My Financial Resolutions

~ Rob ~ Leave a comment

My financial resolutions this year are massive. Here is the list of what I intend to accomplish:

  • Review insurance to see if I can get a better deal.
  • Go on another Spending Ban.
  • Increase investing for Little Leftunders piggy bank fund.
  • Make a will and sort out life insurance. I feel this has become more important since getting married and having a baby. If something bad happens to me will Mrs Leftunders be able to look after herself and the baby.
  • Earn extra cash from my other blogs. Also one of my other niches aren’t a viable income generator anymore and is sucking time and money from developing Leftunders and my other sites so I’m going to sell it.
  • Sort out tax paperwork and filing. It’s a bit messy at the moment.
  • The big one is to expand Leftunders and make it bigger and better. Your suggestions are welcomed. What part of money management is missing for you? Do you want more advice on debt repayment, investing, making more money? Would you benefit and use a Leftunder community finance forum? Let me know.

Comment  below and tell me what you need to learn to start sorting out your cash and making money online? What are your money resolutions for this year?

Love and Marriage

~ Rob

We’ve bought a home, we are having a baby and now Miss Leftunders wants to get married before she gets fat with the pregnancy. They say bad things come in threes ha,ha, ha.

To be fair it was only brought up in discussion because I was teasing that her belly will soon grow to be the size of a rhino. From that she proclaimed I would have to marry her while she could still fit into a wedding dress.

Me and my big month now I’m putting ideas and dreams into her head.

Weddings are not cheap to fund. There are venues to book, invites to send out, rings to buy, flowers, photographers to hire. Weddings are stressful, I’d have to do a speech. A wedding is not part of my saving goals. If we did get married it would need some fast planning before her dress size explodes.

I’d also have to remember our wedding anniversary every year. The pressures of being a married man would be huge.

Once we get married and return from the honeymoon the sex would stop. I’d have to pay hookers from my emergency fund or have an affair with the next door neighbour to reduce travel costs.

I’d have to listen, pay attention, nod my head in agreement and always say “Yes honey”. As a husband I’d be expected to understand women’s logic and carry out all the household D.I.Y, including building the house extension with a packet of bricks and my bare hands.

Over the years the demands would be too much. With a ring on my finger I’d slowly twist and transform into a Gollum until the only precious thing in my life would be going fishing and trying to turn invisible so the wife didn’t shout at me.

Becoming man and wife would mean the stress of having to take care of a small rhino together, plus the strain of trying to make each other happy.

And so the wedding plans begin. After this I’d be forever trapped with the women I love.

Financially Ready For Christmas

~ Rob

For the first time ever I’m financially ready for Christmas. NO CREDIT CARDS WILL BE INVOLVED. I’m impressed with myself, this year organised I’m ready for Christmas.

How on Earth I’ve I managed this? It’s all thanks to my new budget and spending diet. The secret is I’ve being saving and simplifying my expenses since February. Downsizing my spending and prioritising my money.

When I announced at that I wanted to pay off all my debt I was serious but I wasn’t sure how to achieve it. It started by thinking about what things and periods of the year got me into debt, it was normally going away for summer holidays and Christmas.

I think it finally has sunk in – if you can avoid getting into debt by saving you won’t need debt. If you are unable to save for as much as you want you’ll resort to using debt.

Small amounts of £20 here and £40 there build up. By hoarding a little money every month you’ll be able to save for things including Christmas, birthdays, holidays and those “treats” that would normally involve using your credit card.

And it works! When you are working you should be able to save money. Saving avoids using debt, or at least using less debt when you make a big purchase like a house or car.
Saving more edges you towards debt freedom. Instead of saving money to pay off debt try to avoid debt in the first place.

The lesson is:

Don’t spend money on debt when you can put a little money aside to prevent it.

Jesus wouldn’t want you to get in debt for him.

Give your budget some attention, give your career some attention, give your fitness some attention, give your happiness some attention.

Millennials are not as Awful as the Media brands them

~ Rob

They are so many ridiculous misconceptions about us. Millennials, or those born between the 1980s and the year 2000 seem to get lots of criticism from the older generations.

Students seem to get bad press and treated with contempt by parts of society. Which I touched on in a past post stereotyping us students.

There are many misconceptions about the student life. We are branded as lazy, spoilt, ungrateful and have easy lives with no idea of the stress of adulthood.

Don’t tell me that when I find myself under the pressures of juggling assignment deadlines, a stack of reading to do, a part-time job to go to plus the cooking and cleaning, bills to pay, fitting in a social life and blog writing. Trust me there is lots to get stressed about. I wish I could do nothing all day and not have to get into debt for studying and working hard.

People seem to think you need a family to support, a full time job, an illness, poverty or a relationship breakup to feel stressed and burned out. I’ve had both of these and in today’s modern world the youth experience worry and stress.

The young are at the most risk of stress, sleeping disorders and mental distress. We are the generation with plenty to be anxious and panic about. Living standards are declining as we are destine to earn less than the older generations, we are building up crippling debt for our education, the job market is bloodthirsty and we may never get on the housing ladder and buy our own home. On top of this our NHS and public services are in dire straits and the environment and planet we live on is fighting for survival.

