Where to go financially?

[benjijames28]

I'm not one for talking about money or revealing my private affairs, but this is the internet and a relatively anonymous account, so I'm gonna lay my financial cards on the table and ask some strangers for advise.

Firstly I'm nearly 28, I've been married, owned a house and got divorced. I'm in a new relationship and have a baby. Im currently renting.

I work in a secure job with a fixed shift pattern of 4 x 12 hours on and then 4 days off. My income is 20k a year, I live in Yorkshire.

To my name I have about 8 grand in cash, a car worth 4k.

After expenses I have about 300 pound a month I can play with.

I'm struggling with options to get back on the property ladder. With my income I can only get a property up to value of about 90k and that's not a guarantee.

I'm really at a loss of where to go from here. I want to get myself into a decent financial position. I've considered downgrading the car, I could free up 3k and buy a ford Mondeo or something. I rarely go further than ten miles so this wouldn't be end of world of I could do something positive with that 3k that might help my future.

Only debt I've got is 2 grand on an interest free credit card, got about 20 months left interest free on this.

I am half tempted to go treat myself to something like a Rolex, I might not lose much money should I sell I, but trying up 5 grand in a luxury object which probably won't appreciate much isnt gonna help me long term. Was also tempted to upgrade the car but that would be stupider as a car is almost certain to lose money.

Anyway I'm open to ideas, suggestions, and criticism.

Seen as I get so much free time (4 days off work), im trying to think of ways to earn extra money, a little side business.

Edited by benjijames28 on Sunday 26th February 18:04

[benjijames28]

BoRED S2upid said:

Is the £90k mortgage limit on your wage only? How about your other half?

Certainly scope to do a bit of extra work in those 4 days off to boost your earnings.

We don't live together, she has a house she's happy renting at a reasonable rate (family landlord), she works full time but doesnt have the best credit record, although her head is above water now she needs to keep building her credit record.

[benjijames28]

GT03ROB said:

Few things to think about...

1) Can you upskill to earn more?
2) If you have 300/month spare on 20K a year you are clearly not leading a reckless lifestyle
3) Put 100 of your 300 away each month to repay the interest free card.
4) Forget the rolex or upgrading the car.

I work as a security officer and have no formal education. I'm very lucky to have a job with a solid contract of employment, secure position, with a good rota. Only real progression within the company is supervisor, it's a hell of a lot of st and stress to deal with for a few grand extra per year.

Would be better off finding a way to earn more money in my 4 days off work

[benjijames28]

TSCfree said:

Use the days off for:

1) Further Education.
2) Career orientated courses.
3) Develop a hobby into a business opportunity.
4) Develop/Gain a skill that can be used part time.

Further education might be an option, I've always wanted to learn a proper trade, obviously interested in cars, and considered plumbing when I was younger without commitments.

As for hobby's, I'm pretty boring, my interests are cars, luxury watches, xbox lol. I do enjoy reading tho which may come in handy if i want to educate myself on a subject.

[benjijames28]

Defcon5 said:

Sounds like a good plan to be fair rufus. Although I imagine the OP works nights so it's not 4 proper days off

Very interesting idea.

Just to respond to you tho, I currently don't work nights, but the company have staffing issues at night and their solution is to put the day shift on a rotation, means I would do 1 set of nights to every 2 sets of days.

[benjijames28]

rufusgti said:

Not sure how handy you are but I can tell you one thing. If I had 4 days off a week and didn't already own a property I'd be buying property to do up and sell.
You're winning from the word go because as a renter you won't pay the extra 3% stamp duty on second home purchase. You can get away with no paying capital gains. ( by "living" in it while also staying in the place your partner rents). And you have chunks of free time to break the back of the work. Even if your not that handy, things like ripping out kitchens, bathrooms and painting skirtings and architraves yourself, clearing the mess and generaly being around saves you money massively.
I'm also pretty sure 90k in parts of Yorkshire can get you a decent sized semi that needs gutting and modernising which you could then sell on for what? 140k? One of those a year and you will soon be saving large deposits to either keep a few for BTL or saving to own your own home mortgage free.

Please don't underestimate how valuable those 4 days are. Time is what holds most people back, certainly is holding me back at the moment. Don't fill that time by making someone else money.

Sounds like something worth looking into.

I'm going to guess tho my success would all depend on becoming handier myself, buying homes in the right area at the right price.

The house I owned with the ex wife was in a very good location, good schools, transport links, quite cul-de-sac location, it sold within two weeks. Other houses in other areas have been on the market for years with no sale.

[benjijames28]

rufusgti said:

You're quite right. I'm not suggesting you go into this blind. You will have to do research on locations, financing, dealing with trades, doing the house to a standard that makes it sell quickly, but without throwing money at it. These are all things that anyone can learn. You don't have to be smart. I'm not smart. You do have to have your wits about you and have a vision of what you intend to achieve with each property. Making sure there's a profit. Like I say you already have advantages. How much rent do you pay now?

House share, usually under 400 a month.

[benjijames28]

eldar said:

I'd suggest learning, properly, a trade skill. Plumbing, electrician or similar. HMG is promising to build a million houses in the next 5 years and there aren't enough trade skills for that volume.

Any suggestions on best way of going about this properly?

Bare in mind I'm 28 in A few months and need to keep my day job of 4 on 4 off 12 hour shifts to pay the bills etc...