Statement of intent

abouttimetoo

Hi Stuart

I've been with Green Flag for some years now and have always had excellent service in every way. They also offer a £10 refund if they do not arrive within the given time period (usually 45 minutes if you are broken down at home, in no rush etc). I have used them many times and they were only late once and only by about 10 minutes and I made a claim, I felt a bit mean doing it and I must admit it was partly curiosity to see if they paid out and they did straight away. They always follow up any call out with a feedback form. For the past few years I have bought Green Flag cover as part of my annual car insurance package. This year I did it all via Topcash and got a £65 cashbook which was nice!

PS, I didn't want to cut and run without acknowledging your personal situation. I know it will be tough but you always appear level headed and think things through. Whilst a painful situation I also think you have been incredibly brave as I'm sure in many cases it's all too easy to drift into an affair.

I appreciate you don't wish to discuss any detail on a public forum, however, just wanted to let you know that the MoneySavers Arms thread on here has various discussions, support and advice on such things.

Best wishes Stuart

Regards
ATT

StuartGMC

golfiematt wrote: »

i was watching a programme where the feeling was that the B.O.E rate will stay relatively unchanged until the election and then inflation may increase to wipe out some of the scale of the borrowing, it depends which party gets in though.

I see Mervin King has already had to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer - I guess they'll need to see if inflation remains above 2% for a couple of months before either acting or changing the 2% target?

StuartGMC

PO - thanks for your support.

ATT - I've been with Directline for insurance, but never switched to their cover via Greenflag... I'll need to do some serious checks on car insurance and cover in May I think. (Thanks also for your thoughts)

Cheers
Stuart

SmlSave

Hi Stuart, just caught up with your thread and am sending lots of ((HUGS)) to you and your family.

StuartGMC

Well the financial markets are in a bit of turmoil so ISA Funds have been bouncing around a little but the encouraging aspect is the trend line for the value now is running almost parallel with that of the investment as you can see below,(seems I had to put this in a different way this time - edit - not sure where it went!).

Not sure I can presently call the markets or trends, need to take time to review relevant information and then consider later.

On a personal note, I found somewhere to rent a room and will move at the weekend; had seen one room which I was staggered by in contrast to the description and was very much "student" grade - thankfully have found a much nicer place to go to. Very difficult emotionally for me, but it is a step required along the path to new beginning so I am holding onto the positive aspects of the expected outcome of my decision. DD is being very brave about it but I will miss her terribly.

gallygirl

I hope it all works out for you Stuart and will be thinking about you, your DD & exOH at the weekend. Hopefully it will be short term pain for longer term happiness/peace of mind etc. for all concerned. It should be painful - take the pain as the flipside of the happiness you used to have. If you could move on without anyone being bothered it wouldn't say much about the past, so hold on to that. :grouphug: Dodgy hug for all of you x

setmefree2

'tis very tough for you all, I'm sure. Dodgy hug from me too :grouphug:

Bufger

StuartGMC wrote: »

Have been keeping this thread updated more often than I thought (thanks to those of you with interest keeping me going!). So updating this original post to reflect the position end March 2009

Mortgage: Repayment mortgage commenced October 1994, moved schemes within B Soc and always overpaid a bit (but birth of daughter in 1997 severally impacted the disposable income). Remortgaged June 2006 to an Offset Flexible mortgage with NatWest. Only took 10yrs as over-payments had saved us 3yrs already (when interest rates had been higher in the 1990s than now).

Edited to give update 29 March 2009
See relevant posting here

Present position (also see bullet list below):
Mortgage is now £18009.80
Offsetting at 99.50% so mortgage interest charged in March was £9.43

Overpayments at [strike]61.52% now 108% from November 138% 1 December 2008 141.64%[/strike] 156.92% of scheduled payment from 1 February 2009

Expected MF Date: [strike]See post #81 in this thread, as I think we should be able to clear by December 2012, not August 2013 as planned in June (total saving 8yrs 10months from 25yr mortgage). Note below comments on investments also to explain why we haven't aimed to clear in 3yrs. [/strike][strike]This is the major change in review during September and October and a further increase in OP (the interest charged each month). It seems very feasible for us to be 100% offset by end of September 2009 even allowing for our holiday year. This is 10yrs before the original 25yr term, and if plans hold together, we will have rebuilt sufficient rainy day funds to actually pay off the mortgage in 2010 possibly as early as May February 2010 based upon review Oct 2008[/strike]Now aiming for October 2009, which would reduce savings (quickly rebuilt) but clear mortgage at 15yrs saving 10yrs. Now just 7 months away from potential MFD:j


Objectives
1 Clear mortgage before daughter is 16 (Dec 2013) and put same amount per month (11% net pay) into Cash ISAs to save funds for demands when she is 18 (University or whatever). Target MF date no later than June 2013, and looking like [strike]December 2012 May 2010[/strike] Feb 2010 latest, but aiming for Oct 2009

