Ultrarunner's aim to be mortgage-free

ultrarunner

Feeling more positive about the overpaying today.

My method of saving £25 / month on the train ticket worked. Mortgage rate drops by £108 from October as I move from my old fixed rate to the SVR of 2.5% (Base+2). And I should save £11 a month on utilities from changing supplier.

Finally, I think we're due a cost of living payrise this month. With a bit of luck I will have about £200 extra to play net with a month.

The aim will be to put 1/2 of that saving into overpaying, making a total of £150 / month being overpaid.The rest I will need for ongoing garden improvements, and a few treats as I'm currently on a zero-spend regime.

I was just looking at my kitchen and I want to see how long I can go without needing to buy any more food - I've quite a bit of pasta, rice, meat in the freezer, beans etc. Would be a good way to reduce food inventory and save money.

Right, enough waffle time for dinner!

ultrarunner

3 no spending days in a row :j

I've found the old-style board really helpful for some good ways to save £££s as well

That ends tomorrow as I have a few things to get, a minimal amount of shopping to see me through till payday - a big bag of onions and peppers from the market, some stuff from the supermarket, a small amount of petrol to get me up to the Ridgeway on Sunday for a run up there.


I've also managed to lose 9 lbs in the last few weeks, a good start but there is still a very long way to go (currently 17:5, which is huge considering I used to be a decent runner at just under 12 stone).

ultrarunner

£200 overpayment made yesterday

had to spend £33.80 on a travelcard today, unfortunately the stupid work expenses system sent the request to my old manager, so it won't be paid until who knows when, he's off on paternity leave at present!

edinburgher

I've read my way through your diary and am very impressed by the systematic way of working through your finances

Going from a studio to a house in a relatively short space of time is brilliant and a tribute to your hard work. The lodger idea is also a good one - any further along the road with that one?

That - and you find the time to exercise - I'm exhausted at the very thought! :rotfl:

ultrarunner

Thanks for the compliment, like everyone I suppose it's sometimes a case of two steps forward, one step back but I try!

Yes I'm getting more and more sorted regards getting a lodger.

Just need to make some improvements to the spare room and downstairs bathroom, that is pencilled in for the weekend. Must try and fix the leaking sink in the downstairs bathoom as well, or else admit defeat and call in a plumber.

Easier to accomplish is getting all of my stuff out of the spare room, might be tough finding somewhere to put it though!

My nagging concern is that I often work very late (being out of the house from 7am to 11pm is not unusual) which might be a bit of a risk, but I guess if I get the right person it's not a problem to begin with.

Payday yesterday, a bumper month with a lot of OT, sadly I can find a place for most of the money with various bills so there's not much left over!

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

ultrarunner wrote: »

My nagging concern is that I often work very late (being out of the house from 7am to 11pm is not unusual) which might be a bit of a risk, but I guess if I get the right person it's not a problem to begin with.

This is also my worry about a lodger. I guess you can meet them (a few times if needed) and get a pretty good idea of a person. I think gut instinct is key, some people just don't instil trust while others do. But ultimately you are placing a lot of trust in someone you don't know and that's a bit risk.

ultrarunner

Last week's 11:30 finish (hope at 1am) is a case in point... however I did a few jobs towards getting a lodger in place at the weekend. I think it's just a case of picking someone who I trust, who I can regard as a friend, and it be mutual respect.

The last few will be finished this weekend.

I've managed to make a few overpayments (increased my direct debit to £100), however I forgot that overpayments are reducing my term, not the monthly payment. In practice I'd like them to reduce the payment currently, just to marginally help cash flow each month although I recognise it's better for the term to reduce. I'd have to make overpayments of £500 at a time, but I can't afford to do this unless I save up for a few months and then make one overpayment, and I just don't think I'll do that. Perhaps when I get a lodger in.

The upshot of my DIY (and moving all my stuff from the spare bedroom to my bedroom) is that I think I might need a bigger wardrobe for my bedroom, due to my tight staircase it has to be a flatpack one. I'll see how it goes and review in the new year.

All being well the lodger will be in situ in a month or so.

Meagre payrise this year, but I've continued my philosophy of upping my EE contributions by 1% each year, I'm now contributing 9%, 7% from work, fingers crossed this will be worth something when I get to retirement age!

Vala-Mal-Doran

ultrarunner wrote: »

3 no spending days in a row :j

I've found the old-style board really helpful for some good ways to save £££s as well

That ends tomorrow as I have a few things to get, a minimal amount of shopping to see me through till payday - a big bag of onions and peppers from the market, some stuff from the supermarket, a small amount of petrol to get me up to the Ridgeway on Sunday for a run up there.


I've also managed to lose 9 lbs in the last few weeks, a good start but there is still a very long way to go (currently 17:5, which is huge considering I used to be a decent runner at just under 12 stone).

Hi UR

I spend half my time on the old style boards too, they are great for little ideas that you wouldnt normally thing of and fantastic for inspiration!

Thought I would stop in and say hi as I read your diary pretty regular and am trying to get into running at the mo - have a 10k and a half marathon booked - nothing like an ultra marathon tho! :eek:

edinburgher

Meagre payrise this year

What's that? Haven't had a payrise in 4-5 years, had to change jobs to earn more :rotfl:

ultrarunner

Granted, a meagre 1% is better than a pay freeze. But being told we'd had a bumper year for sales and had made record profits, 1% didn't seem like a great reward for our hard work