Hello everyone, please help AuntieMabel on her mortgage free mission!

pammyj74

Hi Mabel, Just posting to subscribe.
Sounds like you are already on the ball with it all but its good to have a diary for you to be able to look back on. I love reading my first few pages and seeing how far I have come. I started with 21 years left and now have just under 10 years. It was only a chance look on here that I knew you could OP or I would still be blissfully unaware as I assume a LOT of families are who dont know this great secret mortgage providers keep from us!
Good luck with us (and I am enviable that you have your forever home )

AuntieMabel

pammyj74 wrote: »

It was only a chance look on here that I knew you could OP or I would still be blissfully unaware as I assume a LOT of families are who dont know this great secret mortgage providers keep from us!

I know what you mean about OP. We shared your blissful unawareness for many years assuming that the mortgage lasted for 25 years no question. Can't quite remember how we realised - it was before I had discovered MSE, but hope to have become MF at least 8 years early, but could still kick myself for all those wasted years

AuntieMabel

Hi guys, hope you're all nicely full of chocolate and are enjoying the lovely weather.

Have been looking at our mortgage documents to decide on my strategy to be MF. Am disappointed to see that Bristol & West/Bank of Ireland would charge £60 to alter the term of the mortgage. Our mortgage has always allowed unlimited overpayments over the phone by debit card which is what we've done over the years with any cash left at the end of the month. Rather frustratingly the mortgage can't be managed online which would be so much easier. When I ring them up to make a payment they obviously don't have access to a screen telling the new balance following an OP so I have to wait 4-5 working days for the paper statement to come . I have requested a form from them to increase the monthly payment (see what I mean about frustrating when it could be done online in a flash).

Also have been thinking about setting a grocery budget. Since January this year I have fully embraced Lidl and can't believe I paid Morrisons prices for so long! I'm lucky in a way that Morrisons is the only large supermarket nearby so I'm not tempted. I use local butchers and greengrocer when walking children to school so I only buy what I can carry. I enjoy cooking so tend to cook most meals from scratch. Do those of you who have a grocery budget withdraw the cash at the start of the month and keep it separate in your purse or is it more 'virtual' and worked out in your head. Also how have you worked out your amount? There's 5 of us, including 3 growing boys with hearty appetites to say the least, but they have been well trianed and will eat pretty much anything. Motto in my kitchen - 'there are 2 choices on the menu, take it or leave it!!'

That's enough of my ramblings for now, this is becomming another essay!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday especially those back at work tomorrow :wave:

yukkibear

I'm crap with my grocery budget but am really trying to get my head around it. At the mo we don't withdraw the cash, but I'm thinking I should. We average about £280 per month for 2 adults, a teenager and a child plus a cat. I know I can get this down more, but need the willpower.

pammyj74

What do you normally spend a month on Groceries? What I would do is work that out and then possibly try and knock off say £20 a month each time until you are at a budget you are comfortable with to stick to. If you already cook from scratch then cook in bulk and freeze. I love my slow cooker for that and its so nice to come home to it already done and it sneakily gets veg into the kids
I have my GC budget on my excel sheet with all my other monthly payouts and every time I spend I mark it off so it lets me know how much I have left for the month. I dont take it all out but others do it where they take out a certain amount a day and thats their budget.

I wish we could see a mortgage statement online like we see bank statements but I think thats more likely that they are hiding how much they are charging us!!

AuntieMabel

Thanks for your comments Pammy. Think I will work on grocery amount this week.
As for what you said about viewing mortgage statement online, you are SO right! Everything the mortgage company does is to keep you paying your mortgage for as long as possible. Everytime we make an OP over the phone they will reduced the future monthly payments to keep the term the same unless we expressly ask them not too. Then they always make out that it's such a hassle for them and that we're being awkward. But it's our money!! :mad::mad:

originalmiscellany

I have just done my shopping - a good week and a halves food for £80 from Costco, although a lot of it is stuff that will last longer than a few weeks, e.g. meat at close to £30 and loads of cleaning products which have inflated our figures.
What is the ball park figure you need for a week for your family/dependants?

AuntieMabel

I would estimate that I spend about £80 every 10 days or so in Mr L and then about another £15 a week in local shops on fresh stuff. So, about £300 per month for 5 of us and 2 cats. Does this sound reasonable? It's only a guesstimate though, will start recording what I spend on food from next shop onwards.

AuntieMabel

Well guys. I have MFW news.
We had a big think about money/ISAs/MFW dreams and decided to take money out of 2 ISAs and fling it at the mortgage. We've left a reasonable sized pot of emergency money but have taken out.......(I need to take a deep breath here) £113000 (gasp) and paid it over the phone by debit card so it's done. Bearing in mind we have always been very keen to get money into ISAs and know we've got that security, this is a massive step for us.

This means that sub account 2 will be in the £7000 region (so frustrating that they can't/won't tell you the exact amout over the phone but you have to wait for the paper statment to come ).
I'm now thinking that £7000 seems a possible amount to get paid off by Dec/Jan time which would be fabulous

How do I cross through the figure on my signature so I can update my details??

AuntieMabel now needs to go and lie down in a darkened room.

AuntieMabel

EEK, I meant £11300 (got a bit carried away with my 000s!!