Borrowing Power, Visualised

All up I am basically close to nil assets apart from the caravan, which still hasn't sold*, and a large chunk of that should really be repaid to my parents. But as I assemble my ducks one by one, I am keeping an eye on the prize. At the moment my access to loans is very much limited by my access to easy credit (my credit card limit is pretty high) which lowers how much a lender would consider on a mortgage. I've made myself a sort of chart, it's divided into 100 squares, and as I reach each percentage of my "funds access" target for my flat, I colour one square in.

These things are motivational...

Chart: 63% coloured. This means that right at the moment I could potentially, at high interest, cover 63% of the purchase price of my future flat. Fortunately, in five months' time when my credit rating begins to recover, I should be offered much better interest rates. Touch wood!

I've put little bars in the side of the screen at the right. More motivation!

*I have taken a deposit for the caravan so let us hope this sale goes through!

Stoozing Part Two

I have set up and activated a savings account which will pay a whopping 3% interest (slow clap). At the moment I haven't got spare cash to put in it, but hey, it'll be ready when I do...

I also have a brand new 0% transfer credit card which I'll "transfer" into a smaller, 3% money transfer card, and then that one pays out the current car loan with plenty of time to repay it - something around £1240 is remaining, which will become interest-free for the grand total of a £37 fee. I can repay it easily in three months. Since I was busy destroying my credit rating already, I also applied for and got a 0% purchase card, for slow stoozing (= for everyday spending at 0% and I will put the paycheque into that savings account for the interest - again, I'll withdraw that at the end of the 0% rate and keep the proceeds). I don't plan to use any credit for anything else, my finances will be strictly managed to ensure that I am able to repay all balances in full at any time.

I did mention Money Saving Expert's MSE Credit Club earlier, which has some really useful info on my credit score and includes the Experian credit score for no charge. Since Experian's paid account has never worked correctly since they "improved" the website - I reported that the link to see changes was broken in FEBRUARY and it's still not fixed - I have dumped their stupid paid product meaning I am now £14.99 better off every month.

Excellent hours at work are continuing, very much yay. I finally returned the car seat covers and have the cash in my hands.

£32 has been earned and withdrawn into my PayPal from Prolific for doing studies in August (referral link).

Van Viewings

I've showed two potential buyers through the van. First lot seemed sort of interested, but no offer. The second has declared a pretty low amount he's interested in paying, but on the plus side he was really lovely to chat with and understands I'm not under any pressure to take silly offers. Then the agent called me and is showing another potential buyer through the caravan tomorrow - I nearly fell off my chair merely because they contacted me - hoping this one goes well as the agent still has it listed at the higher sale price and there might be a deal to be done halfway between the two amounts.

With the sale of the van, I will be in a comfortable place money-wise. It will take me six months for the recent credit card searches to move off my credit report, which I am actually thinking of as "refinancing" - because even though they're credit cards, they are cheaper finance than the current cost of my car loan. So the last six months was me getting my ducks in a row, I'm now steady on my feet, and the next six months will be me moving forward. All going to plan, that's when I should be able to apply and get a mortgage on a small flat.

My current most fascinating read was by a lady who spent seven years saving up to buy herself a fixer-upper property rather than taking out a mortgage. She reasoned that she'd be spending half as much in total by waiting, and saving. She's sort of right... because she was looking at the interest that mortgages charge... the difficulty is that we're paying rent in the meantime! My own rent is very low however, so I'll take advantage of that as long as I can and then hopefully only borrow 50-60%. We will see.

More Learnings - aka Stoozing

So there's a credit card hack called Stoozing. Essentially, it is manipulating the low- and zero-interest offers that banks dangle for new customers, to profit. It involves moving cheaply borrowed money elsewhere to invest, for a higher rate than the credit card charges. It also counts if you're taking low-interest card offers and paying off higher-interest loans or mortgages (which I'll be doing for my expensive car loan).

Slow Stoozing: taking advantage of 0% purchase offers for opening a new credit card, you spend up for all your bills and expenses, rather than using your income. You put your unused wage income into a savings account somewhere and earn the interest, then withdraw it all at the end of the new card's 0% period, pay it off, and keep the difference. Not masses of money, but still free money.

I'm going to give it a go, I have been approved for a 0% card. I can understand why stoozing isn't better known, because it requires being meticulous in knowing which money goes where! There will be a spreadsheet and lots of double checking.

Another ding to my credit rating? Yes. But since I realised that my short residence period in the UK and time in this current job are both going to delay a mortgage by at least another year... best get busy making as much money as I can.

