uzubairu's Mortgage Free Journey

uzubairu

Since we have reached/passed the £50K milestone we have treated the house to a little luxury. :beer:

Just had one of these installed in the dim/dark hallway this morning and now we have daylight coming in.
http://www.solatube.co.uk/Residential/solar-pipes-for-your-home/how-solatube-works/index.php

The difference is amazing. :j

Although parts and installation cost £750, the difference it has made to this part of the house is well worth the investment.

Sepa74

That's brilliant, my mother has something similar installed in her dark bathroom at home in Oz and it makes a huge difference.

I think it such a great investment on all fronts - you get to enjoy the benefit while you own the house, while making that area brighter will make your house feel so much more welcoming to potential purchasers that it is sure to make it easier to sell, even if it doesn't actually add value, which it could well do.

uzubairu

Home Insurance is up for renewal next month.

I've spent the last 2 hours getting online quotes.
Currently with Kwik Fit for combined buildings and contents, but the renewal figure is nearly double what we paid last year.

Finally settled on:-
Marks & Spencer for Contents insurance and Swiftcover for Buildings.
Total for both is £220.

If the transactions track on Quidco and payout, I stand to get another £77 in cashback.

uzubairu

Sepa74 wrote: »

That's brilliant, my mother has something similar installed in her dark bathroom at home in Oz and it makes a huge difference.

I think it such a great investment on all fronts - you get to enjoy the benefit while you own the house, while making that area brighter will make your house feel so much more welcoming to potential purchasers that it is sure to make it easier to sell, even if it doesn't actually add value, which it could well do.

I still can't get over the difference it has made.

It is grey and cloudy outside today, but it is nice and bright in the hallway/staircase.
We are going to put up some pictures and photos on the walls (now that we have more than enough light to view them properly).

uzubairu

I'm going to open 2 more Northern Rock Regular Savers tomorrow.
A new issue is available with the same terms as the ones I opened last month.

These will replace the soon to mature (July) Saffron BS and Cheshire BS regular savings account.

I'll put £150 in to each of them this month and next, and then the full amount (£250) from August.

Currently taking loads of photos of bits and bobs to eBay. How tedious can it be?

uzubairu

uzubairu wrote: »

Home Insurance is up for renewal next month.

I've spent the last 2 hours getting online quotes.
Currently with Kwik Fit for combined buildings and contents, but the renewal figure is nearly double what we paid last year.

Finally settled on:-
Marks & Spencer for Contents insurance and Swiftcover for Buildings.
Total for both is £220.

If the transactions track on Quidco and payout, I stand to get another £77 in cashback.

Just checked on Quidco and both transactions have been tracked.
£32 for Swiftcover
£45 for Marks and Spencer. :T

There is a £20 off code on Tesco Direct, so my OH has decided to get a Kindle too.
He's been wanting one for a while and has been waiting for a discount on the 3G version (mine is WiFi only).
It will cost £117 after discounts (£20 off and 10% staff discount).
I also went through Quidco, so that should add another £3.50.

I opened the Northern Rock Regular saver today (and deposited £150) and OH will be openining another one on Monday and adding the same amount.

[Deleted User]

I have no idea how tedious ebay can be I have yet to try it out! good luck though!

Savings sound fab too!

uzubairu

I've been asked to work overtime tomorrow evening (4 hours) and I am debating whether to be paid or take a full day off in lieu of payment.

I've had a week on holiday and I just don't want it to end, so having an extra day off next week may help ease me back into the routine.
Although the overtime would get me a little closer to mortgage freedom, and the possibility of reducing my hours permanently.

uzubairu

uzubairu wrote: »

I've been asked to work overtime tomorrow evening (4 hours) and I am debating whether to be paid or take a full day off in lieu of payment.

I ended up being paid, as it wasn't possible to take the extra day back in the same week.
Having the day allocated at a time when I probably didn't want it wasn't an option I wanted to take.

My penny jar was filled to the brim, so I took it to work and used the coin counter (in the Cash Office so no 9% cut going to Coinstar)to get a total.
It held £119.74. :j

I've exchanged the full bags of coinage (£112.00) for notes and put the part bags (£7.74) back in the bottle.

I'm going to add £100 to the overpayments by adding £50 each to the new regular savers that I opened earlier this month.
The remaining £12 will cover a takeaway meal some night this week.

I was a bit ruthless yesterday, and cleared some more space in the garage, and took a few things to the local tip.
I've told my OH that some of the c**p that he has stuffed in the wardrobes belongs in the bin and at the very least not taking up valuable space in the wardrobes.

He likes to hoard stuff and I can't stand it, so I've told him to shift it all, or else I will. :mad:
He's got 2 weeks.

uzubairu

July Update
Phoned First Direct this evening and the mortgage is:- £67,962.66
July overpayments are:- £2,050.
Year To Date Overpayments are:- £13,950.
Total Overpayment Savings are:- £23,447

Mortgage remaining = Mortgage - OP Savings = £67,962 - £23,447 = £44,515

Another piece has been added to the fridge magnet jigsaw.
Only 6 pieces to go. :T

I've got 3 Regular Savers maturing this month, and 2 of them will fund a Cash ISA in OH's name (since mine is already full).

I've been playing around with spreadsheets this last few weeks, and I've been impressed with the ease with which I have been able to look at all sorts of projections.
OH is the nerdy one when it comes to spreadsheets, but I'm catching up.
I've been thinking about changing my target for the MFW 2011 (£11K) because that has been achieved, and likely to be well and truly beaten.
I've settled on a new target of £20K in overpayments for 2011 and get the mortgage down to £36K by the end of the year.

My immediate target is to get below £40K and have the mortgage balance staring with a '3'.

After the week I've had at work cleaning up after incompetent/lazy colleagues, I can't wait for that figure to go down as fast as possible.

My Make £10 A Day Challenge in July 2011 isn't going very well so far, since I haven't listed as many things as I had hoped to last week (work took up my spare time too), and the c**p I did list really was.

OH kept up his end of the bargain and did a proper clearout last weekend (whilst I was at work).
He even put up shelving in the garage (went to Ikea to get the parts), so that it was organised and everything was easily accessible and off the floor.

It was a job well done but several years overdue, so I've told him that praise will be dished out in bucket loads when he gets to the bottom of the new list I have given him.