2 Continue to invest in Stocks & Shares ISAs ([strike]9.63%[/strike] 5.66%net income) [strike]and look to increase by minimum of 10% per year each of next 5yrs, [/strike]because now they are cheap and should grow in future years to give solid return above interest rates in savings, say, 2011 onwards. Will aim to return to increased amounts once MF. Feb 09 update, increased to 7.39% of net income. Expect to be investing at maximum £3600 per year each from April 2010 plus the £3600 Cash ISA each. Now increased to £300 per month,

Have thoroughly reviewed the investment planning and in Feb 09 modified as detailed here

3 Continue to always save to buy things we need current target is [strike]23.76%[/strike][strike] 20.90%[/strike] 29.87% of net income at Feb 09 income per month which covers holidays, decorating, replacement white goods etc. This is close to the 30% I am more comfortable with, but it should be about 44% of income once MF.

4 Buy Jaguar XF in [strike]2010 or[/strike] 2011 to replace my current S-Type I know, this is not exactly an economy drive, but I love it and it makes me smile whether on the 27miles to work or a long trip to family - "happiness" quotient high, and my treat! This is one area that will need review carefully and I think 2011 will be optimistic as we've increased cash into the mortgage for now. Update for March 2009, the 3.0 Diesel S XF is getting rave reviews, has good economy (42mpg combined cycle), 0-62 in 5.9s and best of all it's a British built car.

5 Make savings where realistic & Maximise use of things we buy/spend on but still enjoy the pub and life now, don't defer to some future date.

6 Get more exercise use leisure club membership more and go cycling with family now I've bought a bike after 16 years without one! In 2009 this needs more focus. This really has fallen by the wayside with wife's ill health and my motivation - need to address in April

7 Convert total position of small debt to positive position in 2009 As noted below, spreadsheet gives total position on mortgage owing, cash savings and ISAs. Want to convert from £3600 debt to £3500 positive by end 2009, but Stocks & Shares performance will influence this! In Feb 09 we were for a short time net positive for the first time since we had the mortgage and in March continued this progress:j


Comments on progress, at 29 March 2009:

• March 2009 - It will be tough to make the numbers stack for October but determined to do so if we can.
  
• March 2009 gave some good news on the investments which have improved this month with the Funds ISAs now increasing in value. Whilst there may be set backs in the months ahead, growth of about 8% in the month is ok and confirms our positiion to keep investing whilst units are cheap but still pound averaging too.
  
• March 2009 and we had to make a "distressed" purchase for the fridge, info online helps and the one we have now will have to suffice; just when do you "plan" to change appliances so you get time to choose?
  
• March 2009 Incurred further unplanned costs due to oven element failing, but more importantly the fridge failed (an AEG just 5.5yrs old!) just before wife was taken into A&E for breathing problems and in there for 4 days. Quite stressful overall.
  
• March 2009, NatWest have decided not to reduce offset mortgage rate, so it remains at 4% whilst our equivalent interest rate is 0.16%
  
• February 2009 - interest rate on mortgage dropped to 4%
  
• February 2009 - modified the investments in the S&S ISAs
  
• January 2009 - need to read around investment information in more detail to assist in planning strategies for 2010 and beyond
  
• 27 January 2009 - For the first time since having a mortgage, our total net position was positive this weekend :jnow need to hit the 100% offset in the summer :rolleyes:
  
• 27 January 2009 - only paid £17.61 mortgage interest this month
  
• 2 January 2009 - mortgage now only £19868.77 so it is on target :j:j:j
  
• January 2009 - need to spend some time researching investment vehicles etc to prepare for discussion with professional input to plan for 2010 onwards
• January 2009 - unplanned costs of about £500 on car due to electronics problem :eek:
  
• January 2009 - purchased required new clothing for family online from Next pre-Christmas sale, should save about £600
  
• December 2008 - New glasses had to be varifocal, cost £338 :eek:
  
• December 2008 - OH saved about £500 on curtains by modifying readymade ones from Next, rather than made to measure.
  
• December 2008 - interest rate cuts mean overpayment is now £377 per month with mortgage payment total of £650 (138% OP), plus £220 per month to S&S ISAs and £812 to our savings.
• October 2008 - Have had two payments from Google Adsense this year from my web site totaling £107.06
• October 2008 - Saved £200 on the cost of buildings & contents insurance plus improved cover
• October 2008 - Purchased replacement bike for DD, saving £75
• October 2008 - Weekly groceries spend; food (inc alcohol) £73.72, cleaning & toiletries £9.98. So this is very good to see.
  
• October 2008 - switched gas and electricity supplier to BG, and for the first time fixed, to Sept 2011 with a 13.8% premium over online prices at Sept 2008. Need to watch gas futures markets and monitor other suppliers in Q1 2009; contradictory advice from "prices will increase" to "gas futures are dropping so prices will decrease in 2010".
  