Learnings

I went to the property auctions this week as a learning exercise, and learn I did!

They had 29 properties on the books and about 24 went ahead at auction. I was mainly interested in three of them in my desired area. Mostly, I wanted to see how accurate the "guide price" really was.

The first eye-opener is that the auctioneer started the bidding well over the guide price, every single time. I imagined being a bidder thinking it was a circa 100k property, for example, and how annoyed you'd be when he opened the bidding at 120.

Anyway. A few got no bids at the opening bid, at which point he went backwards by 10 or 20 thousand and tried starting again. A couple had no bids, a few were passed in (finishing bid was below the reserve). The nicest surprise was that some of the properties actully went for less than the guide price including one flat I loved which had a guide of 35-40 and went for £39,500. Really encouraging news I have to say.

I'm almost considering my caravan a lost cause, but even so, I'm in a sort of uplifted mood, because although it's going to take aaaaages, buying a flat now actually seems a bit more doable. One day.

Discoveries

Ho, hum, it's dangerous to have a whole day with nothing to do but read money forums.

Discovery #1: that credit rating numerical scores are made-up space language and created by the credit reference firms to sell you products to "improve your score" but are never actually seen by lenders.

Discovery #2: non-matching addresses on my file might become a pain in the arse. I corrected two accounts today which had my previous address on them, compared with new accounts showing my current one. I am REALLY wishing I kept my previous address for everything and just redirected my mail. Changing your address sucks for your credit file, you look like a flight risk.

Discovery #3: my length of time in this job (or lack thereof) is going to hinder my mortgage chances for much longer than expected. Poop.

Discovery #4: that there is no point paying out the car loan asap in terms of my credit file and/or rating. It won't affect my loan chances or amount.

Discovery #5: Lenders still hate me. Despite being told I had a 90% chance of success to refinance that loan for interest savings, I was knocked back. So I tried my own bank (TSB). 29% interest. No thanks.

My assessment on MoneySavingExpert's Credit Club indicates great debt ratio and great credit utilisation, but my disposable income is way down. This is because they assess an average person's spending habits in an attempt to mimic the way lenders make assumptions (never mind that I live very cheaply). There's no way to prove that you're frugal, lenders still go for the average. Ho hum.

Anyway, also on this site I came across money transfer credit cards. #6: that there are products out there allowing balance transfers into a savings account. Well by now I wasn't in a great mood so who cares if I apply for something else and get another hard search on my credit file? Boom. Tesco approved my shiny new credit card and it has two years of 0% interest on a money transfer for a £37 fee. As soon as it arrives I'm paying out the car loan with cash. I have no "need" to pay it out early except that I know it'll save me £900 in interest, so...

PS. Amex raised my credit limit again. I now have access to almost ten grand of credit (I'm using almost zero). Go figure.

Rocket!

Up, up, up goes the credit rating, woo!

There's a lovely little cottage for sale that I've fallen in love with. Obviously, it's months too early and far too expensive, but I can still wanna...

In the meantime I am going to the auctions as a spectator, just to see if the advertised prices are really the sorts of numbers that people are willing to pay.

An ad on the radio is currently repeating the phrase "Pay Day, Save Day". The theory is that if you put the savings aside immediately, you don't miss it. I'm not sure if that is a good idea for me... I have realised belatedly that there was an upcoming bill I'd forgotten, and fortunately it's small, because if it was big, the money just wouldn't be there. So it would work, if you actually save into an account that allows withdrawals when you have a dumb moment!

Dumb moment #1: realising that for some odd reason, the council has not been debiting the council rates via their standing order (it says "£0.00, Not Paid"). I found out via a late notice in the mail. Ended up catching up via credit card. No harm done, just slightly annoyed that I advance paid into my loan when I could have paid a bill instead! And the card will be zeroed on payday anyway.

Caravan now listed on eBay... but it's a classified ad which seems to make it near-on impossible to arrange the sale itself, because giving out my phone number is not allowed. Very odd. Oh well, no longer any mad rush to sell since there's no site fee refund anymore.

I have been given half a dozen free range eggs from the lady at work's chickens :)

Ill-Fitting Part Two

My general disposition and outlook.

My new trainers, that is, so I need to exchange them. Annoying++.

I bit the bullet and ordered another pair of reading glasses. I've dropped these and smacked them against multiple objects at work and any day now they'll be broken beyond recognition, and without a spare pair I'm sadly rather blind.

Pay day arrived - all my credit cards are zeroed again - and a big chunk of cash has been whacked down onto my car loan. It should be gone before the end of the year. My credit rating has jumped up, and I also got approved for a higher limit on one of my cards. Feels great :) And it should all mean I can borrow to buy a reasonably-priced property with money to spare.

Coins left over - I spent them at the supermarket (somewhere I now rarely go, because why would I, when I'm bringing food home so often?)

Spendy McSpenderson has bought a wooden bracelet online, probably the thing I need least in the world! I also bought some amazing candles which smell like Christmas. Because they were on special, and yes, I know that is a poor excuse.

Ill-Fitting

Seat covers do not fit. Fortunately they are still in the returns period. I guess Pugsley is only having the new shoes and not the new underwear. On the plus side that's £27 back in my pocket.

Speaking of Pugsley, I have been thinking of buying a bigger car. I have no rational reason for playing the "I want" game. My "I want" list could easily get so huge that it would take my entire life to buy it all. I really need to focus on what I should be aiming for. I mentioned my dream car to a friend, and she immediately said, "Yes, but be realistic." It was exactly what I needed to hear from someone who has the same tight budget as I have! Mind you, she then told me that he wants to upgrade her own rather nice car, so it clearly doesn't apply to her :D

My Experian account is now telling me that I should keep my credit card balances at £0. Facepalm.

I've been a bit up and down mood-wise of late and it's occurred to me that it's my lack of a current "project". While I was a gym-goer that was great for my mood - and now that my only real goals involve patience and standing still until things improve, I'm antsy. I think that's why I keep pondering walking the Camino de Santiago (a pilgramage across Spain that takes a month to walk). Goodness knows that a month off work is not practical anytime soon!

My tips are still building up in the form of coins that need to be spent. They're now officially my petrol money on top of my electricity money.

Punishment

As punishment for online shopping, the clothes do not fit. One dress can be wrangled to fit. The second dress (which is now sold out on their site) I love so much that I've resolved to diet until it doesn't cling to me for dear life. And the third dress, which is too small across the bust, looks hideous on me in general and is simply going back. On the teenaged stick model it was quirky, but when modelled by a larger woman in her 40s it's just sad and old-fashioned. It is being returned along with the trousers which are far too shiny, too long, too low-cut and too skin-tight to be worn to work.

Good tips today and work is going well.

I bought myself some incense which smells a-ma-zing. I also finally ordered a spare pair of glasses - I've bumped my head into things several times at work and also dropped them, and it's only a matter of time before I destroy them and can't see a thing. I also got myself into gear and ordered my new trainers.

Brought home free lasagne and chocolate pudding!

Plod, plod?

Boooo. But not this kind of boo.

Annoyed at how slow my credit rating is moving. Experian has even given me a handy helper thingy telling me pearls of wisdom like that I should keep my credit card balances under £10. This has to rate as perhaps the most idiotic idea I have ever seen. Almost nobody who actually uses their card actually does that. That Expedia think people should be judged poorly for the fact it's in use (and not at 0) just defies belief. The thing is, these companies take a snapshot of your credit card at any random day of the month. The only way for them to see a zero is to pay off the credit card before you even get billed. Or more accurately you spend money then immediately go and transfer the funds over onto the card.

Making the card pointless.

I'm also annoyed at the long delay in updating my score. I paid them all to 0 and have since used the cards for bills (as normal) which will be cleared as soon as they are due (also normal) and now I've discovered that Expedia still thinks that's not good enough and that "great news", my score will improve over the next three months if I keep them under £10. Booooo.

This week I bought/received: stainless steel double shot measure jigger, 99p from eBay. I have excused this as "homework" so that I can mix new drinks at home. Tape measure 99p because I can't buy clothes online if I can't measure myself first (it was two for 99p, so the other one is in my "selling box"). Also awesome magic hair bun creator thingy which was also 99p but will work much better when my hair's a big longer. And four pains au chocolat for 35p which I most assuredly did not need since I can eat cake at work.

I have resolved to stop saying yes to every single meal offered to me at work, but I fear I may be too late, as a carvery lunch was presented to me yesterday without me even asking... they already know I'm going to want it!

My bread rolls got binned however, because I wasn't fast enough to squirrel them away. Sad face. The downside to having kitchen staff who like a tidy work environment!

I Miss Hospitality.

There's another flat I'm looking at right now and I can't help myself. I started thinking about hosting again. It even happens to be a flat that's currently on the AirBnB site. Want.

I think my self-confidence has taken a hit this week. I'm suddenly convinced that nobody will even give me a mortgage. Or that the caravan will never sell. (I did relist it today and got a handful of enquiries almost immediately. We will see.)

Some weeks I struggle to come up with anything to blog about - because when you don't go out much and you don't buy much, it all becomes a bit routine! :D

I bought nothing like this.

I did have a Spendy McSpenderson moment today where I went shopping online for dresses, something I've been thinking about for a while, mainly because I don't really have any casual dresses if I want to be a level above "ragamuffin" without looking overdressed. The shopping was good and bad. I did get a new pair of trousers which I need for work and they were only £3.00. I did also find a lovely dress for £7.00. Unfortunately I didn't stop at one dress and we won't discuss what the total came out as except to wonder aloud... what was I thinking with such a dry bank account right now? As in, it's still 13 days to payday and I'm barely into the three figures.

I had another good week for tips and I don't need any more electricity for the moment, so the question is where to put this cash? I barely go to the supermarket anymore and depositing cash is not really a thing because let's face it, nobody likes going near an actual bank branch. I have resolved to try harder to spend it on, um, fruit, milk and biscuits.

I will shortly need to buy shoes as I've almost walked through the bottom of my trainers. I have decided to get the same exact ones, but unfortunately I can't read the size, meaning a very annoying phyiscal trip into the store to try them on instead of ordering them online. Dull!

The Holy Grail

You know, despite the fact that this blog is about frugality (and thus, indirectly, it's about money), I do think that the most important thing in this life is to learn to be content within yourself. I think I can say that.

Even though I missed two great properties this week, I am ok.
Even though there's almost nothing in the bank, I have enough.
Despite my lack of overflowing funds, life is good.

A friend gave me a gift card he can't use this week. In return I bought us two raffle tickets each in aid of Musgrove Hospital. I am really not a gambler, but it was for charity and I thought, well it's a small gesture to say thank you. He was convinced he'd win the golf lessons and I thought he might win the ladies' toiletries pack. I just wanted the pink gin. So I've been telling everyone at work that they're not allowed to win the pink gin, and guess what? We both won... me the bottle of pink gin, him a bottle of scotch whiskey. We have declared it the best gift card swap ever.

I have had a few unexpected tips from work, too, and I decided that having cash sit around is a waste, so my tips are now my power money and the electricity key is all topped up nicely. I haven't had to buy groceries apart from milk in quite a while... I do love free food, it rocks. Sunday sees me bringing home the leftover bread rolls and all I really seem to need at home are some pot noodles and fruit. Working almost every day does have its perks! And the number of hours I'm getting has exceeded all my expectations.

I know it will drop off later in the year, but that's ok. For now, it's ok just to be ok :)

Zeroed

All of my credit cards, that is :) Feels good.

Bank account is now looking less than comfortable (and it's another four weeks until pay day) but the car is full of fuel and my July tips are there just in case.

Feeling antsy, two great properties have come up and the caravan still hasn't sold. Grrr. I may have to look at other ways to advertise it. I have had a couple of people interested though, so we'll see. In the mean time I think I will start viewing properties.

Free cake from work :)

My rota is jam-packed next week, I will be exhausted but the pay packet will be awesome.

First Pay Incoming

Big wallop of tax (expected - but I'll get it back later from HMRC). Hourly pay rate less than expected but still more than minimums. Overall though it'll pay the bills this month (just), and I had more hours than expected, so it's still a win.

My parking fines have been assessed, and the penalty is upheld (boo) but they're waiving one as they were within 24 hours (yay) and as I paid it immediately I got a 50% discount (yay). So I'm up for £35 instead of £140. Lesson learned, and that is, the council are essentially money-grubbing jerks. But hey what's new. I will attempt to always squeeze an extra free meal in at work, and once I achieve this a dozen times, I reckon that'll make up for the cost of the fine. Today was just an egg sandwich but it was all I felt like in this heat!

Major bummer, I realised belatedly that the holiday park retains a massive chunk of the site fees I have already paid, even if I sell. This makes it even more urgent to find a buyer as it drops dramatically each month and will become "no refund" by the end of August. I am looking at walking away from this van with £13k if a buyer coughs up this week, £12k in August, and less if it takes longer to sell. Oh well. It will still be a relief when it's gone.

TV in caravan blew up this week while a friend was using it. I am so disappointed in that stupid TV. I was thinking dang, gunna have to replace that, but actually what I think I will do is wait until I have a buyer and then drop it into convo in the last five minutes with a £50 discount.

This is Pugsley - not yet wearing his new shoes

I bought a milky way decorative wall hanging off Amazon that has arrived at a quarter of the size indicated. Have popped an email off to the seller - to be honest it was such a bargain that I am not too miffed, but who knows it might get refunded.

Car breakdown cover is due this month and the renewal has arrived, £88. I need to find the time to fit the new hub caps and seat covers!

What Was I Saying?

Parking fines! Bane of my life. Yes, again. And not just one but two of them slapped down in less than 24 hours. I am not a happy bunny. I've parked there dozens of times before but apparently it's now a permit zone. I didn't see a sign nearby, because I don't go wandering around checking for new signs in places I've parked many times before :(

I have written a pleading letter asking them to waive the fines but I think I will be lucky if they even lower or remove one of them. Perhaps I'll get lucky because they were so close in time? Several people have reacted with surprise and indicated they don't think that's allowed. We'll see... that'll teach me for foolishly thinking my money situ is improving!

Free cake from work. Also bread rolls again. And delicious lunch :)

I also got quite a lot of extra hours at work this week, which will help dent some bills. But only partly, because I have also bought seat covers for my car.

Musings For Today

I was all set to spend the day at the zoo - because why not - but when I woke up I realised that I needed a day off my feet, and traipsing around in the sun for hours is just not a day off my feet. Well, at least that's £25 I didn't spend (although I had already bought the fixings for a lovely picnic lunch, so I've enjoyed that today sitting at home).

I have gained an extra work day for tomorrow, ka-ching.

My car insurance is due this month. Last year, my insurer screwed me over royally on price, had to be argued with to honour their own quote, and then denied my cashback. This year, they've failed to alert me that it's due, had to be nagged for it, and even then were miles more expensive than comparison site prices. I counted the disappointments they've caused and it's 11. Eleven.

There's only one conclusion to be drawn and I will be accepting the quote I got from the comparison site of just under £400, saving 50 quid on the old insurer's "improved" quote, and also getting £24 in cashback on top for switching. I will pay it all in one hit on a credit card as I can clear it all next month before any interest kicks in and that makes it cheaper than monthly insurance repayments.

Speaking of which, I have learned in my travels that you should always use all of your credit cards regularly. This doesn't mean you should always buy things you don't need or spend in silly ways. But it's important that all the cards you have are being actively used (even if you clear the whole lot each month). Apparently this provides a pattern with every active card that shows you managing money correctly and is seen as favourable by companies who check your credit rating. Who knew? So instead of my one "go to" card I will try to use a different one each time I need to pay for something, just so that they all show as being used.

Unexpected: old job's last pay packet is going to be better than expected and very much welcomed. I am (stupidly) eyeing up a bigger car, which is mentally silly because I have a sweet, reliable and cheap-to-run, environmentally-ok vehicle. So I might compromise instead, and just buy him some new hub caps to make him look nice. :)

Gratitude.

Rampant Repaymenting

I'm pretending that's a word...

I couldn't help myself, I sighed over lovely flats for sale (again) and then ran off and did a mortgage calculation (again) and cursed a bit more, then checked it "if I had no credit card balance", then again with "if I had a bigger deposit" and then again with "if I paid out my loan".

Anyway the end of that particular rabbit hole was me paying out the last of my interest free balances. I officially only have one card with any balance on it at all, and it's the one I use day-to-day which gets paid out in full every month (I can't clear it right this minute... but 12 days and counting until payday and then I will knock it on its head and be officially credit-card-balance- free). Debt decluttering, or something.

I haven't had this low a bank balance in many many years and it is exhilirating and also, whoosh, terrifying. But mostly exhilirating because, you know, adulting and stuff.

If I keep getting this many hours at work, I can pay out my car loan in six months. #moreAdulting

Why is money suddenly so exciting to me? I actually hate the stuff! In general, I obsess over saving it just to not have to worry about it.

I think I will cancel my gym membership. I love the gym, but on my feet all day I am simply not going to the gym often enough to justify the expense.

It's Raining Cash

Well, not really, but I got a "dreaded letter" this week from HMRC which unexpectedly says I'm owed £400, which I should get back in my hands within a week. Get in, that's better than a slap in the face! I am so excited about that sum and the dent it will make in my loans. Adulting++.

I'm enjoying work, not so much the work itself which is... work... but the people are good fun and it is nice to have company. And to be honest the work is not at all difficult. I am not perfect by any means, but much of my job is washing dishes and setting dinner tables, so I muddle through ok. The manager has given me a few extra hours, and every penny helps.

I foolishly stopped at the local fête and somehow only spent £5, which included a burger, a drink coaster that I definitely didn't need, and a small flowering plant for my windowsill.

More bread rolls came home with me from work - win. Considering they were destined for the bin, it's also good for the planet.