FTB when to buy?

ejh18

OK here's my advice, for what its worth.
Cancel all unnecessary insurance products (card protection etc, if you have it)
Walk/cycle wherever possible (cutting down milage not only saves petrol but it reduces car insurance too)
Get a water meter
Cash back credit cards - spend as you would cash but ONLY if you pay it off each month.
Shop for food at markets rather than the supermarket
Cook from scratch and don't buy ready meals. Cook things like spag bol in bulk and freeze meal sized portions.
Shop for food little and often, and take a list, so as to avoid throwing food away.
Don't buy supermarket premium ranges (or even branded ranges).
Get OH to take sandwiches/flask of coffee/snacks to work with him, if he's not already doing that.
Don't buy ANYTHING without thinking about it for at least 24 hours first, and then don't buy unless you really need it. Seriously though, this really works. I have had a little bet on with myself, to see just how little new "stuff" I can buy each month. If I see a new top or something in a shop that I fancy, I absolutely cannot buy it on the same day. By the time I've left town and got home, I usually realise I don't like it that much after all, and I certainly can't be bothered to trudge back up town to get it.
When you do need to buy, always use cashback websites such as quidco etc. For things like insurance products, these can be a gold mine.
Discover the free pleasures that your town/city/whatever hold - there's usually more stuff to do than you think.
Invite friends round to your place for parties/dinner/drinks, rather than going out to a club/restaurant/pub. Hopefully they'll return the invite and you'll soon get into the habit. Obviously this doesn't work if they don't bring a bottle!
Survey sites such as valuedopinions are a lucrative supply of gift vouchers for presents.
Cancel sky if you have it, and get freeview.

I'm not sure if you will be able to save £15,000 in two years though things would be tight. As well as part time work, have you explored other avenues for extra cash? e.g. schools or universities often reqire exam invigilators for a few weeks a few times a year. Hours are flexible so you could fit it around your work, and the pays quite good.

oldMcDonald

Also get over to the Old Style board and the Debt Free Wannabe board. I am not in debt, but lurking away in the shadows of that board, reading the advice offered to those posting up their incomings / outgoings, has really helped us with deciding which 'needs' should really be spelt 'w-a-n-t-s'! Our savings account has grown quite nicely since I started reading these two boards:D

happytails

Thanks for all the advice.

Me and OH has a chat about things last night and now have our £2 savers tin for Christmas set up - very proud as i have £2 in it already

Once we have paid our overdraft we are not going back in it so thinking of switching to a high interest current account as ours is just the normal halifax one. OH is going to open an ISA so then we will have 2 set up for our savings.

This month OH is getting a scooter for work instead of me driving my van to and from to pick him up as its cheaper in the long run and means we dont have to work our hours round each other.

How would i find out about exam invigilators?local jobs paper?

Thanks once again :rolleyes:

ejh18

happytails wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice.
How would i find out about exam invigilators?local jobs paper?

Do you live in a large city? If so, temp agencies often recruit invigilators. When I was doing it I found agencies were advertising on Gumtree. You could also contact local schools directly - I would be surprised if they don't need people, as teachers are not allowed to invigilate. You probably won't be able to do it this summer though as exams have already started. It maybe worth doing something about it soon as there are some exams in the winter too, and things like CRB checks take a while to come through (A note about this - if you appraoch a school directly they may be more willing to pay for the CRB check for you, especially if you may become a regular. Agencies less so. They cost about £40).

Universities may be a better option, as no CRB is needed. If there's one close to you, contact them directly. Exams are usually in January and May.

happytails

just having a nosey on the local estate agents websites and came across this

http://www.vebra.com/home/search/vdetails.asp?src=agent&fd=408&bd=0&db=1&cl=456&pid=13479470

Its in a nice area - not the best but much much better than where we live now.

Having a back garden is important to us as are 3 bedrooms as we plan to have a family in the 1st house we buy. Obviously i am not wanting THIS house but something along these lines the asking price is just less that £115K at the mo - reckon when house prices will fall it may go down to about £105k? Just so i know what sort of houses we can afford etc.

So far the bank will only lend us £80k with the credit crunch etc so bit peeved really.

