Mortgage Free ASAP

gerbiljo

QB I hope your operation is successful I really hope you get your chance to become a mum. There are some fantastic sites for support of this sort of thing, I know when I had a miscarriage I found them really good tho I know it isn't the same. I just hope 2011 is your year

Queen-Bee_2

@ Gerbiljo - thank you so much - I'll have to have a look for those sites when I'm ready. I too had a miscarriage earlier in the year. Tbh, I'm not interested in adopting or fostering... OH and I are yearning for a child of our own. The operation might be successful or I might end up with a hysterectomy, but the added complication is that time's not on my side. Still, miracles happen, and we are praying for one. QB

pammyj74

QB, really thinking of you. I know its hard to see other people having babies. My sister had a hysterectomy when she was 18 as she got cancer and now my younger sister is due her first baby in two weeks. It is really hard for us to try and be happy for one whilst considering the feelings of the other.

I dont know the ins and outs of keeping your mortgage account open, I know some do it so they have a credit score still and can easily borrow money again should they need to.

[Deleted User]

QB am thinking of you and am sorry about the news..
I hear really strongly about you and OH wanting a baby of your own and whilst adoption and fostering are certainly options they arent by any means "easy" ...
for what its worth though I spent a lot of my years growing up in care and am a firm believer that family is something you make for yourself ... the person I consider practically my mum isnt biologically but in every other sense of the word- she is the first person i go to when I need a "mum" . How that works the other way round when you are yearning so much to be a mother ...youd have to ask her but I think she has survived me!
I expect you are reeling at the moment from all the information and the ramifications of that , and there are certainly no easy answers or re-assurances , for now - do what you and OH need to do to take care of yourselves, I can imagine it is incredibly difficult to have to be happy for friends who are having children , and also consider the possibilties and implications for yourselves in all this - not sure if the operation is still an option but sounds like that too has implications..not surprising that has overshadowed the MF celebrations

on the MF front I dont have a lot of advice- not much idea what leaving a £1 balance would do other than possibly allowing you to borrow at better rates (if you were planning on doing that?) sure someone will have some idea tho!

take care of yourself and Im sorry you and OH are having to deal with such difficult news right now

Peonie

Wow, congratulations on finishing your MFW journey in 3 days time! I only found the MSE website and forum in October and found your diary a few days ago, and I have just finished reading every single post - what an inspiration. I have made a few notes and hope to start implementing some of your money saving actions soon.
We will hopefully move house soon and will more than double the size of our mortgage, so there's no point in starting my own diary just yet. Whilst I want to overpay the mortgage I also want to increase our rainy day pot of savings - decisions, decisions.
I have heard some people keep their mortgage open with a nominal amount as it means they do not have to pay to have their deeds looked after.

Queen-Bee_2

@ Pammy, thanks... it's a delicate balance, isn't it? All my siblings have children, as do OHs and sometimes it's hard not to feel like an outsider at family gatherings. Last night we were out for dinner and the wife of OH's best friend asked me - after I'd been cuddling her LO for a bit - when I was going to have one. Of course then I started crying, and then I had to explain myself. Fortunately, she is a lovely woman, won't gossip and said some very sensible (and sensitive) things. But I'm going to have to toughen up. I guess it's because I am still adjusting to the situation myself that comments like that, however well intended, have the capacity to touch me on the raw.

@ TYO. thank you for your kind words too. Given that one of the options we might want to explore in due course (if the operation is a success) is some form of IVF, what you say is very reassuring. Having a baby was always about 'when' and not 'if' for me... I know I'm not the only woman out there to experience biting disappointment in this respect, and strange as it may seem, it is some comfort to know that I am not alone.

I promise my next post will be a MFW one - I'm afraid these recent developments have completely knoocked me for six - but for now, thank you to all the lovely people on here who have been so supportive.
QB

chirpchirp

QB - wow you've done so well and in such a short space of time. Sorry about all the other stuff going on in your life.