• August 2008 - Due to increased costs, our scheduled savings have scaled back to 29.03% of net income from some 33%. The saving for cars, holidays etc has dropped from 23.67% above to 19.43%. Presently, the ISA contributions remain at the increased value applied in April, but lack of a pay rise in combination with increased costs is making itself manifest
  
• August 2008 - Data on household expenditure is now starting to become reasonably accurate for petrol & car costs, plus groceries (£93.24 per week of which £76.23 is food and drink). Clothing & Shoes needs longer to generate an accurate view (£266 being high due to holiday/summer clothing and back to school items)
• August 2008 - I have continued to try to overpay mortgage by a set amount each month, plus the interest charged each month (totaling 61.52% of scheduled payment)
  
• August 2008 - as post #136 indicates I have reviewed energy supply and moved to 2011 fix with British Gas. An initial 13.8% premium, but it should mean a saving over the three years, especially based on expected Q1 2009 increases
  
• July 2008 Wife's car insurance quote cheaper than 2007, whereas I had allowed a 15% increase (we must both be getting old.... )
• July 2008 starting to gain good data on monthly spends but need to run for 4 months to get a realistic trend in budgeting spreadsheet eg clothes purchases high presently as we didn't replace much in the past year or so, food also as we ran down freezer for scheduled defrosting.
• July 2008 Have run a few calculations on mortgage, overpayment, offset and time to be 100% offset (see post #81 in this thread). Looks like December 2010 latest for 100% offset, so good progress here and then we can put the mortgage payments into savings at that time.
• July 2008 monitoring of "alternatives" which have acceptable quality compared to previous purchases. 3 items alone will save £62.88 per annum
• In June 2008 Updated my budgeting spreadsheet thanks to comments and input received here. Now has detailed sheets to monitor groceries and one for clothing & shoes, these then feed real data on spend to main sheet rather than the estimate used before.
• June 2008, OH has started to look at alternatives for some of our groceries and this is also captured in the spreadsheet to show the annual total if the change is acceptable.
• In May 2008, bought myself a new bike (50% off so only £150!) now daughter has "suddenly" found cycling is fun. Must ensure I use it for exercise and fresh air with family.
• In April 2008 increased ISA investments by 12.1% so exceeded 10% target, just hope we can maintain whilst costs are increasing rapidly. Reallocated funds from poor UK market to riskier Latin American Fund
• In April renewed breakdown cover and got an insurance quote on S-Type to compare with present insurer. Current insurer was £230 cheaper than the "offer" from alternative. Stayed with DirectLine!
  
• In March did check we get best tariff on electricity and gas. Do every 6 or 12 months
  
• Always read gas & electric meters each month, enter online so DD is as close to spend as it can be. Always add consumption to spreadsheet to easily get comparisons for switching based on kWhr consumption
• In February called Virgin Media to discuss "value" of package offered; now get £14.50 reduction every month and no new contract
• Use hair clippers at home to cut (what's left) of my hair every 2wks. Cost £36 in 2006, saving £4 per month (3x return on investment and still working well!)
• Have improved spreadsheet at home now, and have full information to the penny on where we stand on regular costs, payments, savings and investments, mortgage debt and "grand sum" position. 30 May we only owe the world £3600 in total
  
• So want that debt position to reverse so in 2009 we show positive position even accounting for mortgage.
• Use filter coffee at work, equivalent price 6p per cup vs 15p per cup from vending machine and sooo much nicer!
• Try to use TopCashBack for online purchases (Feb, TV stand - saved £11.50; May bike - saved £3.50)
  
• Always enter petrol and consumption data in household spreadsheet (this provides true cost per month running, confirms fuel economy and automatically predicts date to schedule for next service).
• Daily check accounts online for current, savings, mortgage and credit card (avoid fraud and maximize offset)
• All expenditure on credit card each month (keeps cash for offset), then set to pay 5 days before card is due - Action: review now that electronic payments should be faster, may be able to reduce to 2 days keeping in account for 3 days longer
  

Thanks for reading.
Stuart

I just noticed the Jag XF S comment:

Im an engineer for Jaguar cars and can honestly say the XF S is the only one of our products thats completely blown me away, its such an amazing drive! I was lucky enough to have one of works cars for a weekend away in wales camping, it was such a lovely and effortless drive and the fuel system was amazing (teehee, can you guess what i work on yet?).

Anyway best of luck to you and i hope you get your hands on your X250 (our internal name for it).

StuartGMC

Bufger wrote: »

I just noticed the Jag XF S comment:

Im an engineer for Jaguar cars and can honestly say the XF S is the only one of our products thats completely blown me away, its such an amazing drive! I was lucky enough to have one of works cars for a weekend away in wales camping, it was such a lovely and effortless drive and the fuel system was amazing (teehee, can you guess what i work on yet?).

Anyway best of luck to you and i hope you get your hands on your X250 (our internal name for it).

Thanks, certainly a beautiful vehicle, but with the present changes in my life i think it will be a few years before I can have the XF, but it will remain on my list that's for sure.

StuartGMC

Got that image into Google docs and thus here; not sure why it has been more difficult but they've changed their system a little to handle all files so that may be why?

Hope the comments on funds above now make sense.