Ultrarunner's aim to be mortgage-free

edinburgher

Good to see you posting ultrarunner, you'll have that CC paid off in no time.

Not that there's any rush, stoozy stoozy

ultrarunner

I know I should stooze it, as it's interest free until next Autumn but psychologically I don't like doing it. Perhaps I'll alternate overpayments and credit card repayments for a few months instead!

edinburgher

Are you still at BR + 2.5%?

If so, top savings (4.89% gross/ c. 3.912% net from Nationwide?) vs. OPs are probably much of a muchness

I have worked hard to break my psychological dislike of stoozing. At the end of the day, if the money is sitting in the bank, it's not debt, it's a fun way to earn a few £ :money:

ultrarunner

Got approx half the mortgage at Base +2%, the other half at 4.09% until 2017

I overpayment the element as base rate, though it's a lower interest rate for 2 reasons - I can overpay as much as I want, rather than a £500 minimum, and also because this is the part of the mortgage which will increase should base rate rise. So I want to minimise my exposure to this.

ultrarunner

Pay Day yesterday and I think I've been overpaid - unless there's a bonus I didn't know about. Have told my boss (as you should if overpaid and you know you have been).

Annoying as until it's confirmed I'm not sure how much cash I have for the month.

Other news... looks like I've got a blocked gutter or loose tile as there is damp in my lodger's room, confined to one corner, coming down from the ceiling. Definitely not a ventilation issue. I've called someone out, who can't come till Friday. In the mean time I'm treating the damp with anti-mould and mildew stuff. Crawled across the loft but couldn't gauge where exactly it came from. Obviously this will be a cost but all part of owning a house and something that needs to be put right.

Feel like I need some good news for my next update.

ultrarunner

Quotes obtained from roofers... Not as expensive as I feared but expensive enough.

Glad I have my lodger to help cover the costs.

Not much else to say at the moment!

ultrarunner

Well the roof is scheduled to be done shortly.

Lodger wants to move out in mid-May. A shame as she's good but hope to get someone else in just as good.

Will redecorate her room after she's left as there was some water damage from the roof issue. Hopefully rent out in the summer once sorted.

Still got last bit of credit card to pay off and the roofer to pay over the next month or so. Going to cash in my train season ticket now I'm a laptop user (too heavy to carry on train and I can't run home with it either) so will have some money available there, but obviously petrol and car costs will go up over the rest of the year.

No overpayments yet, but good (or bad) news is no holiday this year so more money available for overpayments.

Still on my leadership program at work, hope it yields a managerial post as I could do with more money and really want the opportunity, I've been waiting long enough.

ultrarunner

Due to credit card refund on season ticket, and a few other things (30 hrs overtime this month, present from relative) I've managed to overpay just over £1800 this month, mostly in the past week or so. Sounds like a lot, I suppose it is 1.5% of what I owe so does make a small difference, but it's not like I can overpay anywhere near that amount each month usually. It all helps.

Roof cost more than anticipated so had to sell my investment trust holdings - a shame but at least the roof is now not letting in water.

While I'm not loving all the OT, at least it may mitigate the loss of my lodger for a while. My plan with the OT is to overpay the net difference it makes each month to the mortgage so I don't get used to living on it. Overpayments continue to be targetted at the element of the mortgage at base rate + 2%, it may not be 2.5% interest on that part of the mortgage this time next year!

ultrarunner

Day off today... needed the break after a huge amount of long days at work this April, 7am - 9pm was a typical day, and it's a 50 mile round trip. Have resisted temptation to switch on laptop so far but do need to look at a few things over the weekend to do with PDP.

Lodger moving out in a few weeks time. £200 deposit to be given back assuming all is well in her room. I need to sort out the room, so will have a void for approximately 6-8 weeks. Having done the sums this morning I definitely need to get someone in again. Will use the time to have my parents to stay with me (and help sort things out!) as I don't usually have a spare room!

Mortgage payment dropped by £10 due to the overpayments in April. I'm sure it was set to reduce the term but doesn't make too much of a difference for now... while I have a void with no lodger every penny helps!

Sorted out cheaper household insurance, new fixed electricity and gas deal (virtually same price as the old fix with a cheaper standing charge). Old electricity and gas account is in credit of approx £300+ so that will come in handy. New ISA with a paltry rate but at least it's better than the current one by 1%. Also checked my broadband and phone (I was migrated to Sky recently) and the £10 discount per month for the next year means I'm happy with the cost for now. All items I'd been putting off for ages due to being so busy.

Also bought a shoe storage thing using vouchers I got from work. Had a clearout of the cupboard under the stairs, got rid of a few bits of rubbish and have a wooden storage thing I no longer need. Going on gumtree shortly, may only get £5 but it all counts. House looks a bit tidier now.

Next expenditures to deal with are at the end of June - car insurance and road tax. The good news is the car insurance is likely to be approx £230 so quite cheap. Also need new glasses, I had an eye test a while ago but haven't bought glasses due to having to spend on the roof, I have £45 vouchers left which will help but this will need to wait until after payday.

Looks like no holidays this year bar a trip to Spain for a few days in June. Money will be saved instead and used to attack the mortgage. Need to watch what I spend this month to make sure I hit payday still in credit (will overpay what's left a few days before so extra motivation!). Got a freezer / cupboard to empty which should stop surplus trips to the supermarket.

ultrarunner

Two years of living in my perfect little house as of today :j :beer:

Had a great weekend... dinner in London seeing a friend, beautiful strolling along the South Bank and taking in the view of St Pauls, bit late getting back to Reading about half 12. Saturday I had folks over for lunch, and almost dozed off in the afternoon having woken up about 5:30am. Decent lie-in until 8am today. Just been doing things in the garden... including painting and installing some trellis.

Bought some cushions for the outdoor chairs using homebase vouchers from work. Lovely afternoon sunbathing with a pot of tea.

Not done much training this weekend, need to pull my finger out, almost run time...

Need to watch the budget until I have a new lodger in (sometime in late July I guess). Got a few weekends away etc planned and annual expenses like road tax and car insurance. In the meantime I'm having people over to stay to take advantage of the spare room!