My Saving log

Hello all,

Here goes, my name is Sylvia and unfortunately I am 28 years old:female:. I have been saving for a while now for a deposit (FTB) and I intend to purchase my first home on my own, hopefully by spring 2013:eek:.

Originally I wanted to buy this time next year, but with the recession and working in the public sector, I need to make sure I save a bit more as my salary won’t be increasing for at least 2 years.
I wish to create a log as I am at that stage, that I’m not sure how to keep myself motivated and keep on track.

My intentions are to create targets for all of my savings, and if possible exceed these targets by cutting out expensive long haul holidays and not purchasing my brand new dream car (this is going to hurt :() and still try to have a bit of a social life.

My aim is to try and live on < £200 pcm(general spend) 1k+ pcm towards deposit, £100+ pcm towards emergency fund(6 months wages) and have £250 pcm towards car running cost.

Cheers for reading, and I would be grateful for any advice given :)

P.s sorry for the long post
Must save to live, not just live to save!!! :think:
Challenge Save 12k in 2019 #141 £6,143.34/£6k
Deposit £82,317.88/£120K :jFees/ect £12K/£12K:jEmergency fund £1K/£1K
:A
:A'Saving again after parting with a lot of money enjoying life:rotfl::A
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Comments

  • Lokolo_2
    Lokolo_2 Posts: 1,005
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    Fantastic, you are doing so well at such a young age, I bet there's hardly anyone your age who has saved up that much :j

    Budgeting is definitely a start, but you are right, you'll need plenty of motivation and discipline to stick to your targets.

    One thing you didn't mention is where you are saving your money, are you making use of your ISA allowance, it's definitely worth getting as much interest tax-free as possible! If you let us know which savings accounts you are using we might be able to help you find better ones :beer:
    Which car did you want to get btw? Sometimes you do need a treat to spoil yourself so maybe you can motivate yourself to save even more if you know you'll be able to afford that car too!

    All the Best. :)
  • Sylvia1982
    Sylvia1982 Posts: 193 Forumite
    edited 28 March 2011 at 10:50PM
    Thank you Lokolo 2 for being so nice,

    I have used up my full cash ISA allowance for this current tax year:j and planning to transfer my ISA as I currently have the Nationwide Champion ISA (I don’t wish to bank with Santander) I need to look into this for next week.

    I have noticed in recent weeks that a couple of my accounts that i hold are not performing that great. Any suggestions, as i would be very grateful. Now the bit that I’m scared of the most, please be kind:eek:

    I have the following accounts with Halifax, Reward Current account, web saver extra (for when ISA is at maximum) and a ISA S&S (medium risk). I also have a current account with Nationwide for my car funds

    As for the car of my dreams, I will have to rule it out as it’s a VW Golf, and even at second hand, they really hold their value. So my intention is to save up for little holidays away, for each target I reach to also keep me on track, as I seem to have the travelling bug.

    Sylvia
    Must save to live, not just live to save!!! :think:
    Challenge Save 12k in 2019 #141 £6,143.34/£6k
    Deposit £82,317.88/£120K :jFees/ect £12K/£12K:jEmergency fund £1K/£1K
    :A
    :A'Saving again after parting with a lot of money enjoying life:rotfl::A
  • Lokolo_2
    Lokolo_2 Posts: 1,005
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    Actually I have to say you are doing quite well, you seem to be in control of your ISA, you could transfer it to Halifax (since you are an existing customer) and get 3.2%, or since you have a Nationwide current account you may be able to get their ISA at 3.1% :j

    Then if you look for a new ISA to fund using your 2011/12 ISA allowance, you will find some paying good rates such as The AA's 3.35% or Barclays 3.25% (I ruled out Santander as you said you don't want to bank with them) These pay slightly better than ISA' accepting transfers in, making it worthwhile having one ISA for transfers and another for new ISA subscriptions to get the max tax free interest!