Queen-Bee_2

Recent events on the health front have delayed my December update, but given I’m now so very close to my MF date, it would be a pity if the penultimate set of figures fell by the wayside. As such, and in the interest of completeness, as of 31 December 2010, the situation is as follows:
Actual payments: Jan, £3,980; Feb, £3,980; Mar, £3,980; Apr, £8,900; May, £4,058; Jun, £3,980; Jul, £3,980; Aug, £3,980; Sep, £3,980; Oct, £3,980; Nov, £3,980; Dec, £3,980 (Total = £52,800 for year to date)
Original scheduled payments: Jan, £645; Feb, £645; Mar, £645; Apr, £645; May, £645; Jun, £645; Jul, £645; Aug, £645; Sep, £645; Oct, £645; Nov, £645; Dec, £645 (Total = £7,750 for year to date)
Payment over/above original estimate: Jan, £3,338; Feb, £3,338; Mar, £3,338; Apr, £8,254: May, £3,338; Jun, £3,980; Jul, £3,980; Aug, £3,980; Sep, £3,980; Oct, £3,980; Nov, £3,980; Nov, £3,980 (Total = £45,000 for year to date)
Interest per day: Jan, £6.55; Feb, £6.13; Mar, £5.47; Apr, £4.37; May, £3.88; Jun, £3.39; Jul, £2.90; Aug, £2.41; Sep, £2.07; Oct, £1.43; Nov, £1.05; Dec, £0.52
Mortgage balance: Jan, £51,230: Feb, £47,430; Mar, £43,620; Apr, £35,260; May £30,919; Jun, £27,050; Jul, £23,145; Aug, £19,250; Sep, £15,320; Oct, £11,350; Nov, £7,426; Dec, £3,450
% of mortgage now paid off: Jan, 48.77%; Feb 52.57%; Mar, 56.38%; Apr, 65.41%; May, 69.08%; Jun, 72.95%; Jul, 76.86%; Aug, 80.76%; Sep, 84.68%; Oct, 88.62%; Nov, 92.57%; Dec, 96.54%
% of house now owned outright: Jan, 91.74%; Feb 92.35%; Mar, 92.97%; Apr, 94.31%; May, 95.01%; Jun, 95.64%; Jul, 96.27%; Aug, 96.90%; Sep, 97.53%; Oct, 98.16%; Nov, 98.8%; Dec, 99.47%

The last statistic reflects the latest estimate of house value as derived from Zoopla, which suggests that whilst prices within my postcode have risen by 4.1% over the last year, they’ve fallen by 2% over the last 6 months. This means that notionally, my property has fallen in value by £13,500 since August 2010. Given I’ve no intention of moving, it’s somewhat academic, but still of passing interest!

Most importantly however, in less than a week, I’m going to be mortgage free. Whilst there are clearly more pressing issues in my life at present, not worrying about how to pay for my home will enable me to relax whilst these are addressed (thank you Pammy, for pointing this out!). Furthermore, moving forward, I will be able to chose a less stressful, more rewarding job when I finally re-enter the employment market.
QB

LilacPixie

QB GL with the op. There is absolutly no point in me posting little anecdotes about how it will happen for you and OH as I really have no idea if it will or not. No idea what op it is you need or even your age so you could be 56 and actually have no uterus for all I know. My only statement will be if the medical professionals want to give this operation a try then they must be reasonably confident of a positive result so i'm keeping fingers crossed for you

Queen-Bee_2

@ Peonie. Glad you've found some inspiration on here and good luck with your own MF journey! Keeping a diary, together with all the feedback from fellow MFWs, has not only kept me on-track, but also acted as a reminder of my month on month achievements. I say this cos you might find it useful to start a thread even before you move!!

Re the rainy day savings, there's certainly a need to have a little reserve stash in these days of uncertainty. However, any overpayments made to my BS could be drawn back down in times of need - consequently my 'overpayment reserve' doubled as my rainy day fund.

Of course this might not work for everyone, it depends on the T&C of your mortgage and also the interest rate you're paying. In my case, the interest rate was fixed 5 years ago at 4.59% - currently, there are no savings vehicles that can match that, so as well as shortening the mortgage term (which allowed me to greatly increase my monthly payments), I also made sure I overpaid by the maximum 5% pa. It was this overpayment element, rather than the increased monthly payments, that I could have drawn down upon in times of hardship.
QB