Time to think money

Choosing a house is one thing; choosing how to pay for it is another. It's been a long time since I had to worry about money! I remember I was pretty skint in my first year in Amsterdam, but that was in 1993. And as my PhD overran and I wasn't paid for a while, I was skint again at the end of that, in 2007. I remember having to borrow some money from Roelof (who had a regular job) to get to my first paycheck! But as my first postdoc job was in Norway, as soon as that paycheck arrived I was sorted. Since then I haven't been unemployed for appreciable periods of time. And my wages tended to go down rather than up, but as long as they didn't run out altogether I was OK. I don't have a very expensive life!

But now I wanted to know how much money I wanted to plonk into a deposit. And how much would I want to spend per month? I did a small check; I looked at my bank statements for the last 8 months and checked how much money was left over each month. It varied a bit, of course! It looked like I have cheap months and expensive months, but both result in a net saving. Taking the lower saving and adding it to what I currently pay in rent left me with what I think would be good to pay each month (correcting for a house insurance, possibly increased council tax, increased fuel costs, etc). And I wondered how much money I should keep in my bank account. I mean, I can't empty it out! I need to pay a surveyor and a mortgage advisor and stamp duty and a removal company and whatnot. And I will want a faster bicycle! With narrow tyres! And I may want to do some small improvements on the house. And there will be costs I haven't thought of  yet. Oh and I will probably want to get a different car, but that doesn't have to be much of a cost, as I am sure I can flog the current one for not much less than I would buy another one for. I want something smaller! It will get more to do so I don't want a car that's unnecessarily big and heavy. When I bought it it lugged four Thursdaynighters plus kit to Tanygrisiau all the time, but these days are over! But anyway, I think I've done the math regarding a mortgage. Time for a second viewing maybe?