The future father of my children…loves beer

For as long as I have known him FFOMC has loved beer.

This not uncommon, but his passion for this bitter amber beverage has resulted in there being oh so much more of him to love of late. The impact on his waistline has not gone unnoticed.

At the beginning he started to doubt my overworked washing machine and made vicious accusations that it was shrinking his beloved t-shirts causing them to cling to every curve of his body. Then the high streets came under attack for mislabelling their clothes causing poor unsuspecting customers such as him to be duped into buying a size too small.

As I live with FFOMC and see him through my love goggles and the fact that his weight gain has been gradual, I must admit I didn’t really notice that he is not as athletic as he once was. It was only after a rather frank discussion with my mother when she reviewed photos of us at a family wedding that the penny finally dropped.

FFOMC has a beer belly!!!

Ironically I have recently dropped a dress size and am wearing a size 10 for the first time in over 14 years. My weight loss has been as unplanned as his weight gain and is largely the result of stress and skipping meals.

If FFOMC wants to be a house husband and run round after our future children then drastic action needs to be taken if he is to pass the physical endurance test that is parenthood. Kids run rings round their parents at the best of times, so if FFOMC is carrying a little extra weight it may mean that our kids will get the better of him time and time again.

He is currently on a bit of a health kick to shed a few pounds. Unfortunately this means he is having to sacrifice his much loved beer for the time being.

Fortunately no matter how much weight he puts on – I find him as sexy as ever!

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Viewing Our Potential Dream Home

It’s time once more for me to reflect on my progress towards achieving my dream of home ownership.

You may have noticed that a few months ago I started including a table at the bottom of posts relating to home ownership. These posts are my way of tracking my progress towards raising a deposit and the table shows the % of the deposit we have saved and the estimated months it should take until we are able to purchase – assuming we maintain the momentum and everything continues as planned. This is by no means an exact science and a million things could happen between now and then, but I am the type of person who needs clear goals and targets but I should still explain how these numbers were generated.

One of my personal barriers to raising a deposit has been the fact that owning a home costs a lot of money. As such it is prudent to have a large amount in savings before embarking in the process of viewing properties and approaching lenders. But with no end goal or exact figures in mind, I was finding it hard to retain focus and enthusiasm as it all seemed very abstract.

I am fully prepared to make sacrifices to achieve my dreams but I needed some sort of savings target and a deadline to work towards; otherwise how would I know how much of my income to set aside each month? “Lots of it” was not specific enough for me and I was struggling to commit  with no end in sight.

I discovered a local property being sold under a government scheme for first time buyers. I took my husband to see it – it was perfect!!!

We decided to use this property as a model altough we were not in a position to purchase at that point it gave us an idea of how far our money could go and more importantly the sort of deposit we should be aiming for. I got out my calculator and did some sums.

Of course, by the time we have raised the money we hope to save, it is highly likely these properties will no longer be available or the scheme may be cancelled but we now have something concrete to work towards. What we are currently saving each month amounts to about 3% of the total deposit that we would need. My aim is to gradually increase this to 5% (because I like round numbers) but 3% is perfectly acceptable for the time being.

The important thing is that by approaching it this way home ownership feels more achievable. As long as I save a minimum of 3% of the deposit needed every month I feel a sense of achievement. Anything over this amount is obviously a bonus but I don’t feel guilty about every penny I spend that does not end up in savings.

As things currently stand we have saved a total of 59 % of the deposit we think we need and could potentially be ready to purchase in 14 months.

Watch this space for “THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX”

PROGRESS TOWARDS RAISING A HOUSE DESPOSIT
DATE	% OF DEPOSIT SAVED	ESTIMATED MONTHS TILL PURCHASE
JULY 2012	28%	23 – June 2014
AUGUST 2012	31%	22 – June 2014
SEPTEMBER 2012	33%	21 – June 2014
OCTOBER 2012	36%	20 – June 2014
NOVEMBER 2012	42%	19 – June 2014
DECEMBER 2012	47%	17 – May 2014
JANUARY 2012	54%	15 – March 2014
FEBRUARY 2012	59%	14 – February 2014