Booking myself in for an independent future

:wave: welcome to MFW and good luck

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Hello,

:hello:

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

After reading for a while now I have decided to start a diary to keep track of what I am doing.

Background
I am 31, love my job

That's always a good start.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

(even though it is a four hour round commute each day),

:eek:

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

so utterly single it is ridiculous,

The person to change that is you.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

and love running (once I have made myself leave the flat).

Tired from the commute?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Last year I bought a shared ownership flat in an "up and coming" area of East London,

Estate agents...everything is "up and coming"...

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

I currently own 25%, and have been trying to overpay that since I got my mortgage. I am in the process of looking to staircase to buy another 20/25% when my two year fix is up.

Have you gone through the calculation yet? Does it make sense? How much will you save pcm?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

I do want to be mortgage free, or at least feeling comfortable I am making good progress with it but I still want to be able to enjoy my 30's in London so am slightly torn with my money.

That's what butgetting is all about, the best allocation of a scarce resource. You probably budget your time too.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

SOA
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2243
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 10

Paper round?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Total monthly income.................... 2253

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 248
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 170
Rent.................................... 448
Management charge (leasehold property).. 35
Council tax............................. 85
Electricity............................. 25

That's pretty low, especially if it includes heating.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 0

Is this lumped into "Internet Services" below?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Mobile phone............................ 35

I know you're going to a cheaper one, but do you need £23 monthly mobile either? https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-sim-only-contracts

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 35

Groceries etc. ......................... 200

I know you're saying you waste a lot of food, but this is not hugely out of normal bounds. You're not going to save big time, cutting this down.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Clothing................................ 100

Do you really spend £1200 pa on clothes?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 340

Is this a season ticket?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0

You must surely have obligatory Buildings/Contents if you own your flat?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 200

:eek:

£50 per week on entertaining yourself? What does that include? Is it just the gym, or something like Sky?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Savings................................. 100

Always have some money together to cover emergencies, even if it's just a "ringfence" around some of your savings, so you don't consider it "free to spend".

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Total monthly expenses.................. 2194

Assets
Cash.................................... 11000
House value (Gross)..................... 370000

Is this the total for your flat, or just the bit you own?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Shares and bonds........................ 300
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 381300


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 68900....(248)......0<
Student Loan...................7000.....(170)......0

What is the interest rate on Student loans these days?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,253
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,194
Available for debt repayments........... 59
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 59

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 381,300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -75,900
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 305,400


Some explanation
My student loan should be paid back within four years, and intend to overpay the minute I can change to direct debit.

Is it your most expensive debt?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

I waste A LOT of money on food, this is the easiest one I can improve on

It may be the easiest, but it's not looking like you're going to save megabucks on it.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

My BT internet package will be up soon and I will changing to a much cheaper option for over half price

My phone contract is up in June and will be able to change this down to one for about £23

The gym is a monthly contract that will be cancelled in a couple of months, I am in training for a half marathon in Leiden and had some issues so need the cross training for the time being

I have signed up to TopCashBack and have already made £5 by buying my usual Clinique moisturiser through it!

Also sign up for Quidco and compare the two. Sometimes Quidco is more lucrative.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

I am looking for a new job closer to where I now live, to half both my commute and travel costs but unfortunately I work in quite a niche area so am waiting for people to retire

Taxidermy? :rotfl:

Are you wedded to the area you've chosen to buy a house? What about moving closer to work?

Good luck in your quest! :T

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Thank you all for your responses, ZTD you have given me a lot to think about and made me question some entries in my SOA. It's the connecting wall rounds in Only Connect so I will focus on this which I can usually do...
- the electricity thing is a fixed deal I have signed up for, I sense they may try raise the rate as soon as the 10 months is up and I will leave

Good. They rely on, (and punish) loyalty, laxitude and laziness...

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

- I do not have a landline but the line rental is wrapped up in the Internet provision

How do you find BT internet? I am thinking of moving to them, hence the question.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

- I have a season ticket, but only buy three month ones as I keep imagining leaving ( not a sensible plan really as I stopped buying an annual about six months ago now)

You can get refunds on the unused parts of the ticket. It may be worth going back to annual, even if you are thinking of leaving.

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

- my student loan is the most expensive debt, and what really bugs me about it is how much it affects my affordability tests
- I do spend a lot of money of clothes, again can really look at this. It has been an expensive couple of months: my new winter coat was a couple of hundred (but was in the sale and will last me years) and have had to buy a couple of floor lengths dresses for some events coming up

In cases like that, you should sum up what you've spent over a longer period of time, (the past year for example) and average it out monthly. It's always going to be a "best guess".

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

(one at the HoL, am so excited)

An "utterly single" dance?

BookmobileBadGirl wrote: »

Tonight I made dinner from my cupboards. tomorrow is pay day. I have my fudget app and will fill it in religiously so I can account for everything this month.

So long as you keep it in proportion. You're not doing badly, and you don't need to worry too much about it.