Students don’t all live in squalor and their own filth. Yes, we like to party, order takeout food, sleep late to recover from hangovers but the next day we are capable of cleaning up the beer cans and empty pizza boxes.

Most students are hygienic and can clean themselves and the kitchen. If anything it may be your student accommodation that’s crumbling and not up to standard with mould growing in the back bedroom window and the broken boiler that makes the shower run cold. Not all student accommodation you rent is up to the standard of Hilton Hotels. If you are looking for a place to rent then read my student accommodation tips.

Further education and university teach us life skills, how the real world works and how to look after ourselves and others. Being a student and remaining in education many of us are juggling studies and jobs. It’s not an easy life full of first world problems. We are hardworking and trying to plan our futures and opportunities. Whilst studying and meeting assignment deadlines we are earning a living with part time jobs to pay the rent the bills.

Students and our youth are often dismissed, forgotten and their voices unheard. Millennials are marginalised by the system and political views. We want a better future and one of hope. We want a fair society where our nurses, carers, teachers and the vulnerable and homeless are cared for. A society that doesn’t care where you come from, where you were born or the colour of your skin. A society and system based on justice and what you can contribute to your community and the world.

Don’t criticise us for wanting to challenge the system to combat racism, sexism, xenophobia and fighting to preserve nature and the planet. Don’t criticise us for wanting to do things differently and enjoy the freedom and rights that the older generations fought for.

Millennials’ want to be in control of they own lives and understand the impact our actions have on the world. We want to make our own rules and decides, not play by the terms and conditions set by giant corporations and outdated Baby Boomers viewpoints and policies put in place years ago.

The elite and generations before us seem to fear change and are stuck in the past and old ways. They don’t want us to speak out or take over the world that they control. They don’t want to reform laws and the current system because it works for the few and not the many. They want to keep us tied down and treat us like leftovers. They don’t want us to gain knowledge, information and power that could disrupt their agenda and rock their boats.

So many people make sweeping generalises about us. We are not lazy, weak, snowflakes or wasting our lives on a degree. We don’t play the victim, we are the victims of a world and toxic media that seems to want us to fail.

I believe that everyone has a voice, and the digital age can help us reach out and share our opinions and ideas. Thanks to social media and blogging we can speak up and speak out. Millennials are far from perfect, but we are adapting and learning how to manage in an uncertain and cruel world.

We need fresh ideas, new technologies and reform that helps everybody flourish and grow. We want a new normal and get rid of the old and outdated theories and concepts of how society should function in a kinder and more civilised world.

I’m not naive about the challenges or suggesting that all suffering, problems and conflict will end. People will always fight for power, control, money and the TV remote. The message is that mindsets and systems need to change to make improvements to how the global economy benefits everyone, that our physical and mental health are looked after and we address the impact that humans have had on the environment and wildlife.

Despite all the popular misconceptions, Generation Y and Z are the people that are going to change the world. The one’s that are going to have to deal with future issues clean up the mess and deal with the environmental damage of past generations before us. The Millennial future is a better future for society and the planet.

Labour’s ‘Freedom to Buy’ Mortgage Scheme

~ Rob

Labour has unveiled a new initiative aimed at increasing homeownership, dubbed the “Freedom to Buy Scheme.” This program is set to be a lasting fixture, unlike the temporary Mortgage Guarantee scheme introduced in 2021, which is due to expire by mid-next year.

The government’s role in this scheme is to partially back home loans, thus motivating financial institutions to present deals requiring lower deposits.

Under the current arrangement, financial institutions can secure a government-backed guarantee for a portion of the mortgage, providing a safety net for the government to absorb some losses if, for instance, a borrower defaults and the sale of the repossessed property doesn’t cover the mortgage balance.

The scheme is designed to boost lenders’ confidence in offering high loan-to-value mortgages, enabling buyers to secure homes with just a 5% deposit instead of the standard 10%. Labour projects that this permanent scheme could assist over 80,000 young individuals in becoming homeowners within the next five years.

Details on how Labour’s “Freedom to Buy Scheme” will differ from the existing one are yet to be clarified, with the exception of its permanence. The current scheme has specific criteria: the property must be your primary residence in the UK, valued at £600,000 or less, not newly built, and you must opt for a repayment mortgage, not interest-only, meeting the lender’s standard affordability checks.

It remains uncertain whether participation for lenders will be optional or mandatory. It’s crucial to note that the terms of a 95% mortgage under this scheme are identical to those offered independently, with the distinction only affecting the lending institution.

The scheme primarily benefits those who can manage monthly mortgage payments but struggle to save for a substantial deposit while renting. Applicants must pass affordability assessments to ensure they can handle the mortgage payments beyond just affording the initial deposit. Typically, these mortgage deals are pricier, favouring higher-income earners, and become more affordable with larger deposits.

Should the regulations stay unchanged, many first-time buyers in high-cost areas like London, where even modest homes can range from £800,000 to £1 million, may find themselves ineligible for the scheme.

A significant hurdle for prospective homeowners is the steep rise in property prices over the past decade, inflating the required deposit amounts. As of May 2024, Halifax reported the average UK house price at £288,688, meaning a 10% deposit would be £28,800, while a 5% deposit would require at least £14,400.