Mortgage free by my own merit

OhtobeMortgageFree · 25 November 2018 at 7:33AM

pinknsparkly wrote: »

Hi O2BMF!

Your plans are very inspiring - I'm hoping to also start mortgage OPs in the new year like you. But will also be limited by wanting to rebuild our emergency savings and do work to the house. The purchase is currently going through at the moment.

You mentioned using your Tesco clubcard points to go away for UK holidays - what do you use them for exactly? I've previously only really used them for meals out or days out but we're not likely to be having any big holidays for a few years so if I can use my points for UK holidays instead then that would be fab!!

Ah you sound in a very similar situation to me - although we have a pot of emergency savings at the moment, the new garage conversion in January will mean that this pot takes a big hit and will need topping up again.

OK, so Clubcard points - we usually go away for a short 3-4 night break each year at hotels in the UK for free (or at a very small cost) using the points. They offer stays at a wide range of hotels around the country, just check their website. Whilst there we make sure to have switched clubcard points to restaurant vouchers for at least two of the nights and usually we try and go to a couple of nearby attractions on vouchers from the clubcard scheme as well.
We have a joint Tesco clubcard which we pay off in full each month and use purely to get the points for these breaks away. Everything we can buy on credit card, we do!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 3 December 2018 at 4:59AM

I've been feeling rather overwhelmed today with the whole money situation.
Tomorrow is the day our direct debits come out for the month and I had a text from my bank earlier to say that there wasn't enough money in our current account to pay all the outgoings due tomorrow. (Mortgage, gas, electric, council tax, water and credit card bill.) In total more money is going to come out tomorrow than went in on pay day. (I've transferred from savings to cover it.)
I had been thinking how proud I was of how organised we were being when it came to money. My husband is salaried, but I can increase the amount I earn by taking on more work. On Friday, as well as my paper round I delivered some leaflets in town, then sold a load of Christmas craft bits that have been sat in our spare room for several years. In the evening I worked on some design work for a client. On Saturday I worked an extra night shift and then tonight I'm back in for my regular night shift. In total I brought in more than £500 over the weekend but I'm absolutely exhausted. I feel like all I ever do is work, housework or parent at the moment and rarely get any downtime.
Yet still we find ourselves scrimping and saving for everything, never treating ourselves and feeling guilty if we have to replace something in our wardrobe. I really want this mortgage gone but at the same time my husband and I are left wondering how the hell everyone else manages to get by with new cars, nights out and regular holidays abroad? Are they just all living on credit? Or are our earnings really so much less than everybody else's?! Both my husband and I have ended the day feeling rather miserable and helpless.

Betterthanever · 3 December 2018 at 7:27AM

I feel your pain and have had many months just like that. Many years in fact. It is all one big juggling act isn't it? On paper it works, but reality tells us different. My suggestion is to get a spending diary going, if you don't already have one. Be honest about writing everything down to see where it differs from your budgets. If you can see it, you can tackle it. Otherwise you will exhaust yourself trying to work 24/7 as well as the mental exhaustion of worrying about it.

And while you get straight, don't fret about overpaying. Not forever, just while you work out where you are. A month or two delay in being MF is nothing in he grand scheme of things, and once you are straight again you will probably catch that up with your renewed control.

You've got this.

beanielou · 3 December 2018 at 6:33PM

It can seem like that sometimes sadly.
Keep plodding

OhtobeMortgageFree · 5 January 2019 at 9:01PM

Betterthanever wrote: »

I feel your pain and have had many months just like that. Many years in fact. It is all one big juggling act isn't it? On paper it works, but reality tells us different. My suggestion is to get a spending diary going, if you don't already have one. Be honest about writing everything down to see where it differs from your budgets. If you can see it, you can tackle it. Otherwise you will exhaust yourself trying to work 24/7 as well as the mental exhaustion of worrying about it.

