Did i cheat?

moriarty888

Hi guys,

I suppose this is a question of DFW morals, and a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but I wanted to get some people's view points, if only to keep me on the straight and narrow from this point onwards..:o

I was about 14K in debt, mostly due to a large mortgage and at the time, being a single girl, and wanting to get out there and enjoy life and meet a decent man.:D

I posted my SOA and got some good tips, but there weren't many savings to be made. I was servicing my debts and they were going down each month, even if it was only £50 - £500 a time, but at least they were going down and i was living within my means.

So, I posted my dilemma, which was whether I should add another 10K to my mortgage, which was due for renewal, or to keep on paying over £500 a month, just servicing my debts and even though it was pretty much all on 0%, I felt like it was taking forever.

Some said NO, keep at it, don't add to your mortgage, and some said YES. To be honest with you, I got on the property ladder 10 years ago, so have over 160K equity in my property, and if I'd tried to buy even a year ago, I'd have a huge mortgage compared to what I have now.

So, I went against the MSE ethos and repaid a load of my debt with an equity release (I didn't pay it all off, as I wanted to be able to afford my mortgage each month). Against the advice of a lot of people here. And to tell you the truth, i feel a loads better for it. I'm now 5.5K in debt and it goes down loads every month, and I choose to pay £500 a month, as opposed to before when I had to.

So, did I cheat, or did I take advantage of buying years ago? :rolleyes:

P.S. I'm still a MSE addict and buy everything via Quidco, and never spend more than I earn, which I couldn't say 6 months ago and without the help of this site:T

Sassers

Morning Moriarty :wave: - to be honest, I think you did the right thing. I'll be doing the same next year with my mortage after I've paid off two credit cards. I think what you did was a canny move - OK you've added extra debt to your mortgage but I think having money to chuck at it without any other debts is a hell of a lot better than having all the stress of lots here there and everywhere to be honest!
I also think the trick is although you've still got a lot of equity in your house, try not to see it as fall back piggy back in case of anymore further debts in the future. I turned my thinking around from this - although it was hard....the way I did this was the Alvin hall method of imagining the house divided into what you own and what the bank owns, brick for brick as it were........Certainly gets me thinking about being mortgage free!!!

lynzpower

theres no way in hell Id ever pay off 0% debt with interest bearing debt!

If youve cheated anyone youve cheated yourself, so if you are happy to do that then yu dont need our permission

SunderlandBlackCat

lynzpower wrote:

theres no way in hell Id ever pay off 0% debt with interest bearing debt!

If youve cheated anyone youve cheated yourself, so if you are happy to do that then yu dont need our permission

Agreed - bit of a false economy but each to their own.

Timmne

Not really cheated, you have a lot of equity so it's not too much of a worry IMO.

Just make sure you make loads of overpayments to your mortgage - I'm paying £30 more a month and it's apparently (although not taking inflation into account) going to pay off my mortgage 6 years earlier and save us £12k in interest!!

mjdh1957

Well, consolidation can be a good idea if you're disciplined enough to avoid taking on new debt. Over the years I did it a few times (not with secured loans though) but it was only on the last one that I managed not to get back into even worse debt.

So I don't think you cheated, but then only you knew how strong-willed you were so the people who advised you not to consolidate were just doing their best to share their experience and knowledge.

Well done for sticking to your plan and I hope you get the debts cleared soon.

And overpaying the mortgage is a good idea too. It is still a debt, even if people think of it as a good debt.

richardvc

The reality is that you haven't paid off any debt, you have just moved it to another lender who is charging you interest !!

I wouldn't have gone your route but

1. You feel better and after all it is your debt and your money
2. You are spending less than you earn which is crucial

As long as you don't max out the cards again.........

Good luck and keep paying it off and then you can be mortgage-free (he said with a hint of jealousy!!!)

Kazonline

Another point to consider is how long would it have taken you to clear the debt on the cards? Would you have needed to transfer to another card when the 0% ended and so pay the transfer fees, and you say the debts were MOSTLY 0%, but some therefore weren't.
While stoozing is excellent for those in control I know that for people like me (who slip up and don't allways transfer their cards immediately the promotion ends) this method can prove more expensive than anticipated. Another factor is if your circumstances change (beyond your control) when your cards need transferring to another low rate.
If you'd kept going with the cards as you were previously and lost your job you might well have ended up with your cards on a higher rate. At least now if something terrible were to happen you've a lot less to find to tide you over.
If I were you I'd now concentrate on hammering down the other 5K debt and then go to work on your mortgage. I'd so love to trade places with you financially right now!!!
Good luck
Kazx
PS I'd recommend cutting up every card at this point!!!

silvercar

whether it is a good move time will tell.

I have friends who did this 5 years ago, unfortunately they then did it every year since and now view their house equity as an extra income. Their mortgage has doubled in 5 years and they are now in deep trouble.

Kazonline

silvercar wrote:

whether it is a good move time will tell.

I have friends who did this 5 years ago, unfortunately they then did it every year since and now view their house equity as an extra income. Their mortgage has doubled in 5 years and they are now in deep trouble.

That is indeed the main thing to bear in mind - once you've done this NO MORE CREDIT!

It's been so long since we had a major property price crash that many people don't remember the devastation of negative equity.
I remember meeting a couple who had been forced to sell their house (I can't remember why their insurance hadn't paid to help with mortage payments, but I do remember thinking that it could happen to anyone). Unfortunately it was when the prices had crashed and even though the house was sold they were left owing thousands. So there they were, overcrowded in a very grotty flat (you have to take what you can when you're under that pressure) and still struggling to pay off their debts. It was awfull to see such a hard working couple in such a bad situation.

GettingThingsDone

Yeah you cheated

Call yourself a DFW??! :rotfl:

You're doing great - we all take different paths through this maze and you sound like you've got your head screwed on (now).

JUST DON'T FORGET - NO MORE CC DEBT!!! We all get tempted, but now you have the tools and this place to help you on your way to your DFD

G