Crocc's Mortgage Reduction Challenge

chickaroonee

Just reading your diary

Have you thought about a cashback credit card? Both DH and I use this for our work expenses (and all our purchases actually) and as they're quite high we get some cashback on them. The site has a good article on which ones are available.

poppyoscar_3

Hi Crocc
Do you pay your energy/water/anything else you can without incurring charges by monthly DD? It's much easier to keep a handle on what your spending that way. Is your water metred? if it is i'm single (and like baths not showers!) and I pay £13.77 a month. My energy is similar to yours. And for food try planning meals. I shop weekly and only buy what I need that week - write a list and stick to it! (Not easy - i'm in walking distance to sainsbury's - too easy to just pop in!)
Good luck anyway!
PO xx

crocc

Hello all,
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post but the mortgage free (well mortgage reduction) challenge in my case continues in earnest.

A couple of people have rightly said that they are concerned about my contract at work only being until November 2011 and that I should build up an emergency fund. I totally agree and this is very much appreciated advice. I forgot to go into detail on this in my original post. I have £37k in a cash ISA that is fixed at 3% and also have £10k which I have in a current account earning probably 0.1% at best. I saved hard in my early and mid twenties and also was lucky on a couple of investments on the stock market and also I was given some as part of an inheritance.

I don’t want to touch this money if I can help it for a number of reasons. Firstly I might have several months with little or no work and also the house I'm in at the moment, although over the moon with it as it's my first house it is not my dream house. I am thinking that I want to save some money to continue adding to my nest egg – by at least adding the ISA allowance to it each year and also because I might use this as a deposit for my next house. I'll have to see but I'm thinking if I can overpay the mortgage on my house by a reasonable amount over the next 5 years then I might be able to rent it out and let it pay for itself. The house in time will then become my 'pension fund'. Has anyone one had any similar thoughts.

Since my last post there have been a number of developments.
- I have registered for ebilling for my broadband package. Although this was only installed last Thursday I see this as a 'cost avoidance' measure thus saving £1 per month. Well it all helps. I will continue to do this when I can for other bills.
- I had my sofa delivered after a 12 week wait but had to pay the £1300 balance.
- I have booked my tickets to see the British Grand Prix. So with the sofa and other debt my credit card is now near £3,000. I already took into account, when thinking of the mortgage reduction challenge, this is likely to be its peak amount. I have applied for the Abby zero credit card so that I have some breathing space with the interest.
- I also received my mortgage statement I owe slight less than I thought £75276 rather than the £76k I thought.
- I have also registered to do online survey's I'm hoping to make between £30 -£50 per year on these will help on food bills. The vouchers will be used and the money put into a specific mortgage account.

I'm hoping to make my next overpayment next week. As ever it will be another couple of weeks of sitting on my hands then and hoping I have enough money to see the month out. I'll keep you posted!

Crocc

abouttimetoo

Hi Croc

You've got to do something about that 10k you've got sitting in the current account at that awful interest rate. You'll easily be able to beat that so start shopping around straight away. (I'm looking at the LTSB Vantage account at the moment which is a current account but gives a better interest rate than many savings accounts out there.

Re letting your house out as possible pension scheme; I have my first home rented out albeit I fell inyo it and fell into it almost by accident. I know this is some way off for you but nothing to stop you looking into it now as well as the house buying and renting board to give you some ideas of costs you will incur and things you need to be aware of.

Good luck

crocc

Well I've done it another overpayment of £499 (Hurrah) Must now go an update my signature for my own motivation if nothing else.

It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks this one! As ever I'll keep you posted.

crocc

setmefree2

on the OP :T:T:T

donmega85

Hi Crocc - do you have a 2nd bedroom in your house? You could let that out for nearly £5k a year tax free!

I would also do a google search for "My Supermarket" - I saved about £30 off a monthly shop after looking at that site, and with that kind of saving you could almost spare the £5 for the home delivery service - which may free up your time for other things?

Also, my GF has a tesco credit card, which she gets clubcard points on, so we've booked flights and hotels and paid it off in full, and yet banked a load of points to spend in Tesco (among other places, who are now starting to accept them)

Needless to say, that's usually after going through Quidco or Top Cash Back etc!

You're very similar to me in terms of saving - which is quite interesting. I thought I was quite unique (or weird) in that I'm stashing money away in ISAs and reg savers accounts which are both paying less than the interest on my mortgage...But like you say, it's nice to know that should something go wrong on the job front you've got something to fall back on to keep you going for a while.

crocc

donmega85 wrote: »

You're very similar to me in terms of saving - which is quite interesting. I thought I was quite unique (or weird) in that I'm stashing money away in ISAs and reg savers accounts which are both paying less than the interest on my mortgage...But like you say, it's nice to know that should something go wrong on the job front you've got something to fall back on to keep you going for a while.

I dont think of it as weird at all. I know that by Nov 2011 I will be out of work. I might be without a job for 6-8 months and when I do get a job I will probably be facing a £10-15k a year pay cut until I work my way back up the organisation again. I may hit lucky I might not, I dont know, hence why I have the savings to fall back on.

All the best

Crocc

getmore4less

crocc wrote: »

Hello.........
My new job which pays me £38,000 a year is I think only going to existence until November 2011. I was brought in for 2 years to manage a contract. The group of customers I account manage are dissatisfied with the service and will not renew in Nov 2011 – they have told me that. So my job is to do my best with them and ensure that the company delivers to the contract and we get paid. After 7 years of failing to deliver you can understand the reason my customers are not renewing. So after that I may get another job with my company but been as the market is declining year on year I’m assuming not.

crocc wrote: »

Hi all,

Sorry I've not been updating this. Work has been mad and I mean mad. However I have been speaking to some customers informally and they wont be staying with us past contract in Nov 2011. That means that the job situtation could change then or shortly after .

Difficult to say whats next since you are wise to keep info limited so some broad observations.

This the important part of the process, If you deliver then make sure you make the most of this with the customers and the current company.


Saving are great and good foundation to avoid overspending, but future income is the key long term.

Identify the customer that don't make much money and may not be able to pay for the service/xxxxx they buy/get from you.

Is there an obvious new supplier(to work for) or busines that could be set up that can deliver.(identify why there is a problem in the first place)

Is one of the customers big enough to take you on?

If these customers need the work doing someone will be providing it why not make sure you are part of that?

crocc

Hello all,

Just a bit of an update on things I’ve been doing since my last post.

• I’ve applied for one of those Alliance and Leicester current accounts which pays 6% for £2,500 if you pay £500 for each month. The account went through and I am awaiting the necessary paper work.
• I have put a few £3,000 in a fixed rate bond for 1 year paying 3%.
• I applied for a A&L credit card with 12 month interest free on balance transfers with a 3% fee. As my cc are now pushing nearly £3k. I had a few problems with the application. I applied in my home address and realised I had no ID to back up were I lived as its still all in my parents house address. I then changed the application to my parents address only for the application to flagged for review because I’m on the electoral role at my house as oppose to my parents. I’m waiting the decision.

I was advised in a previous post by aboutimetoo to do something about the £10k sat in a current account earning 0.1% interest. I feel its important to have some ‘spare’ cash around for the odd emergency. In essence I have only tied up £3,000 and I’m hoping in a years time I can use the interest earned on the £2,500 in the A&L and on the bond to put towards an overpayment

I’m sitting on my hands a little at the moment until pay day, but having a weekend away in London next weekend that I cant wait for.

Getmore4less – I will reply to post, I want to give more details, but have to be careful because of the contracts and I know the fact that other people I work with post here. (I don’t know their user names)

Have a good weekend all!
Crocc