Statement of intent

StuartGMC

SMF2
Thanks. Yes it is a good feeling to know how close we are to being MF just as soon as we have sufficient cash savings accumulated to give the minimum buffer to allow this, on the basis of us building them rapidly thereafter.

Regarding costs, despite RPI being negative CPI is not:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=19

Our monthly groceries etc bill has gone up from a year ago (and I don't think we can blame the cat we've rehomed since then for all of the increase!) at £98.56 per week but this includes typically £15 for my beer (:o) and £12.86 for toiletries and cleaning etc, so we have some £65 per week on food for the three of us (includes lunches for DD and OH in the week too).

My average weekly petrol costs are running at £34.45 and with business trips away etc despite my weekly commute being some 277miles, my annual mileage prediction is about 11900. At 28.8mpg for my current petrol engine, a switch to a diesel XF should improve this to about 40mpg giving about 38% increase and therefore it should outweigh the higher price per litre.

Clothing and Shoes etc are still at £200 per month average which seems high yet I don't believe we are in any way "fashion" focused (although DD is getting more so as she gets older, and of course she keeps growing too), but I admit that I find good quality business shirts definitely wear better than cheap ones.

Gas and electricity direct debit has been running at £100 per month, but we're in credit now. This should drop once we switch supplier which I estimate will be end of November. BG have e-mailed confirming my notice of change and suggesting their tariff but ScottishPower is still better for us.

Costs related to mortgage include life cover £17.86 per month and redundancy cover (inc portion to bills) £25.47 both of which I can cancel very soon. I also need to cancel a Hospital plan insurance at £15.70 per month. This £59.03 can then be used for permanent income protection, and I hope may go a long way to fund that at an income proportion which will be enough for us to live on even with a reduction from the 100% level. This assumes that in such a case, due to ill health, we would only run one car, holidays may be reduced, no commuting costs etc and OH could possibly increase hours worked. Not sure what recommendation would be, but we can soon look at the real "baseline" living costs from our data to establish more precisely what we should have for cover. Life cover is fine via my job currently 4x salary, and OH has 2x salary plus a private policy running until 2020. I do need to understand what cover would be in place via my job in the event of ill health meaning I had to quit.

Of course there are a number of items I "really" should look at which include:
English Heritage Membership, Ancestry.com, RAC, magazine subscriptions, hotel gym membership.

I have been looking at Cash ISA and savings rates too. We will retain some sums in the e-Savings aligned with the current a/c just because of the instant transfer under NatWest. However, I will also look at some alternative online accounts but think that in reality our extra cash above the "minimum" I'm comfortable to hold, will all be in Cash ISAs instead of instant access accounts. This will only become relevant from April 2010 based on expected rate of regenerating our savings.

I've discussed with DD her instant access savings account and the need to move it to a better rate; we'd have done so a long time ago except for the need now to book an appointment even when you only want to move it within the same building society! Hopefully DD and OH will sort during this week half-term break. DD has two bonds with the Post Office which mature during 2010 and these will likely be rolled up again into 12month bonds (no longer than that as I anticipate increasing rates at some stage and for these to rise rapidly once they do start).

So in summary, I don't think that once MF I'll be any less focused upon money and ensuring we're getting the best returns, if anything saving and investments may actually need more attention because we'll actually have more to manage each month. Plenty to keep me busy I think...

StuartGMC

StuartGMC wrote: »

I've discussed with DD her instant access savings account and the need to move it to a better rate; we'd have done so a long time ago except for the need now to book an appointment even when you only want to move it within the same building society! Hopefully DD and OH will sort during this week half-term break. DD has two bonds with the Post Office which mature during 2010 and these will likely be rolled up again into 12month bonds (no longer than that as I anticipate increasing rates at some stage and for these to rise rapidly once they do start).

Thanks to a thread in the Savings & Investment board, it looks like a good option for DD will be with Abbey and their Youth saver account 11-15yrs old, which has an Electron card and online access (good for her to learn to manage the account) and pays 3% on the first £500 but 0.1% above. So put £400 in there, allowing then for monthly top up, and remainder in 2% Norwich & Peterborough Family Young Saver. She can then decide what to do about adding some money from these to her first bond which matures in February.

Hopefully she will learn the habit of checking rates, being comfortable having funds in several different places and keep on track with them, before she is older and "really" needing to do all this in anger :A

Just need OH and DD to get booked in to open the accounts quickly.

SmlSave

Now there's a budget summary and action plan by an expert!

So in summary, I don't think that once MF I'll be any less focused upon money and ensuring we're getting the best returns, if anything saving and investments may actually need more attention because we'll actually have more to manage each month. Plenty to keep me busy I think...

You're not going to leave us when your MF are you?

StuartGMC

SmlSave
Thanks for that but I'm no expert and we never know what's around the corner in life do we?

I've been absent this week here; struggled through work Mon-Weds with heavy cold etc (thanks to my DD, but I still love her!) as I was the only manager in. Then I've been going downhill/recovering a little today... always the way, ill when you are off work!

Anyway on financial matters, markets have fallen this week so possible correction as had been expected. Our funds therefore have dropped a little negative, but the good thing is we sold that portion in Russia and Greater Russia at an optimum point as it has now dropped to -16.09% loss on our stake. Overall I'm not worried, markets will continue to fluctuate for some time yet.

