ploding along unaware

l33na

Hi my first post here and a newbie to all this mse, though have been a lurker.

I have relatively small mtge compared to some diaries I have read on here and I cannot believe that hubby and I have not tried to finish it sooner...
A bit of info so you expert MFW can guide me:

We Have been homeowners since 1999 so really benefited as our first home sold at double the original within two yrs.

My mtge outstanding today is £61800 with a term of 24yrs
and my interest is on a tracker at 1.99 on 35K and 1.15 on 26k.

My repayments are a £274 though at the moment we cannot afford to pay more than £350 (this is the amount or round about what we were paying before the rate fell so low) I have still continued to send dd of this balance to the mtge payment ac and it has accumilated - that is what made me aware that this could be paid towards the mtge...


so my question is should I pay the extra £76 or let it add up as the rate is low...
I have recently moved my savings (4k) into an ISA that is offering 2.8% variable thinking that as the rate is low I might aswell hold onto the monies.Is this better in the long run?

sorry am a bit new so be gentle. thanks

dimbo61

sorry bit confused are you paying £350 a month into the mortgage account and therefore OP by £76 a month and is this some sort of reserve account which you could get back if needed !
If you did overpay by £76 a month this is like a £20% overpayment and would save you thousands in interest over the term.
Try and fill your ISA because its at a better rate at the moment

l33na

hi no I'm sorry I didn't explain it well. I send £350 from wage a/c into the current a/c the mtge is paid from. so really it just sits there till we need it to pay towards a bill. (or I go shopping with it lol).
As for maxing out the Isa I have no other saving so would you recommend sending the £76 op into the Isa or not?
many thanks in advance.

dimbo61

The words " no other savings" make me concerned
What happens if the car breaks down or the boiler goes BANG
Build up your savings first before you overpay the mortgage and try and save 3 months of income at the least. GOOD LUCK

l33na

hi.
thanks for the advise. re the savings I have an emergency fund that is never regarded as savings as my hubby tends to always have to upgrade the laptop or 'we must have the 50" tv that is only on offer this week':cool:

So I really do think of it as no other savings. I have to with a big spender as hubby . But I am working on him to encourage him to aim to be MF so we could have all that spare money.

dimbo61

He can have the new laptop or big TV just get it at the cheapest price and when the nice salesman tries to sell you the 5 year warranty just look him in the eye and ask" well is it crap I am buying ?"
If not I dont need an expensive cover as I have my consumer rights and pay using a cashback credit card ( which you clear in full each month )

l33na

Hi. Since last posting I have made some changes
Firstly I have found my emergency fund and have surprised myself at how much of an emergency fund I had that was sitting in basic accounts that I had topped up whilst we were both working from a few years ago. I had since tucked the books away.

I have used the money to top up my ISA. I have also opened a Web saver that is offering 2.8% ? which i take it is good as my mtge is 1.99 and 1.15 .

Secondly DH and I have had a serious talk re the mtge and he is now on board to help reduce the term. He is the only one working now and this summer he had three weeks off due to a DIY incident>>I think this made us even more determined that we didn't want to worry about mortgage repayments for the next 26yrs.

With only one salary and that of a lower tax rate payer I think our journey would be slow but as I am determined to atleast pay the 10% annually we can clear this mortgage in 10 yrs/ At that time my children would be 18 and 17 and the money saved could then be used to pay for there uni fees etal... This is what I have as a goal.

To date I have started using the CB to top up the childrens saving accounts.(will need to check out which are good for them as at the moment they are with hAlifax and I dont know what rate they will receive.

On the 23rd I will be making my first ever OP.:j.
Hoping to continue this for a few mths and then gradually raise it.
I will also be making regular payments to my new websaver. Am hoping by writing this down I will have started the ball rolling to coninue to aim to be MF.


so as of today my Mtge stands at £61384 and the term is 26yrs(oops got it wrong in the first post)

My new saving ac has a balance of £462 that I would also like to see grow.
emergency fund is the ISA .
to do: look for saving accounts for the children.
check if am not paying too much for our gas and elec.

Lynn11

I have a children's Reg Saver which you can set up £20-£250 per month to be paid in by SO and its pays 6% which is fairly good. Its in the Halifax and after the year the amount plus interest gets put into another kids account which is not great for interest - so my daughter has 2 accounts. Its only an idea

l33na

Hi thanks for that Lynn. I will look into that this week.

gallygirl

Also if your children are young you should look to see if you can earn some pennies while at home. There are some mystery shopping jobs where you can take children, others where you rate websites & order things (refunded!) to test service. Do you have anything you could ebay? All would bring in just a little cash but it all helps!

Check out the up your income board - there are lots of examples on there.

Good luck!

l33na

thanks Gallygirl. I have been mystery shopping for over a yr now. (thanks to MSE as a lurker). I have Just done the banking one yet but will aim to sign up to others aswell.
Love Ebay but usually end up buying from there more--:o
I have sold most of my hubbys garage stuff on ebay when we had it demolished. 9and lsited some more with the free listing yesterday)

Cashback I am strugling with have signed up to Quidco and received 2.04 from them this month...
With cashback I dont really do big purchases and just dont know how to use it effectively.
Children school uniform was paid for by BHS vouchers for using there credit card for points.
I make all online purchases for insurance and stuff with the card and recently have started using it for shopping and petrol - It really does add up.
This site is great have learnt alot from it.


Today I did try to query the reg saver but could see anyone today so have just got home and applied online for one of the children am going to pay the child benefit into it.
Have phoned my gas/elec supplier and am currently on hold-so will be called back.

I was going to get my children new school shoes for the new term but then realised that Ds had new shoes in june as his school shoes from last sept were ripped. And my DD has not gone up a size according to clarks since Jan so decided to wait till the next half term to get her remeasured- her old school shoes are fine as she often used to where trainers to school aswell. a spit and polish and they look great.

Oh have got a sealled box today to collect silvers from my purse. Have done this with coppers for a while and paid in £28 last month:T