09 Mar 2015

A question about : Squirrelling it all away......

Hello,

I have been reading the MFW diaries for some months now and am finally in a position to begin some serious overpaying. I intend to overpay Ј1500 per month in order to finish our mortgage on 1.3.13. It seems a nice symmetrical date.

I have a good full time job, and so does OH. Our children are grown up and it would be great to see an end to the mortgage so that we can enjoy our 'autumn' years! I am 49 and he is 53 so we are still spring chickens really..... The overpayments will mean quite a sacrifice but it really hurts me to see how the banks profit so hugely from us - (how can they charge 7% for loans and pay only 0.25% on an ISA, and still keep a straight face?) - I get quite Mrs Angry when I think about these things, and see how they prey on the careless.

But best not to get me started. I've always been fairly sensible with money but OH really isn't and gets fed up when I talk about it so I hope the diary will inspire me to keep going in the face of his apathy! My intention is to post every couple of days with my ramblings about squirrelling away for the future. I have really enjoyed everybody's diaries and hope that mine will not be too dull!

Thanks for listening

Squirreltitle=Jumping

Best answers:

  • Welcome Squirrell. Good luck with your plan and look forward to following your diary.
    Apologies for not posting some snazzie graphics!!
    Best wishes, HG
  • Hi Squirrel
    Go for it - and that's from someone who made their final payment yesterday (aged 49)!
    It's amazing what you can do when you try!
    Best wishes,
    PO xx
  • My hubbie is not fond of my ramblings either. Luckily he is not a huge spender and can reign me in if i go splurgey, but he will leave it to me and say can we afford it if...
    I look forward to your ramblings.
  • welcome SSSquirrel
    Look forward to your journey.
    ~Good Luck~
  • Great plan Squirrel.
    I'm sure you will reach your target. Just stay with your plan and you'll be there in no time at all.
    I will be looking forward to your post.
  • Thank you for all of your encouragement - it was nice to hear from you Poppy as I read your diary when I first found this website and you inspired me a lot.
    I think it is quite interesting that many posters are going it alone whilst the OH is not too bothered. Although it may be quite a good thing really - if my obsession was doubled in our house we might be sitting shivering wearing clothes made of newspaper! Is it just a perception that there seem to be more money saving savvy women than men on here? Or are they just too shy to share?
    We are having quite an MSE Bank Holiday - no spending yesterday as OH helped a friend move house while I caught up on some work, then we had dinner at son and DIL's and I avoided the wine and therefore avoided the cab fare. Today we have great friends coming for lunch so I can catch up on the wine drinking. OH is cooking something lovely which has been marinading since yesterday. It looks enormous so I hope it will last a few days..... And if the weather holds I plan to do lots of gardening on Monday. Will I make it to then without getting my purse out? We shall see......
    Thanks again to all,
    Squirrel
  • Hello,
    I fell at the first fence yesterday as I had to go to the supermarket to buy some forgotten but essential ingredients for dinner, but it was still mainly a no spending day. And very nice, a long lunch with good company. Today, gardening - much less exciting but healthier!
    We are trying to avoid the bank holiday crowds and should be successful as they are unlikely to stray into our garden! No Notting Hill Carnival for us.....
    Enjoy the day,
    Squirrel
  • Hello,
    Back to work after the long holidays - I am a senior leader in a comprehensive school so I've had five weeks and just had a short meeting today. Real work starts tomorrow. We succeeded in not spending anything yesterday, and i thought it would be good to do the same today but with much less success.
    I had to get petrol this morning and so to be MSE I went to the nasty petrol station where the bad boys hang out, the queue is long and the pumps are clanky. This saved 60p on a tank in comparison to the nice petrol station. I took my lunch so nothing else spent. I'm slightly more pleased with the outcome of a 10 minute phone around comparing the price of jabs for our cats - Two of the three local vets charge Ј60 for a course, the third is Ј47, although this does not include the money off vouchers for the really expensive food that I wouldn't have bought anyway that the other vets offer. So Ј39 saved for three cats. And the vet has a very good reputation. Yay.
    Does anybody else think that today should be the official new year's eve? There is a clearly defined difference between August and September in appearance and temperature, all the kids go back to school and it is generally a more optimistic time of year than January. It just seems a better time to stick to resolutions than just after Christmas when many of us are just in need of cheering up after the 'festive' season!
    So I wish a happy new MSE year to everybody. Cheers,
    Squirrel
  • OOh, a lovely new diary
    Hello and welcome, SSS Look forward to following your progress...
  • Hello,
    A good day in that no money was spent which is always a good thing. We are still snacking on the leftovers from the weekend - why do we always buy too much for our guests? Work was busy and then as it was such a lovely day we did a bit more gardening when we got home so very tired now. An early night, I think.
    I feel a little inadequate in that I don't do the online surveys and competitions etc but I really don't have time as I am out of the house for 14 hours a day and can't do them at work - everyone else seems to be madly doing lots! However, my long work day does keep me out of the shops. My weakness is really books on Amazon and theatre tickets - but I always look for the bargains and it is very rare that I pay full price. Booking last minute saves about 75% of the original price and makes me feel far superior to the tourists!