And while you get straight, don't fret about overpaying. Not forever, just while you work out where you are. A month or two delay in being MF is nothing in he grand scheme of things, and once you are straight again you will probably catch that up with your renewed control.

You've got this.

Thank you. I've spent a couple of weeks just not focusing on trying to overpay but instead trying to just keep ticking by without the pressure. Still remaining sensible (as sensible as you can be at Christmas when you have nine nieces and nephews!) but not stressing over it all. Spending diary is back in force this week!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 5 January 2019 at 9:06PM

beanielou wrote: »

It can seem like that sometimes sadly.
Keep plodding

Glad it's not just me!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 5 January 2019 at 9:15PM

OK, feeling a little less overwhelmed with it all now.
I set up another new bank account for a portion of our savings with TSB (5% interest!)
I have taken on two more part time clients with some freelance social media work.
I've been having a major declutter ready for our garage to be converted into a playroom for my son. (Work starts later this week.)
I've been gradually building a pile of items to sell at a carboot once the weather gets nice enough again. The pile has been rapidly growing over the last few weeks, so I'm hoping to make a fair bit when I do eventually get round to it! Fingers crossed!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 7 January 2019 at 9:40PM

I've just discovered the Money Dashboard app...this is going to become so addictive!!! (And hopefully provide a clearer insight into our spending habits too.)

penguineater · 7 January 2019 at 10:47PM

Have a few questions for you:

Monthly outgoings:
Water - £52 Looked into a water meter?
Gas/Electric - £88 Used comparison sites to get the cheapest deal?
Phone/internet bill - £50 What are you getting exactly, broadband or fibre? Which company, price - And what phone deal?
Food/household shopping - £200 Seems you have this locked down! Are you able to get lots of reduced food near closing?
Car expenses (2 cars) - £500 Comparison sites used recently?
Home Insurance - £30 Comparison sites? If you pay annually it's usually cheaper (maybe you are)

OhtobeMortgageFree · 11 January 2019 at 9:53AM

penguineater wrote: »

Have a few questions for you:

Monthly outgoings:
Water - £52 Looked into a water meter?
Gas/Electric - £88 Used comparison sites to get the cheapest deal?
Phone/internet bill - £50 What are you getting exactly, broadband or fibre? Which company, price - And what phone deal?
Food/household shopping - £200 Seems you have this locked down! Are you able to get lots of reduced food near closing?
Car expenses (2 cars) - £500 Comparison sites used recently?
Home Insurance - £30 Comparison sites? If you pay annually it's usually cheaper (maybe you are)

Thanks for your comment and for encouraging me to delve further into our budget.

Just double checked my water, as that seemed a little high, and I got it wrong. I'm actually paying £39 per month, not £52. I'm not sure where I got that figure from.
Gas/Electric - we changed providers last year. We pay £88 per month for both each month but a couple of times each year after a meter reading we get reimbursed with money we haven't spent. (We got £41.82 returned back in October.)
Phone/internet - My husband set up this package as he needs a good connection for when he frequently works from home as a Network Manager. (I think that's his job title?!) He did convince the company to have six months reduced costs at the start of our term so it worked out as a good deal overall but I've left this to him.
As I work nights in a supermarket, any unsold food is actually given to staff at the start of our shift and I need to be more vigilant in checking the trays when I arrive as I could really use this to our advantage.
Car expenses - unfortunately the main expense for us is the petrol we put into the cars as we both travel so frequently. My husband has a season ticket for the football 100 miles away near where his family live. I have cut back on visits to my Dad, also 100 miles away. (I was visiting 3-4 times a week when my Mum first died, but now only visit every 3 weeks, and I'm intending to drop this back to every 4 over the next few months so that should save another £40 or so each month.
Home insurance - we do pay annually, and yesterday received our renewal quote in the post for the end of January so plan on having a proper hunt to find the best deal there too.
Tweaking the budget a bit further!!!

Mortgage free by my own merit

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