Mortgage Reduction Beginner to Novice - The Show Begins

ammonite

I'm going to investigate the Shellac further, thanks for the info elantan.

Well MRN sounds like you look absolutely beautiful ready for the return of Mr MRN. I like the feeling post-exercise too but its the inital 2-3 weeks of pain and hurting and hatred of exercise which I can never seem to get past, once I'm past that I love it - need to try and remember that for the New Year!

Great news about your packed lunches, how much do you think you save per week? I estimate we save around £40-£45 per week as a couple for taking packed lunches. I once read that if you do something every day for 21 days it becomes a habit.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

elantan wrote: »

Nails inc portabelo is a lovely colour

It looks good with my navy jumper today. Brightens my mood everytime I catch a glimpse.

elantan wrote: »

Sounds like you have had a very busy weekend mrn, I like the way you achieved so much whilst doing the housework, might need to try that one

I'm certainly feeling more on top of stuff now. Just a short to do list left and all things that could be put off indefinitely!

elantan wrote: »

Wonder what your gonna get up to all plucked, preened and polished for hubby coming home ... Enjoy yourselves

Well hopefully more than just hand holding now I don't resemble then unkempt bag lady!:rotfl:

ammonite wrote: »

I like the feeling post-exercise too but its the inital 2-3 weeks of pain and hurting and hatred of exercise which I can never seem to get past, once I'm past that I love it - need to try and remember that for the New Year!

Stick with it... the good pain will come back! At the start I found just turning up to class the hardest part but once I was there I really enjoyed it.

ammonite wrote: »

Great news about your packed lunches, how much do you think you save per week? I estimate we save around £40-£45 per week as a couple for taking packed lunches. I once read that if you do something every day for 21 days it becomes a habit.

Should be fairly engrained by week 16 (Christmas) then!!!
I don't think I've saved that much because I used to take lunch in 4 days a week anyway - plus I now spend more at the supermarket on lunchy items and at the market on extra fruit to eat at my desk than I did before. But certainly it's cheaper to buy from the supermarket/market, assemble my self and bring into work than it is to buy from the canteen or convenience shops.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

End of month balances:

Joint Account £50 - nothing to cream off into savings this month. But we have absorbed remortgage fees, line rental upfront, hotel and train tickets for wedding anniversary trip plus buildings/contents insurance without dipping into savings.

My current account £395.50 - with a £200 safety net, there's £195.50 spare. Brilliant compared to an average month. I'll keep this in place for now and use it to cover the credit card bill with car service and christmas presents on next month.

£1221 in the kitchen fund - the new standing orders are working well. GallyGirl has the "spend what's left after saving" quote in her signature - this is a good example of that. I haven't missed the money that left my account at the beginning of the month for my ISA or the kitchen fund.

Car Finance annual statement - still £8900 to go. The colour drained from my face when I read that. Then I read the link GallyGirl put on her thread. And I felt even more guilty. At the time of getting the car, I convinced myself it was a treat because I spend so much time commuting I wanted to enjoy the journey and because my old car needed everything but the seatbelts replacing. Now I regret it. The only way forward is to keep saving until I have enough to pay it off (leaving some emergency money). Then, I need to continue to save so that the next car can be paid for outright.

elantan

Your car story so resonates with me, we have done the exact same thing, the link also does hit you like a piece of 2by4 between the eyes doesnt it? We're sposed to pay £232 and pennies per month over 5 years for our car loan, but I'm currently trying to pay £400 us pennies per month as the thought of 5 years to pay for a car makes me want to cry, although tbh paying £400 a month does actually make me cry tbh

We were thinking of additional borrowing from our mortgage to clear our feet and just get it all in the one place, but have decide not until we can prove that we won't get back into the situation we currently find ourselves in as I don't want to sort it out to turn round and mess it up again

Thanks for the reminder, it's good to get them every now and then

Enjoy the handholding ;-)

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

elantan wrote: »

Your car story so resonates with me, we have done the exact same thing, the link also does hit you like a piece of 2by4 between the eyes doesnt it? We're sposed to pay £232 and pennies per month over 5 years for our car loan, but I'm currently trying to pay £400 us pennies per month as the thought of 5 years to pay for a car makes me want to cry, although tbh paying £400 a month does actually make me cry tbh

Just horrible and only myself to blame. Mine is £210.20 per month for 3 years (already a year in) and a final payment of £3900 or hand the car back. To be fair, I made sure I had the final £3900 before I even signed the finance agreement. My plan was to make the final payment, keep the car another two years but keep up the monthly amount into savings for the next car. I think this plan is not sustainable for a MFW. I looked into it, I can't overpay monthly, I can either continue or request a full settlement figure.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

A miserable Tuesday... cheered up by £30 shopping voucher redeemed from VO! That'll be a nice treat during the sales!

elantan

The only reason we can overpay is because we took out a personal loan instead of car finance, the car finance was over 11% apr I can't remember exactly how much apr but I remember it was over 6% flat rate and to get the apr you basically double that.

We got the loan at 6.3% so that wasn't too bad, the remortgage would've been 3.29% but as I said, that's something we need to prove we will not abuse before I take that on, my future self is kicking me hard just now for taking on the debt as we were doing very well before the holiday ... Sigh

Liking the £30 voucher, where can you spend that in ?

moneycurious

MRN - i feel like i have missed so much!!!!
Nails, Gym etc!!
Please could you explain your PAYG vs Year membership - i have got lost somewhere in between i think!!!! nearly half way through the week.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

elantan wrote: »

Liking the £30 voucher, where can you spend that in ?

I chose an arcadia one... can be spent in any of their stores and Outfit too. I find it's the most flexible and nice to have some new clothes as I wouldn't normally treat myself.

moneycurious wrote: »

MRN - i feel like i have missed so much!!!!
Nails, Gym etc!!
Please could you explain your PAYG vs Year membership - i have got lost somewhere in between i think!!!! nearly half way through the week.

Oh the gym membership... well everyone keeps telling me it's expensive and I shouldn't be wasting money on gym membership in hard financial times. This is the second year I have paid for a whole year up front (cheaper than monthly direct debits). At my gym you can also pay as you go. So I've kept a spreadsheet of all the classes I've taken and kept a tally of how much it'd cost if I paid each time. I'm 3 months in and already over half way to accumulating the total I paid up front. It's to prove that it is worth it if you are a regular gym bunny like me.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

After a bizarre/worrying/confusing/complicated few days, it's good to be back on the MFW boards and to be able to post again.

I have much news fiscally:

• Friday was payday... November leftovers was divided £50 saved for big cc bill, £77 into ISA and £50 off the student loan.
• CP £30 in Arcadia vouchers arrived - these are my special treat for blowing on frivolous fashion items.
• Requested Amazon vouchers from TCB - towards Christmas presents
• £co £9.44 was moved straight to ISA
• Mystery shopping - another payment and I picked up one which was done earlier today (it was a nightmare though, I had to type a very long report to explain).
• Potential sale on Preloved - buyer collecting tomorrow so fingers crossed for close to the £25 asking price.
• I had a nail varnish splurge spend today - Superdrug 3 for 2.:o

Looking forwards:

• Shredder has broken and the shreddies pile is growing by the day
• I can see the bottom of all the freezer drawers - guestimating 1-2 weeks worth of eating then I can defrost. :cool:
• No news whether our remortgage application has been accepted yet We're holding out for this before we discuss/debate/decide on next year's budget.

Have a good weekend - we have our first Christmas party of the year this evening!