    Good night everyone,
    Squirrel
  • Hello,
    I was congratulating myself on my way home that again I hadn't spent anything. Then I remembered that I'd agreed to go on a lastminute bargain theatre trip with colleagues next week..... But only Ј16.50 for a ticket that's usually Ј35. So it would have been rude to decline and I don't want to come out of squirrelling hibernation in 2 years time and find I have no friends....!
    So not quite so good, but I'm not going out tomorrow night, whereas I do usually make the most of Friday nights, so it's almost even....
    OH and I organise things so that I do bills and he does food, so it is not too difficult to keep track of money as I don't have to buy the odd pint of milk etc. Luckily OH loves the supermarket so I don't have to go!!! Apparently I am a very annoying food shopping companion. It comes from years of shopping for three growing boys where it was like a supermarket sweep, buying all the large size bogofs. I can't adjust to just two grown ups!
    I hope everybody is enjoying the sunshine,
    Squirrel
  • Good luck with your overpayments and on your MF journey.
    I think I'll always buy in bulk and bogofs from the supermarkets and stash the items for the rest of my life. Old habits die hard don't they? I like to have a stash though just in case I run out ....daft really as I have 3 supermarkets within walking distance to my door.
  • I too shop like that. It must come from having boys. I am trying though to use stuff up that we have. We've a huge CC bill this month as some bills went on it like car insurance, and i am trying to not add anything else on it. I have Ј20 on Tesco gift cards so they are getting used instead. Very hard to keep track in the supermarket. I can't wait till the kids are older and i go myself while they are at school.
  • Hi Squirrel,
    I'm enjoying your diary already. I'll raise my hand as a money savvy male (albeit still fitting the reverse stereotype as my girlfriend is currently a repressed spendaholic who has little interest in financial planning). We're just about to kick our mortgage to the tall grass but I look forward to joining in the merry band of those who egg on the diarists from the sidelines.
    Cheers,
    Billy
  • Hello,
    It is nice to know that people are visiting! Thank you and i will try not to ramble too much. Re the supermarket, as I said, I go very rarely but still can't resist a bargain. Which is why, under my stairs I have an enormous stash of washing powder, toothpaste and cat food - they don't go off and I'm not likely to eat them all up when I'm bored! OH is different - he doesn;t bother with basics but he is a foodie so tends to buy strange spices, use a pinch and then hoard them for years! But it is his only extravagance so I really can't complain.
    It is nice to meet you, Wynnvegas and I am glad that my stereotyping was disproved! Good luck with your mortgage OPs. We have a lot to pay (although not as much as some) with Ј64000 outstanding. However, by making our regular payment plus 1500 we should get there mid 2013 if we are careful. I worked out that we should be able to do it comfortably but a couple of months in has revealed that we will actually have to make some substantial changes. Working it out on paper seems to bear no resemblance to real life so I hope the diary will keep me on track.
    No spending today, hurrah, not that I would have had the energy to shop or socialise if I wanted to - first day for year 7 at school today and I have been on my feet all day looking after them. They mostly seem very sweet but I know from experience that it is all an act....
    So a nice cheap lie in tomorrow. I wish you all a lovely lie in - maybe all the MFW babies will oblige.
    Squirrel
  • I remember my first y7 form had me fooled for a whole term. I taught them 3 subjects so 20% of their timetable and loved them, but had complaints left right and centre. I only ever had one y7 class i taught after that who retained their niceness the whole year. At least for me. Teaching science always helped though as they were keen to do reproduction and i always left it as long as possible before teaching it because i am mean.
  • Excellent! So that gives me some flexibility in my MF date. As long as it's symmetrical that will be fine. Although I'd happily forego symmetry to get it paid asap and start living in the slightly faster lane. I have promised my granddaughter that when she is 12 ( seven years away) I will take her to Disney in California. It would be great to do things like that without planning quite so far in advance!
    Productive but tiring day today in the garden. Had to spend Ј30 on creosote but it is cheaper than buying new fences in a couple of years. So after painting fences all day I have a backache. Out for dinner with OH tonight - we go once a month to catch up with each other, which never seems to happen at home - so I hope it eases off.
    Michelle - I will keep you posted on year 7, and I predict that the first outrage will be committed on Tuesday. All we had on the first day was one vomiting and another complaining that someone said she was fat. Had to bite my lip as she was a well covered young lady. Nasty kids.
    Hope you all have a good weekend,
    Squirrel
  • Hello,
    We managed a no spend Sunday, which is very rare. Although last night's meal out was quite expensive (but lovely), it was budgeted for. It's the spur of the moment stuff that we will need to deny ourselves as the budget is quite tight. It will be a real scrape to get to the end of the month this time. But for me it is better to make the overpayment at the start of the month, and then make do with what is left - otherwise it will just get spent. I have two socialising nights out organised for this week, so will aim to spend nothing at all (apart from travel to work costs) except on these nights. We'll see........
    Good luck to you all,
    Have a good squirrelling week,
    Squirrel
Категория: