and pay in three installments. So just £21 or so to find today from this month's budget. I don't think I can go much longer being sleep deprived.
You get no sleep when kids are babies then you get none when they're teens because they refuse to go to bed at normal times and then you get no sleep when you're hitting that time of change. Sure I know a song about this, 'can't get no sleep 💤 ' 😆

We had a fantastic storm here last night though which I watched from beginning to end as I wasn't sleeping. Lightening and pouring rain. The weather is dull but the temperature is agreeable to me right now and I feel like I can breathe for the first time in weeks 😁.
I am intending on carrying on with my packing today...books from the built ins and cupboards in the dining room. 
I had a thought about what on earth to do when we move. As there isn't any sort of shelving at the new house and we're leaving behind ours as we built it all in. I have so many books which will be without a home. DP was suggesting putting in the conservatory but I think that room will be overrun because I already had other bits going in there. I need to think about this before moving day so I can direct where things are going. 

We will bug solicitors again towards the end of the week. Perhaps tomorrow so if no news then we can expect a response by end of week on all outstanding enquiries.

I drove past my new house yesterday on the way to the park with my sister and he's made a start on packing and decluttering too. The entire driveway (which is sizeable and fits three to four cars) was filled with boxes, rubbish, his car and what looked like old scrap wood. I'm glad I'm not the only one packing early. 

Not a nsd because of the duvet and dog food but I won't be spending on anything else. Got lots of food in. 
I've also been foraging lately, we've got some delicious blackberries locally and I've made crumbles, sauce and fruit salads with them. I might take a bowl out later and collect some more if they weren't all battered by rain last night. 

Today's jobs aside from the packing are cleaning the corner of the garage so that we can move some packed boxes there. Currently it's DS2 gym corner but he's away until mid August. Then him and DD are at camp. And then fingers crossed we should be moving within days of them coming back. So we will pack it all up as best as we can and make space for boxes. I'm making naan bread pizza for dinner with veg on top and we will have that with yet again more salad potatoes from the bags we got from the £2 box. We will be sick of potatoes before long 😆.

debtfreewannabe321

Packed five boxes and lost all motivation... Glad I started early 😂 imagine if I'd left it to the last minute and wanted to stop after five boxes with a few days left ...
Need to walk the dog but he's disappeared all day so far recovering from his trauma of yesterday. 
Think I will have a hoover round of the shelves I emptied as there's quite a few webs and bits of dust on them! I have emptied six large shelves today though and a cupboard 😁