PJF's New Quest

PurpleJellyFish

Hi All, *waves hello :wave: *

I'm just starting out on my mortgage journey - just completed on my first house today!

Whilst I'm very excited and of course have grand plans, I do want to get myself into some good habits and aim to overpay the mortgage when I can, obviously with the goal of being mortgage free asap.

I've read some threads on here, and on the DFW board and you peeps are pretty inspirational. I just hope I have half the motivation and drive and I'm sure that will stand me in good stead.

It's going to be a few months until I have a firm idea of all bills, especially as the is an overlap with my rental property but I may as well start as I mean to go on and I think this diary will help to keep me on track too.

TTFN

PJF x

originalmiscellany

look forward to following your progress

PurpleJellyFish

Well small steps for now but I've rounded down my bank account and resisted the lure of a coffee from the station so have saved £4 today. I've not set myself a particular target yet but have downloaded locoblade's overpayment spreadsheet so will have a faff with that when I get a chance.

Any tips from other MFWs greatly appreciated so I can get myself up and running properly.

cha97michelle

Good luck with your challenge. My only advice is to transfer any small saving you make into the mortgage pot, and it soon adds up. I manage to pay off a few thousand a year doing this. All the piddly bits from quidco, coupons i use, all the bits of mystery shopping and surveys. I also put money from everything i sell on ebay.

It is definitely something we can all do without too much hardship if we want to.

PurpleJellyFish

cha97michelle wrote: »

Good luck with your challenge. My only advice is to transfer any small saving you make into the mortgage pot, and it soon adds up. I manage to pay off a few thousand a year doing this. All the piddly bits from quidco, coupons i use, all the bits of mystery shopping and surveys. I also put money from everything i sell on ebay.

It is definitely something we can all do without too much hardship if we want to.

Thanks for that. I joined the Payment a Day thread last year and it has really helped as I haven't noticed the odds and sods I've saved. Alas that will be paying for a new damp proof course next week. I did however find 16p under the washing line (presumably from trouser pockets) so that will be added to the pot.

l33na

welcome and well done for starting on your mfw quest asap.
Enjoy your new home and as suggested small amounts do add up.
look forward to following your jouney.

PurpleJellyFish

Not sure if this is the best place to ask but how soon after you complete do you get anything from the lender? I have my offer with a contact number on there which I'm going to call in the morning but, do I get anything else from the lender now the mortgage is up and running? I want to set up online access if possible (Nat West) and also make sure my overpayments will be reducing the capital amount and also the procedure for ad hoc overpayments.

Still very much a newbie at all of this (3 days in) so any advice appreciated.

Queen-Bee_2

Hello PJF and welcome to the board :wave:

I gained inspiration by reading the early posts in people's diaries, cos that's when typically, they seem to make the greatest changes...

I also posted up a copy of my SOA or monthly outgoing and other MFWs made helpful suggestions.

Since I started my MF journey in earnest, I've revolutionized the way I live, made friends with TopCashBack and learned an incredible amount from everyone on here.

Good luck with your quest and I look forward to reading about your progress!
QB

PurpleJellyFish

Well a few weeks have now passed since I became a homeowner and the reality has set in. I need to really get cracking with sorting the property out as I need to move out of my rented property before the end of the month. Everything fitted in nicely with he notice period and first mortgage payment so the little gap was planned - especially since some work needed doing to the new house.

I haven't made any overpayments yet but I have set up an account to transfer all the odds and sods into ready for my first one. I'm still waiting for the first bills to come in so don't want to make the payment just yet.

I thought I'd keep a little log of the progress made with renovations/decorating as well as the overpayments as I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and I think a list of the things I've achieved will help to keep me motivated.

Sooooo.....things done so far:

damp proof course redone (builder did this - too ambitious for me )
boiler flue replaced and radiators refitted (again, not DIY)
locks changed (pleased with myself for managing this one)
sofas ordered
table and chairs bought (still got 3 chairs to fit together though)
laminate floor edging retacked down
replaced kitchen and bathroom nets
cleaned kitchen
cleaned bathroom
sanded skirting boards ready for painting
glossed stuff in spare room
alarm reset and working
cut grass
fitted new doorbell

I feel better for writing that down. Will have to come up with a plan of action for the rest of the week for decorating and also take an hour or so to look at finances.

staceydaisy

keep up the good work

wynnvegas

Well done PJF,

Not just on the moving in or the DIY (all of which would be beyond me so I'm thinking it might be time to take a wee course in "being less useless") but on having the mindset to overpay right from the off. It took us about 2 years from moving into our first house to start overpaying as we (stupidly) didn't see the benefit of sticking wee amounts in regularly. Had we been in the right frame of mind from the off, I think we'd be enjoying mortgage freedom by now!

Cheers,

Billy