Remortgaging to pay off cards?

HappyMJ

Don't forget in March/April next year your loan will be paid off and you'll have an extra £94 to throw at CC's.

jemandscout

Hi Happymj, we have a 64k mortgage, our home is worth 100-110k, though who knows these days! So we'd be looking at about a 75%LTV. It's a repayment mortgage, not interest only. I'm 35, husband 36, not thinking we'll be retiring before 65 anyway!
It does complicate things that we want to move :undecided Living here is actually quite expensive - running two cars, heavy fuel bills, further to big supermarket etc. We could eliminate most of that expense by moving, but we're tied in to the mortgage and the house needs work...So I guess from what everyone has said we should try to get to June before doing anything with the mortgage. It seems like a long time at the moment!
Can I ask what people's thoughts are about this £2k broker fee? I thought this was pretty steep. Would I be able to get the same mortgage by applying directly to the lender when my current deal comes to an end? If so, why would anyone pay the fee?

HappyMJ

The £2k broker fee is not required you can go direct and with £25k salary and borrowing £75k with a clean credit history and 30 years to retirement I don't see why not. People pay the fee for someone to recommend the best mortgage on the market for their circumstances. It can be especially good for someone with defaults, late payments, possible CCJ's and save them more than the £2k fee and is worth it.

jemandscout

Thanks Happymj. Our credit rating isn't brilliant, but no defaults or CCJs, just lots of debt. Between us we've got maybe two late payments, but this was due to forgetting to call and pay them before DDs were set up rather than payments bouncing, not sure if that would make a difference! I'm sure simply being disorganised has had a huge impact on our finances. Determined to do better.
This is a brilliant forum, it's great to get it all down and get different perspectives on our situation, and to know there are so many people who've been in our situation with CC debt and got through it. Thanks all, very much x

LandyAndy

dancingfairy wrote: »

Re the car issue - there's probably a motoring forum on here - there seems to be a forum for everything - it might be worth trying to find out the second hand value of your cars and see how much a new second hand car would cost and find out about insurance and petrol etc? It might be possible to go to a second hand car place and part exchange your car for a cheaper one or one that is cheaper to insure and run?
I don't know anything about cars but you could investigate this.

df
Edit: found Martin's article on buying cars - it looks really useful
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheapest-new-cars
Good Luck

There is indeed a motoring forum on here. I am a regular there. Generally the advice you will receive is that the best course of action is to retain a car that is proving reliable. Changing cars to save money (actual cash) is very hard to justify.

BettiePage

As others have said, don't re-mortgage to pay these debts off. It's not worth risking your house, especially as they're currently on 0%.

Re gym v's toddler group, I'm sorry but my husband would have to give up the gym before the kids have to give up their activities.

Any chance of a p/t evening or weekend job for you? Would setting up as a childminder be an option for you?

dumpy

Two points,

Sky could go completely and you could get freesat, saving £19 per month. Use the smae box and dish but request a different card with a one off payment.

Also why are you spending £50 a month on mobiles when you say that reception at home is rubbish? Why not switch to PAYG? You say that you don't use all you inclusive minutes so it seems madness to pay for a contract.

orangesmartie

If your husband gets a lot out of the gym and grumpy if he can't go - could he switch to doing free exercise for the next 6 months or so? Going for a run around the village/running up and down the stairs/exercise DVDs? If its weights and things - amazing what you can find in the shed/cupboards - tins of paints/cans/toolboxes/bags of pasta etc

jemandscout

BettiePage, I couldn't be a childminder as my house is a deathtrap and I have enough trouble coping with two! (Hats off to childminders!) Weekend work is a good idea - I did have a Saturday job but had to give it up as OH sometimes has to work at weekends and childcare was tricky. The job is soon to be vacant again, and I know my boss would have me back- will ask my mum and dad if they could help with childcare. That would make a huge difference actually, an extra £10-£50 per week.
Dumpy, you're absolutely right about the mobiles and I wish I'd done that, but I have another year left to go of an 18 month contract that seemed like a good deal, but probably wasn't. Won't be doing that again! OH has cancelled his contract though, will use his work phone and pay for his calls:T Will investigate freesat - I thought we had a contract with Sky, will check. Would miss my Skyplus, but prob don't watch enough TV to justify £19 a month! Plus I hate Sky so would feel better about not giving them my money.
Orangesmartie, have spoken to OH and he's said he's happy to do free exercise! He'll just go for a run or cycle at lunchtime instead of the gym:T
Great ideas, thanks everyone. Managed to get 9 days shopping plus a few meals-worth to go in the freezer for £84 today, so a slight improvement - my budget was £75 BUT the extra was spent on freezable stuff we buy anyway that was on special offer and I had an £8 off an £80 shop voucher, so had to overspend to get the reduction! I realise that's not very impressive budgeting, but won't need to get as much next week so it should balance out!

orangesmartie

Great start Jem, well done