Sweetdaisy's aim to be mortgage-free

southerndave

Bloody hell! That's the best part of £4k...how many month would that shave off the mortgage?!

Regards the other issue, if you pay down the mortgage on one side, is that money accessible again should you need it or is that it? If it is not easily accessible, then I would add the money to your savings which in turn automatically save you the interest which after all is the point of the exercise and still give you the flexibility and security of getting the money if you need to.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose, I am sure it will be okay!

sweetdaisy

southerndave wrote: »

Bloody hell! That's the best part of £4k...how many month would that shave off the mortgage?!

According to my spreadsheet - it's 8 months :eek:.

southerndave wrote: »

Regards the other issue, if you pay down the mortgage on one side, is that money accessible again should you need it or is that it? If it is not easily accessible, then I would add the money to your savings which in turn automatically save you the interest which after all is the point of the exercise and still give you the flexibility and security of getting the money if you need to.

I had a letter from Natwest a few months ago stating that they are making some changes to the Offset Mortgage. In short, you are able to claim back the money you have made as overpayments, but only if you can prove that you are able to pay this back and need to explain why you need to draw down on the mortgage. Therefore, it is not 100% guaranteed that you can get all your money back. This is why I am reluctant to put it all against the mortgage.

I think I will carry on putting as much money as I can into savings and have set myself a target of £300 a month as direct overpayments. This would still enable me to get the mortgage down to £55,000 by the end of the year and reduce the term to January 2022 .

southerndave

That sounds like the best plan then, stick as much as possible into the savings account which covers you for emergencies if needed. At the same time although not actually reducing your balance it is off-setting the interest being charged and you should get to a point whereby the savings equal the balance and you can clear the lot off in one hit.

Sounds like a good plan Daisy!

sweetdaisy

southerndave wrote: »

That sounds like the best plan then, stick as much as possible into the savings account which covers you for emergencies if needed. At the same time although not actually reducing your balance it is off-setting the interest being charged and you should get to a point whereby the savings equal the balance and you can clear the lot off in one hit.

Sounds like a good plan Daisy!

I will continue to make direct overpayments of £300 towards the mortgage each month, which will see the mortgage balance reduce. As I am reducing the Capital each month, I will be saving interest on the mortgage. Also, by continuing to put as much money I can into the Offset Savings account, this will also reduce the amount of interest I am paying, so it's a Win Win situation .

sweetdaisy

I have made my first overpayment of the year - £68. Mortgage balance is now £65,332.

Waiting for £33.41 to be paid to me from some survey sites. I seem to be doing well with these at the moment, but am being selective in the ones that I complete as I don’t have the time to do them all.

Weather is atrocious and not been able to do much this weekend due to the rain. Besides, I can’t go out far as I am ‘On-Call’ for a week so made the most of being stuck in by sorting out the wardrobes and cupboards, moved DS1’s bedroom furniture around (he likes to have a change every few months) and bagged some old clothes into a charity bag.

I have set aside all of our childcare costs (DS1’s after school club and school dinner costs & DS2’s nursery and school nursery costs) into our childcare savings pot, which covers us up until the end of August. DS2 starts full-time school in September and our childcare costs will reduce by around £70 a week.

We are going to Center Parcs in a few weeks for a long weekend and can’t wait, as really looking forward to having a break as a family .

sweetdaisy

I have made an overpayment of £232 and have reached my monthly target of £300. This has reduced the term by another month to June 2022 . All extra money for the rest of the month will now be going into the Emergency Fund.

I contacted my mortgage provider this week to check my minimum monthly payment, as it has been reducing with the increased overpayments made. I was informed that it has reduced by £16 and is now £572 a month. As I pay £750 a month I am making an automatic overpayment of £178, on top of the additional £300 I make as overpayments.

DH is still waiting to receive his extra pay for working Christmas Day and Boxing Day - hopefully he will be paid what he is owed next week. He is also working overtime next week, but I will put most of this into his own savings account.

Received a letter from the Water Company to say they will now be starting work on my faulty water meter next week. It has been delayed due to all the bad weather. I have also submitted meter readings to Npower as my bill is due to be recalculated in February and I want to make sure that it will be correct.

DS1’s school are changing the payment system for school dinners in a few weeks, so that children no longer need to take cash/cheques into school. Instead of DS1 handing in his cheque every week, we will now pay online directly to the Local Authority. I will get further details next week, but hope that I can do this by credit card, so that I can earn extra Cashback.

Work has been extremely hectic for the past 4 weeks and I can't wait until the end of next week, so that I can relax a little _pale_.

southerndave

That is huge steps Daisy on the OP front!

sweetdaisy

I have started receiving quotes for mine and DH’s Car insurances and Building & Contents insurance, all due to be renewed by the second week of February. It’s going to be an expensive few weeks and I will be spending some time looking for quotes.

The water meter drain cover has been sprayed Blue and a quick look at it shows that it’s not yet been replaced, but hopefully it will be done soon so that my bill can be recalculated.

Monthly mortgage payment has been made bringing the balance down to £64,350. Even with the interest due to be added around the 24th of the month the balance will remain in the £64K’s. I should receive a quarterly mortgage statement in a few days, which I always look forward to as it shows when the mortgage is due to be repaid.

A stressful 5 week period in work has now come to an end and I feel like a big weight has been lifted . I finally feel that I can relax a little as it has been like a cloud hanging over me for the whole of the Christmas and New Year period. I can now start focusing more on my health and getting back into my exercise regime, as I have been so busy I've not had much time for exercise.

In other news:-
Had a meeting with a team of Surgeons today regarding DS2 and he has been identified as being suitable for a new breakthrough surgery to help reduce his swellings. It has been a difficult decision for DH and myself to make (and one made with a heavy heart as he is so young ), but the pros outweigh the cons as they have also identified a problem with his veins in his legs which needs to be looked at as could cause complications for the future. We have another appointment in a few weeks, followed by an MRI scan (where he will be sedated) and they hope to do the operation in March.

southerndave

Good news on the money front.

All the best with the hospital stuff, it is hard making the decisions on what is best. We have/are going through stuff with our son, in fact still awaiting results of tests from the MRI.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi SD, We all have different views on religion etc but hope you don't mind if we hold you in our prayers - it must have been a difficult time making the decision re your DS surgery.


Best wishes Tilly x