Sarah

ejh18

I wouldn't be surprised if the vendor would accept something close to £105,000 now, and if not now then definately in a few months time. But yes, I would imagine that if a house like that was to go on the market in two years, it wouldn't be priced over £105,000. But of course you can never bank on these things.

Are you and your OH likely to be in the same financial situation in 2 years time? How do you see your business going? Could your OH get a promotion? Two years is a fair while to both save and increase your income. I would see both as equal priorities.

MrDT

happytails wrote: »

just having a nosey on the local estate agents websites and came across this

http://www.vebra.com/home/search/vdetails.asp?src=agent&fd=408&bd=0&db=1&cl=456&pid=13479470

Its in a nice area - not the best but much much better than where we live now.

Having a back garden is important to us as are 3 bedrooms as we plan to have a family in the 1st house we buy. Obviously i am not wanting THIS house but something along these lines the asking price is just less that £115K at the mo - reckon when house prices will fall it may go down to about £105k? Just so i know what sort of houses we can afford etc.

So far the bank will only lend us £80k with the credit crunch etc so bit peeved really.

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Don't be too peeved at the bank, they're probably doing you a favour. Taking the largest mortgage offered to you might seem attractive at first glance, but remember that this loan needs to be repaid. 80k is 4x your combined income, this is pretty high, nevermind going higher. Remember to take into account how much a mortgage will cost you per month, this should be a big factor in deciding how large a loan you should take out. Don't think that just cos the bank is willing to lend you the money you can afford to take it.

Anyway, that out of the way I'd just like to say that house looks lovely Is that price indicative of the average asking price for similar properties in Blackpool?

Saving 15k in two years on a shared income of 20k seems like a big ask, but it depends how much you want it I suppose. I'm hoping to save that much in a similar time frame, but I'm single, have no pets, and earn a little bit more than that. Thing is I still have the occasional night out, a few trips round the UK during the year, and a summer holiday abroad - if you can cut all this stuff out and not lose your sanity then who knows what is possible!

I definitely second the recommendation you check out the DFW (debt is not a prerequisite for visitors ) and OS (being old isn't a prerequisite :rotfl:) boards. You don't have to post there, just have a read through some of the threads and peek in on a few of the challenges if you have a spare 15 mins, you'll find yourself absorbing 'moneysaving' tips without trying :T

Good luck

happytails

We expect my OH to get another pay rise within two years between 1 -3k realistically.

My business has projective figures of 1.5k NET this year which may rise if i get the right clientele. Also im taking on a weekend job estimated to bring in just short of £200 a month.

We got christmas sorted thanks to the £2 savers challenge. So thats out of the way now.

All these money saving tips are already having an effect on me. :T Aiming to save betweeen £500 - £1000 a month - aiming for about £700 a month to go into ISA after overdraft has been paid off. (overdraft is £700)

Asda 8p noodles are the way forward lol and they are yum

The house is (for what it is and location) good value for round here - but i heard on the grapevine some houses in that area are sinking !!!!! :eek: its a big area so will have to check where they mean - not sure how id go about doing this.

Sarah

MrDT

happytails wrote: »

The house is (for what it is and location) good value for round here - but i heard on the grapevine some houses in that area are sinking !!!!! :eek: its a big area so will have to check where they mean - not sure how id go about doing this.

www.rightmove.com has most the properties for sale in the uk listed, so that's a good place to start. stick in the postcode, choose a search a radius of say 2 miles and have a look at the current asking prices in the area.

Next step would be to download property bee (http://www.property-bee.com/), this plugs into firefox (if you haven't got it - http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/) and basically 'remembers' details for properties you view on rightmove. Viewing the same houses over a period of weeks and months should give you an idea how far asking prices are dropping in your area.

Remember that asking prices are the sellers 'ideal price', they are open to negotiation.

For an idea of sold prices in your area in the past have a look at www.nethouseprices.com, can make for some very interesting reading. (edit - note that some of the 'sold' prices can be a bit misleading if you have 'deposit paid' shenanigans going on round your neck of the woods)

That little lot should keep you busy for a while lol

machofairy

happytails wrote: »

Asda 8p noodles are the way forward lol and they are yum


Sarah

Eat too much of those and you wont live long enough to pay off your mortgage, leaving your partner to shoulder all the financial burden:rotfl: