Not much to say

Its been quite a while since my last post, the main reason being that not much has happened in the way of my finances. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...probably good I think. There has been a bit of activity but mostly for small amounts. I've been on holiday from work for 10 days, and that always seems to be a bit more expensive than normal due to the dreaded DIY. Its quite surprising how much you can spend getting the odd tin of paint or bit of wood for those little jobs around the house. Still back to work tomorrow so that should be the end of that !
Once again time to get those finances in order for my monthly statement.

A little tonic

Last month was pretty much all doom and gloom, but so far February has been fantastic.
First I had Natwest paying me my bank charges all back which was a very welcome surprise. I thought I would get them, but I was amazed by just how easy it was.
Today i received my cheque from selling my Tesco Save-As-You-Earn options. The price has been going up steadily just recently, but last week it jumped 30 odd pence and they were sold just after the rise. Thank - you very much.
SAYE has to be the best thing I have ever done. The max I can put in is £50 per month over 5 years and have 5 schemes going at the same time. This means I'm investing £250 per month and because it comes out of my pay packet before tax it saves a bit extra too. Plus I never miss it as I've been doing it so long that I have just got used to less pay. Its pretty much automatic investing.
The best bit is that working for Tesco ( one of the most successful British businesses of all time ) the share price tends to double over 5 years so its got a great rate of return too.

So.....£7000 certainly helps, its just a shame I owe the parents £5000 of it as they helped us out a lot when the youngest was born. Still, its my last instalment so next years money is all mine, Mine, MINE !!!

Statement..... Month 1

Assets

IF current account £143
IF Savings account £500

Liabilities

Mortgage -£133,616
Natwest overdraft -£2365
Sky credit card -£3454

Total Net Worth £138,792

Monthly change -£1,092 (0.79%)
Cumulative change -£1,092 (0.79%)

Summary

A spectacularly bad start to the project, but also a very unlucky one I think.

Benefits this month are that I have put aside £500 to pay for car bills ( MOT, service, Tax Insurance ) the first of which are due in march and usually go on the credit card so I am ahead with that bill. Also the great result with the Natwest charges, but The money isn't in my account yet!.
Concerns this month. Well, the bill for fixing the car hit this months credit card so that's £2K worse. And generally the number of things that have gone wrong around the house. New monitor, Sky to get fixed and the excess for fixing the roof on the insurance.
Do Next month. I need to get my pay transferred to the new A&L current account so I can take advantage of the 6.1% interest and ultimately close the natwest Account. Also I need to set up a monthly DD into a high interest account for 'Rainy Day' Money that will be left alone. Hopefully not much more will go wrong !

Natwest Pay Up !!

Yes that's right...I got money out of a bank !!

I got a letter today...it looks like a standard reply. They don't believe the charges are unfair, the rules are all laid out in their guidelines etc etc... A full A4 page of gumph
Then on the next page ...as a gesture of goodwill, we will refund £833 into your account.

£833.... a gesture of goodwill !!!

That's the full total of all the charges I've had over the last 6 years.

As far as I can see its a full admission by Natwest that they haven't got a leg to stand on. Its true I could decline this and take them to court to get the extra interest, but to be honest asking for that was just a bargaining tool, and I'm completely satisfied with getting he money back. At the end of the day all it took was two letters, and I get £833.

What a result !!

Is the mortgage a debt....part 2

Some interesting replies to my original post, most of which were very helpful.

I have decided for my benefit, that yes, I will keep the mortgage in my net worth calculation, as its something I have to pay each month. Also if I want to be moving towards the million mark the first thing I need to do is to get rid of the debt before I can start investing for growth.

The second thing is that I am NOT going to include the value of the house in my net worth calculation. This is because I don't see it as an asset as I cannot / will not use it to raise capital. My family's security is paramount and the house is key to that. Its not something I plan to use at all.
I'm sure the purists out there will be pulling your hair out, but I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.

Still no answer from Natwest. It looks like I'll have to get the relevant information together to start the court claim... Can't say I'm looking forward to it, its a bit scary.!

No reply from Natwest

One week gone and no response from Natwest, Not even an acknowledgement. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I wonder how many of these letters they get a month ?

Went and got a new PC monitor at the weekend but took an ex display model so we saved £20 on it which made me feel a bit better. And the sky man came to look at our dish and he said it was definitely knackered so again I feel a bit better spending the money as he has put it right.

DVD recorder is playing up now though..... What have I done wrong !!!???

Tracking My Status

Currently this is my first month, but as I imagine this is going to be a (very) long road I need to see how I am doing. I stumbled on this great site NetworthIQ which allows you to enter a value each month and it will track how well you are doing.
The graph on the right of this page will eventually show my total net worth going up over time ( or down !).
It looks a bit rubbish at the moment unfortunately.

The only problem with the site is that its in dollars not pounds, but that's only a symbol, the numbers stay the same.