Hope is not an Effective Financial Strategy

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  • Well i survived the day somehow but am extremely jaded now. Thank heavens for a fantastic wife that fed me sausage casserole for tea!

    Lovely NSD today for both of us and am about to get in bed all smug with not having to go to work tomorrow! Few jobs on as DS2 has his nativity and we need to collect yet another pair of glasses for DS1. Then around them i'm planning on dog walks and a definite snooze whilst nanny takes DD to play group.

    On a personal note my current job is both energy sapping and mentally demanding and its starting to take its toll. I've been there 16yrs but the last 4 have been tough. So am re-evaluating, looking around, considering partial retraining (more of a side step that total direction change) etc... and i must say the financial position we are in due to our last 3 years of OP's has helped massively as it takes the pressure off if i have to drop of pay grade. The MFW journey also puts things into perspective as i realise how we can easily do without/with less!

    So very early days but there you go...2018 may be a year of change at Shangai towers!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    Your MSE efforts are brilliant Jimmy and it is great how taking control of the finances gives you and your family choices.
    I started my journey when I was unhappy at work and I wanted to give myself a bit more choice about how long I have to work and if the day comes and I want to tell em "to stuff it " I can :D

    I
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Being secure enough to enable bravery!! Especially when you get sent to a meeting 50miles away with an evenings notice, no idea of what walking into and no power to make a decision!!

    47p TT this morning which all helps the discussion above!!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • Exciting times ahead SJ, and I am pleased to read that Mrs SJ is so enthused with your progress too.
    MFW :)
    [STRIKE]Mortgage 8.2.15 - [/STRIKE][STRIKE]£171,064.64[/STRIKE] Mortgage 1.5.2018 - £99,980.45
    Aiming to be MF 1.10.2020
  • VDOT47
    VDOT47 Posts: 277 Forumite
    Hi Shanghai,


    Haven't been able to read back through the whole thread, but have read the first page and the last couple and it sounds like you have made great strides. Have you found having mini targets helpful in keeping you on track?


    Have to say, I am VERY jealous that you have a 4 bed detached and only had to pay £225k for it (even if that was at 2006 prices that sounds like a good deal?) - this year we paid £375k for a 3 bed semi :-( and would have to pay over £550k for a 4 bed detached I reckon. This is part of my desire to reduce the mortgage as much as possible, as soon as possible to allow us to stand a chance of moving within 5 years.
    Original Mortgage (Feb '17) £269,995
    Current Mortgage (End 11/19) £226,790
    End Date November 2039 Original End Date February 2042
  • greent
    greent Posts: 10,669
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    VDOT47 wrote: »

    Have to say, I am VERY jealous that you have a 4 bed detached and only had to pay £225k for it (even if that was at 2006 prices that sounds like a good deal?) - this year we paid £375k for a 3 bed semi :-( and would have to pay over £550k for a 4 bed detached I reckon. This is part of my desire to reduce the mortgage as much as possible, as soon as possible to allow us to stand a chance of moving within 5 years.

    Property prices in different areas are a kicker :(:( We bought our house in 2005 for 277k - was a larger 4 bed detached (could get a small 4 bed detached for 200k - but they had the same/ smaller floor space than our large 3 bed semi)

    375K currently gets you this around our way http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E20417&maxPrice=375000&minPrice=375000&includeSSTC=true - both of those properties on there sold in less than 5 days.

    How anyone can ever afford to get on the housing ladder in the SE is beyond me :( People complain about prices enough here (2 bed 'modern' small terrace = c 125k)
    I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul
    Repaid mtge early (orig 11/25) 01/09 £124616 01/11 £89873 01/13 £52546 01/15 £12133 07/15 £NIL
    Net sales 2024: £20
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    VDOT47 wrote: »
    Hi Shanghai,


    Haven't been able to read back through the whole thread, but have read the first page and the last couple and it sounds like you have made great strides. Have you found having mini targets helpful in keeping you on track?


    Have to say, I am VERY jealous that you have a 4 bed detached and only had to pay £225k for it (even if that was at 2006 prices that sounds like a good deal?) - this year we paid £375k for a 3 bed semi :-( and would have to pay over £550k for a 4 bed detached I reckon. This is part of my desire to reduce the mortgage as much as possible, as soon as possible to allow us to stand a chance of moving within 5 years.

    Thanks for popping by. I am acutely aware of how lucky we are with our location for house prices!! When we bought we were initially looking at spending around 180k, which on the estate we wanted (new build) left us a bit stuck as we were looking at 3 storey options or a small 3 bed semi for about 165k. What we have they only built 4 and all 4 were snapped up off plan but then one fell through and we managed to get it. It was a huge stretch and we wouldn't have got a mortgage in todays rules, which i suppose is a reflection of why the financial chaos all built up. I was also extremely persuasive with sales and managed to get them to agree to pay the 5% deposit of £11k and we would be in a position to complete in 6 weeks! A hectic 6 weeks unfolded (Mrs SJ largely oblivious) as you can imagine especially as we spent 2 weeks of that in the Maldives (thinking back it was madness)! I was smart enough to use the solicitor that they advised, and they were useless! So i then blamed the builders for recommending them and pretty much made them do all the chasing!

    Blimey memories...amazing how much you forget! After we moved we then had a steady increase in interest rates for the first 18months... young and reckless!!

    As for your first quesiton the mini targets help to break things up into manageable chunks. In turn it helps with momentum and motivation, as 10yrs is a long long time. So i work on a realistic target of 10yrs, a hopeful target of 9yrs and a dream of 8yrs. I then work on 2 yr cycles that fit in with mortgage deal, which i then break up into monthly chunks! For added motivation the daily account tidies keep you going through the flat parts of the month when little is happening!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    greent wrote: »
    Property prices in different areas are a kicker :(:( We bought our house in 2005 for 277k - was a larger 4 bed detached (could get a small 4 bed detached for 200k - but they had the same/ smaller floor space than our large 3 bed semi)

    375K currently gets you this around our way http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E20417&maxPrice=375000&minPrice=375000&includeSSTC=true - both of those properties on there sold in less than 5 days.

    How anyone can ever afford to get on the housing ladder in the SE is beyond me :( People complain about prices enough here (2 bed 'modern' small terrace = c 125k)

    I worry for our kids to be honest. They'd struggle here in the North but if any decide to live somewhere else following university for example i suspect a life of renting is ahead of them.
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • VDOT47
    VDOT47 Posts: 277 Forumite
    Oh yes, we are lucky that we have been able to get on the ladder at all, given that we are in the home counties. We know we could get so much more for our money if we moved to another part of the country, but we are very tied to this area for various reasons (family, work etc) so I guess that is our own choice and we can't complain.


    Looking at greent's link and seeing what you can get for 375k in Gloucs compared to here is very depressing though!
    Original Mortgage (Feb '17) £269,995
    Current Mortgage (End 11/19) £226,790
    End Date November 2039 Original End Date February 2042
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Great day today. 2 dog walks, 16,000+ steps, new glasses for DS1, nativity for DS2, great tea and even made a cheeky £9 matched betting when i got home! Dog is flaked out and the only thing i missed out on was a snooze but i can live with that.

    Only 5 work days left for me for 2017, so excited and definitely in need of a mental rest.
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
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