    Your selection of accounts aren't too bad, Halifax reward is worth it to get the £5 each month, but I would put any excess into either an ISA or an instant access savings account to get better returns.
    Web saver extra gets you 2.7% doesn't it? You can still do better! Nationwide offer 3.05% on their "MySave Online Plus" account. You could also move your car funds into a savings account that offers instant access, as I take it that the current account where it is in now is not earning much!

    VW Golf is niiice, it's any student's dream, I had to settle for a Peugeot 107 because that's more in my price range, but you'll find that you'll probably be able to afford a better car later on if you keep saving :beer: I agree that Holidays are a good treat to reward yourself for saving, just remember to get the best rates for currency exchange and don't spend too much abroad :p
  • edinburgher
    edinburgher Posts: 13,447
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    edited 29 March 2011 at 8:33AM
    Here goes, my name is Sylvia and unfortunately I am 28 years old

    I wouldn't beat yourself up about it - I'm 28 on Thursday and am quite looking forward to being another year closer to telling children about when I was young ;)
    and I intend to purchase my first home on my own, hopefully by spring 2013

    Me too - fiancee and I are looking to buy by summer 2012
    Originally I wanted to buy this time next year, but with the recession and working in the public sector, I need to make sure I save a bit more as my salary won’t be increasing for at least 2 years.

    Me three! Although at least the increased pension contributions (1% extra for three years) won't kick in until April 2012!

    I shall need to sign up for this thread, as I'm in a very similar life position myself and it's always nice to have an extra cheerleader, right? :rotfl:

    Are you living at home? Your savings are very high and your living costs are very low. My fiancee and I are both on round about the national average wage and only manage to put by around £900/mth between us (although we pay rent and are getting married this October).

    One thing that I noticed is that your fees etc. target looks very high - nearly triple what we've budgeted for. What does this include? Are you looking to buy somewhere that costs over £250k?
  • Sylvia1982
    Sylvia1982 Posts: 193 Forumite
    Thank you Lokolo 2 for your post,

    I’ve been looking at these accounts that you have mentioned this morning, I definitely need to look into these. Silly me, haven’t got Nationwide online, so I have just registered.
    I will take on board what you have said about saving for a car. I always check the best rates for currency exchange, no point throwing money away.

    Thank you edinburgher for your post,

    Having cheerleaders would be great:j
    I say unfortunately I am 28 years old as I have recently become single again and all my friends and work colleagues are either engaged or married with children. Oh well, that’s life… as the saying goes, it could be worst. Sorry for ranting on

    I think I should explain my current situation a bit more. I live in London and have done so, all my life. I moved back to my lovely mums house 2 years ago to speed up my saving as my rent alone was going up from £750 to £880:mad:. I then got side tracked and bought my first car, several expensive holidays and more, oops:eek:. But at least I did save for them first. My best friends have not been happy about this, as I should have bought my first home already, in theory.

    Since last summer I have now been saving like crazy. I have been taking food into work, and trying my best to buy things that are needs and not wants.
    The fee etc. target that I have listed includes all fees, furniture, 3 months of council and mortgage and of course possible decoration cost and so on. My friend who owns his own house also said the same as you, that this figure is too high.

    The target figures I have, does not include bills and charities, just what I have each month left from my salary


    P.s, have a lovely birthday edinburgher
    Must save to live, not just live to save!!! :think:
    Challenge Save 12k in 2019 #141 £6,143.34/£6k
    Deposit £82,317.88/£120K :jFees/ect £12K/£12K:jEmergency fund £1K/£1K
    :A
    :A'Saving again after parting with a lot of money enjoying life:rotfl::A
  • edinburgher
    edinburgher Posts: 13,447
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    edited 29 March 2011 at 10:43AM
    The fee etc. target that I have listed includes all fees, furniture, 3 months of council and mortgage and of course possible decoration cost and so on. My friend who owns his own house also said the same as you, that this figure is too high.

    Ah - here's somewhere you can save lots of money. You're double accounting by saving for the same thing twice. Your emergency fund (£10k I think from your signature, can't view signatures when posting) will cover mortgage and council tax payments in the event of an emergency/job loss etc.

