Ultrarunner's aim to be mortgage-free

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Ultrarunner, just popping in. Looks like you can give me advice about eating running more. I had a period when I did really well, but then I let work get in the way

I had a period with no pay rise for years and then was given 0.5%, I felt like saying not to bother, and leave it for the chief honcho's bonus pool :rotfl:

I've stated reading more on the old style boards. It's made me realise my parents were good at this type of thing, but not at giving financial management ie where to put your £, investments etc. I am focussing on this aspect with the kids, as well as them learning from how we live our lives now.

Well dne on losing 9lbs.

Tilly x

ultrarunner

thanks tilly, that idea of financial education for your kids sounds a good idea.

a long day in London for a disaster recovery exercise - almost a financial disaster when I lost my train ticket, but the kind ticket lady let me through the barrier. hopefully it will still go through the work expenses system, given i've been waiting 3 weeks for my last claim!

day off tomorrow, back in London again, this time for a drinks reception at the House of Lords for my University, going with some mates and quite looking forward to the tour.

the final part of readying the house for the lodger looms over the rest of the weekend!

ultrarunner

well... i have finally got all of my stuff out of the spare bedroom so all systems go for a lodger now.

spent the weekend sorting out the cupboard under the stairs and organising a bit. took some more stuff to the dump, very satisfying, as was making some shelving in my airing cupboard using adapted Ikea shelves, total cost £5.40 for 2 shelves which will take all of my towels, duvet covers etc.

still need to get a plumber in to fix the leaky downstairs loo sink!

have also done a lot of fiddling with my overpayments spreadsheet. I have 68k owing at Base Rate + 2%, i.e. 2.5% and 60k owing fixed at 4.09% for 5 years. I've decided that if Base rate starts rising, I might struggle to accomodate the additional payments.

Therefore all my overpayments will be channelled towards reducing the 68k at 2.5%. I know this seems counter-intuitive, as it's at a lower percentage rate, but it also gives me greater piece of mind, as when Base Rate rises (probably not for a few years I know), I want to reduce my exposure to the increase in the rate.

Does this make sense?

With only one income and no real scope to get a substantial increase in salary, this seems the safest option to me.

ultrarunner

£38.80 overpayment made today (due to some work expenses being paid)

edinburgher

Does this make sense?

I can see your rationale, but it does seem a bit counter-intuitive. Wouldn't you be better off repaying the fixed rate, improving your LTV on this part of the debt and switching to all fixed if rates rise?

I don't have a crystal ball, but I doubt it will be any time soon

ultrarunner

I hear what you're saying but it's all about peace of mind for me

Well a tiring weekend, 2 hour drive to my parent's house in the rain on the M25 wasn't fun on Friday night. Up in London for a college induction on Saturday morning (final year of my part-time foundation degree), these days always tire me out so much.

Spent Sunday purchasing the materials needed for my front garden which I'm doing on Thursday. Currently the lean-to is bursting at the seams with sand, cement and slabs. Should get the job done for under £200 which is pleasing. Another thing to pay for but only a one-time job. Plus a free workout session by lifting all the material from pallet to trolley, trolley to car, and car to house.

I've also done about half the Christmas shopping which is a relief.

Payday soon, and another overpayment. Back to work now...

ultrarunner

well I now have a lovely patio courtesy of my mate, and have been painting the railings today. the front garden looks quite good now.

it's not all good news though - a severe cutback on overtime at work means I will be struggling financially until the lodger comes in.

and, more seriously, went to turn on the hot water today and sparks and smoke came out of the timer. so no heating or hot water until that's fixed. not confident enough to tackle it myself. have texted a friend of a friend who works for British Gas, he was due to service the boiler anyway this week, to see if he can help with it.

Looks like an expensive week ahead with getting the heating sorted and, nothing is ever simple and with one income there's no room for manoeuvre :-(

beachie

I would put your overpayments in a savings account as you will earn more than if you overpay on the non-fixed part of the mortgage.

Then you have some rainy day money if the worst came to the worst and if not you have the flexibility to put it to the mortgage when rates increase.

Your basically throwing away money by paying off the mortgage rather than putting it in a savings account or ISA.

edinburgher

Well done on the new patio, good time to have it done before winter hits :eek:

Sorry to hear about the overtime and the boiler. Oddly enough, our boiler timer has crapped out as well, but it's just not timing/controlling, the boiler itself is fine.

Still, you seem to have a good circle of friends, so fingers crossed it doesn't work out too badly

ultrarunner

Well I've diagnosed the boiler issue to the timer, it seems to work on continuous mode so I can at least keep the house warm.

The hot water doesn't seem to want to work at all.

However hopefully my mate can sort it out tonight otherwise I will be cold and smelly all winter!!

Got some birthday money from relatives today, so I will use it to do some more house improvements - getting a sink fixed in the bathroom, some more kitchen storage and some plants for the front garden. Collected a fireguard off ebay yesterday so once the chimney is swept I can have toasty open fires!

Beachie, I totally get what you mean about overpaying, but I am too liable to spend savings on unnecessary stuff, once I've overpaid it, it's locked away. I admit it's not necessarily the most sensible options but for me it's about overpaying to target the worry of the variable rate. Rates won't stay low for long, and I will struggle to wear an increased base rate.