DD and OH went into town yesterday to sort out banking for her, per the information I got together. Norwich & Peterborough were sad she was moving £400 out to Abbey, but she can get 3% for that (upto £500) with a Visa Electron card (very much putting trust in her to continue her proven sensible behaviour over money!) and online access. This is a full year before N&P could offer the card etc, and her remaining money with them is earning 2% (only 0.5% if it was in Abbey).

Abbey took forms but little additional copies etc, so we hope they are indeed processing properly (we know their reputation, but hope for such a simple account it shouldn't be difficult!). OH has the cash to pay in.... so hope the a/c opens quickly! The idea will be to set up an SO to pay say, 50% of her monthly pocket money in electronically with the rest as cash. She should also be able to top up her mobile easily too with her own money

DD's first £1500 bond with the Post Office matures after 12months in late Feb 2010, so we will need to schedule some time together to look at her options around and whether to augment with some of her cash savings for say, another 12months. I'm unhappy to fix longer whilst the spectre of higher interest rates lurks in the shadows, and we want to take advantage of that when it happens. Her second bond for £5000 matures in late July and we'll likewise review then. However, DD is more than happy for such sums to be locked up and inaccessible (provided she has her other monies for spending and some saving - I keep trying to remind her of the latter ) so I am sure she'll grow up comfortable with managing different accounts, saving rates, fixed-term offers etc which I hope will help her.

ScottishPower letter received with an initial Direct debit of £76 per month, saving £24 per month on the BG fixed tariff (i.e. £288 per year if it works out correctly).

StuartGMC

Mortgage update...

Interest charged in October £0.00
Payment and standard OP, plus the additional OP (Total £650) will clear on Monday having been taken from the offset savings which are 100% of outstanding mortgage.

Current mortgage debt £9700.00 :j

StuartGMC

Abbey called on Saturday PM with account number and sort code for the new account for DD; have sent £10 electronically to check all works. OH will pop in on Tuesday and drop in the £400 she is holding in cash from DD's other a/c!

Anyway, they did at least get back after a prompting call.

DD is somewhat nervous about the account and the Visa Electron card etc, so I've tried to talk her through this in terms of us helping her to learn about managing your money when only having transactions with plastic (let's face it cash will virtually be dead in 10yrs or so, outside the "grey" economy!) and with online access and monitoring of accounts for fraud.... Hopefully it is just a little hurdle and she'll soon be relaxed about the whole thing.

What a contrast to me at her age; at 12yrs old we had a savings book with the Post Office or Building Society, that was it! In all seriousness though, children I think need to learn gently and incrementally, thus if you consider it is a more complex world then you need to start early enough to lead them into it without scaring them.

Hoping DD will grow more confident with time; I'm certain she will.

SmileyG_2

StuartGMC wrote: »

Abbey called on Saturday PM with account number and sort code for the new account for DD; have sent £10 electronically to check all works. OH will pop in on Tuesday and drop in the £400 she is holding in cash from DD's other a/c!

Anyway, they did at least get back after a prompting call.

DD is somewhat nervous about the account and the Visa Electron card etc, so I've tried to talk her through this in terms of us helping her to learn about managing your money when only having transactions with plastic (let's face it cash will virtually be dead in 10yrs or so, outside the "grey" economy!) and with online access and monitoring of accounts for fraud.... Hopefully it is just a little hurdle and she'll soon be relaxed about the whole thing.

What a contrast to me at her age; at 12yrs old we had a savings book with the Post Office or Building Society, that was it! In all seriousness though, children I think need to learn gently and incrementally, thus if you consider it is a more complex world then you need to start early enough to lead them into it without scaring them.

Hoping DD will grow more confident with time; I'm certain she will.

Hello Stuart

It's a shame she's only 12yo, NSandI are offering a 1 year Guaranteed Growth Bond (Fixed Rate Bond to you and me) but you have to be over 16 to invest.

SmileyG

StuartGMC

SmileyG
This is only her "ready access money" i.e. always will be (much) less than £1000 in total. Her other £6500 is tied up in Post Office Growth Bonds and will remain in similar fixed term high interest accounts in future!

StuartGMC

Interesting to hear the weather summary for October for our region tonight; only 1 frost in the month compared to 11 in 2008 and temperatures about 4°C above average.

Our gas consumption has now risen as you would expect having had the central heating on from when DD was ill then continuing last week half-term plus my ill health (costly this being ill lark!). Anyway, gas was averaging about 11kWh per day mid-June to 4 October, but in the past month it is now 16kWh per day. Thermostat still set at 17°C and we're trying to keep it low for now (and in fact cooking raises temperature in dining room so it cuts out heating anyway :rotfl:).

Electricity night rate remains stable at about 3.2-3.4kWh per day, and has been around this since January 2009. Day rate electricity has been about 10-10.5kwh per day since April, but, jumped to 13.24kWh per day since 4 October; I think driven by the half-term with us in the house (well me using PC as I was ill on my holiday days so was "doing something constructive", change in day light hours, plus the central heating pump running.

OH's employer has lent staff an OWL Meter, so I need to clip that on to the mains on Saturday do a quick reading and then look at what components are drawing what energy if I can.

Mortgage etc, no real changes, still desperate to see an increase in actual cash net balance as soon as possible.

Wow - just noticed this is the 1000th post in my thread....

In addition to the £8.00 from TopCashBack coming 22 October, I've just had another £8.07 become payable and have requested it too.

SmlSave

PUMPKINS!