My Story 1 Income, Spouse & 2 Kids

tomtin - youre doing great. Really well done!!

Its so good that you come back and post updates, this thread will be so useful to people who find themselves in a similar situation to you and cant see a way out.
 
Some more good news - The BOI debt have accepted a reasonable payment plan that’s affordable so hopefully that’s everything in place for me to clear the debts over the next couple of years.

I'll keep this thread updated every month!
 
tomtim said:
Thanks for the comments so far, its really helps knowing people are following my story. It certainly makes for a better home life knowing there is money there from the first of the month until the end.
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This is a great thread, you are doing so well and are such an inspiration to others. Well done on the BofI deal, it shows others that if they sit down with their bank deals can be made.

You might need to factor in saving something for xMas. You don't want to get wiped out again by a big blip like that. Home made presents etc. I had roast chicken for xmas dinner last year (long story) and it was a perfect dinner in every way, the best in years.
 
keep it going

Hello Tomtim,

Just wondering how you were getting on 6 months down the line.

hope all is to plan and all going well.
 
Bronte said:
. I had roast chicken for xmas dinner last year (long story) and it was a perfect dinner in every way, the best in years.
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Just to throw in something here. SuperValu had frozen turkeys on special last December for one day only at €5 for 4 kilo bird. I also picked one up this Easter also for €5. Available one day only. You need to register with website to get email that is sent out the day before. Bought the following in Aldi on Good Friday. 2 kilo bag of Kerr Pink Potatoes 18c, pack of 6 tomatoes 18c, Bag of carrots 18c, 6 Kiwis 18c, pack of Parsnips 18c.
I certainly think that roast chicken is more flavoursome than turkey.
 
Its been ~6 years since my last post.. hard to believe but so much has changed since 2012.

In late 2012 I decided we were not going to sacrifice the next 30 years paying down a 250k mortgage for a 2 bed apartment which was valued at 100k and needing 30k remedial works due to extensive pyrite damage. I voluntarily surrendered the property and focused on earning more to provide for my family. I set a goal of earning three digits per year and started working towards it. It required moving city, a lot of sacrifice and changing companies a number of times but here we are. Its been a very hard slog, I'm on the verge of tears thinking about all the financial This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language we have been through as a family the last few years, I won't bore you with the stories but there are many.
All debts are paid off now and we are finally comfortable every month, not needing to worry about bills, when is payday, selling stuff to pay bills and so on. I am happy to report we have zero loans or credit cards and I can say with absolute certainty it will stay that way indefinitely. The focus now is on continuing to increase our income, continue saving and purchasing a home with zero mortgage. We have decided to wait this current housing bubble out for 5 more years and evaluate.

I will report back again hopefully sooner this time.
 
Congrats on sorting out your financial affairs - not easily done I am sure, and was no doubt required very hard decisions

tomtim said:
purchasing a home with zero mortgage
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This is a noble objective, but if you are paying rent at the same time as saving for a house it may not be the wisest strategy overall.

That said, you may not be in Ireland and therefore things may be different
 
Just wow! I was sending you a pm about something but looks like the feature is disabled (or I'm just unable to find the option).
 
Wow 8 years since last response, we finally got there, changed job 3 times, found a path to have a chance to afford a house, never thought it would happen but would never stop trying to make it happen, we purchased our house for cash 550k+ a few months ago after renting for 15+ years, cash came from stock in a startup I joined that went public after 7+ years... That was the only path I found possible albeit borderline impossible, 42 now and wife 45, kids are both grown but they have a home now. Earning 200k+ now, What's happened over the years is miraculous but that was the goal, tax return for 2025 has almost €1million on it, almost €400k in tax, from 40k losing our home to today. I'm only where my parents were at this age and look what it took, something is radically wrong. I'm incredibly grateful for the journey but it's not realistic just to support and raise a family. It started here taking ownership of the finances and moving forward so incredibly grateful for all the guidance and help. Never give up and stay good and positive.

No mortgage, no debt, maxing out pension and savings per month for 2 years now, equals 4,000 per month. Next goal is enough to help the kids when the time comes and retire when possible.

Pension is 200k high risk level
Savings is 100k in stocks
Immediate Cash is 25k
 
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Odea said:
Just to throw in something here. SuperValu had frozen turkeys on special last December for one day only at €5 for 4 kilo bird. I also picked one up this Easter also for €5. Available one day only. You need to register with website to get email that is sent out the day before. Bought the following in Aldi on Good Friday. 2 kilo bag of Kerr Pink Potatoes 18c, pack of 6 tomatoes 18c, Bag of carrots 18c, 6 Kiwis 18c, pack of Parsnips 18c.
I certainly think that roast chicken is more flavoursome than turkey.
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It's Good Friday at the end of this week, we are 14 years later, how much I wonder are those items today in the Supermarket? They sound insanely cheap to me.
 
tomtim said:
I voluntarily surrendered the property
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You did absolutely amazing in getting your family back on track. How did the surrendering of the property work if it's not too difficult for you to relate. You also did extraordinarily well in managing to walk away from the apartment. You and your family had some very tough decisions. The kind that breaks marriages.
 
Blackrock1 said:
One thing id be interested to know (understanding that hindsight is 20/20) was it a mistake to wait?
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There was no choice but to wait as we didn't have the cash to purchase without mortgage which was the goal but your right in the 3-4 years prior to us getting the house it went up 200k... it's all relevant for us as we sold the stocks the second it hit the number to buy the house+furniture+capital gains bill, we wouldn't of gained anything if the prices were lower but were incredibly lucky to hit the number to cover everything.
 
Bronte said:
How did the surrendering of the property work if it's not too difficult for you to relate.
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We took free legal advice at the time and were well informed, it was during the complete property collapse also it had extensive pyrite damage so alot up in the air legally, it ultimately was repaired by the council and used for social housing. I paid for it multiple times over at this stage.
 
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