    There's no need to factor this in again for a second 'fees etc. pot'. Most people define their emergency fund by how many months of their total expenses it will fund (everything, from mortgage/rent to a cup of coffee on the way to work). I'd recommend calculating what you'd need a month with a mortgage and then look at saving 3-6months of this as your emergency fund.

    This should allow you to knock maybe £3-4k off your fees target?

    Also, take a serious look at how you expect to furnish your property - everything doesn't have to be top of the line (or even new - we recently saw a beautiful hardwood dining table from a charity shop for 1/3 of the original price that we might never have been able to afford otherwise). If having a home is more important to you than furnishing it with top of the range stuff, you can factor down accordingly. As a case in point, my elder brother recently bought a house and his 'ideal' furnishings came in at 3-4 times what I'd have spent (and I like quality!)

    Ps. One final thought is that saving for possible redecoration is also a bit unecessary - decoration never stops a house from being lived in, it's just an aesthetic choice. There's nothing to stop you saving as you go once you've moved in, or doing a bit at a time?
  • Baileys_Babe
    Baileys_Babe Posts: 5,543
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    When thinking of furnishing your new house, you don't need to furnish every room from day 1. We have built ours up gradually over time, replacing some things we had originally as we had acquired them to make do, often for free from family, friends, freecycle.
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  • edinburgher
    edinburgher Posts: 13,447
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    often for free from family, friends

    That's a great example - we haven't bought a house yet, but already have promises of a good 3 seater couch, a fridge and a couple of really nice wooden pieces that OHs dad has restored from car boot sale fodder to their original glory :) That said, depends to an extent whether or not you have a big family!
  • spikyone
    spikyone Posts: 454
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    Hi Sylvia,

    You don't mention why you don't want to go with Santander! At the moment that is absolutely the best place for your money - as I've mentioned in other posts, the First Home Saver account is perfect for your situation and pays 4% interest after tax, so comfortably beats any ISA.

    On the £27k you have saved already*, this works out at £1100 a year interest vs £874 a year at 3.2% with the Halifax ISA. If you're really serious about buying a house then an extra £225 (rounded!) per year is a no-brainer, and that's without interest on your monthly contributions. It's almost like a free month of living costs... :beer:

    Of course if you're even more serious then take out the First Direct regular saver that pays 8%, but remember to ditch after a year!

    (* Incidentally I know £27k is more than the minimum deposit for the FHS account, but you can pay in £5k to open it, pay in the other £22k in the first month and get low interest for that month, but then get 4% AER over the other 11 months and still beat an ISA by £200)
  • Sylvia1982
    Sylvia1982 Posts: 193 Forumite
    Thank You for all your replies,

    Ooooops :o, thank you edinburgher for pointing out my error with my Fee etc. target. I will change my target from £15,500 to £12,000, so the £3,500 will be going towards the deposit target. But will be keeping my Emergency Fund target will be staying at £10,000, as it is just under 6 months of my wages

    I do understand my target for Fee etc. is high, but I wish to aim for this figure as I rather be safe than sorry, in case vendors pull out after surveys have been done and I have to do it all over again.

    I’m not planning to buy all my furniture at once, but I wish to buy white appliances brand new. As I unfortunately won’t be getting any hand me downs from family (would never hear the end of it if I did, my extended family isn’t normal) so I definitely be hitting the charity shops. So whatever I have left will go towards the deposit. I do hope this makes sense.

    As my sister loves to say, it takes several years to create your first home.

    Thank you spikyone for your post. I rather not deal with Santander, even if it means a lost in potential interest. I have good reasons why I don’t wish to deal with them. But I will have a look into the First Direct regular saver.

    Thank you all for your constructive advice, as I do appreciate it :T

    Sylvia
    Must save to live, not just live to save!!! :think:
    Challenge Save 12k in 2019 #141 £6,143.34/£6k
    Deposit £82,317.88/£120K :jFees/ect £12K/£12K:jEmergency fund £1K/£1K
    :A
    :A'Saving again after parting with a lot of money enjoying life:rotfl::A
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