inigma's bimble to mortgage freedom

lulabelle1

You got it, OP OP OP!!!!!

inigma

Hey kids,

Hope you are all well, I can't wait for Christmas! I went out for some mulled wine this evening with a good friend, it might be £3.80 a cup but by Jove it makes me feel festive

Not too much to report, I have applied for my annual travel card interest free loan through work, (TFL fares go up 2nd Jan).

I am trying to control my expenses as much as possible before things start getting expensive (Got my train tickets early this year so it only costs me £32 to go and see family this year rather than £80) WOOP

Hope you are all staying warm, I think the winter snap is just about upon us in the South East, that said I'm still going out in just a shirt at Lunch (I am also wearing trousers)!

I also updated my internet dating so fingers crossed

inigma

Ok so my updated internet dating didn't work, although 1 Nigerian woman did say if I sent her £500 then it would mean she could open a bank account and pay the equity from her family's farm (around £800k) into the bank and give me 25%, call me old fashioned but i'm more of a coffee and chat first date kind of a guy.

beachie

Good luck on your journey.

I have given up on the dating thing for a bit. It costs money and could be putting that towards my mortgage. :rotfl:

I am just playing around with a spreadsheet tonight working out what my payments a month should be to pay the mortgage off in 10 years (although it is likely I will move to a house by then).

Hurdler

Heh - I keep getting lots of invites from eHarmony to rejoin but I think I might rejoin match in the new year and just enjoy the prospect of getting glammed up for the Journo school Xmas party next week.

Inigma - you just motivated me to get the estate agents round now I have had the windows done to see what my LTV is.

I have paid off about £65K off the initial starting point and poured money into the house to completely modernise it but I have been always a bit wary of getting a quote just in case it hasn't made any difference. But I guess I need to find out sometime, no?

Sepa74

Inigma, you have been very inspiring this week... You inspired Hurdler to get to the Estate Agents, and me to buy an annual travel card, starting on 1 Jan, which has saved me over £100!

I don't know whether I will use it beyond June (my work patterns are likely to change dramatically after that date) but I can get a refund on the unused portion for an admin fee, and after tracking my money for the last 6 months I've realised an annual travel card is really the cheapest way to get around London and I could just as easily use it for the whole year, so might as well buy it.

inigma

High fives, fist pumps, obnoxious whooping all round!

Yes Team Mortgage free rocked this week!

inigma

YAWN, ok my Christmas hibernation comes to an end. Christmas was good in the inigma household, went on a few brisk and bracing walks through the countryside (My brother and I ended up in the pub after 12 miles each time).

I just need to update my signature with an oh so preppy and motivationy goals and aims. I can only OP by £500 a month at present (well for 4 years and 8 months) so also trying to save an undecided amount to overpay once the term is up.

I hope you all had good Christmas's and that you have broken at least 1 resolution (New record right here, Sloe Gin during the gongs of big ben... so much for no alcohol).

inigma

So I have been a bit tardy with my blog, decided that I should update once a month. Ok I am overpaying my mortgage by the max every month (£500) and after 5 months of living in my flat I now have the bills and everything under control regarding my budget (Don't think anyone can budget for the first 4 months in a new house). One gripe is that my lodger insists on having the heating on full whack whilst i'm not in the flat, I only have electricity and no gas and it looks like the Jan-Feb bill will be close to £140. I don't really feel the cold so when he isn't here I turn the heating off and walk round in shorts and a T Shirt... Anyway his rent overpays my mortgage so must grumble.

My food bills have also been coming down a lot recently, possibly because I have become a veggie monday to friday

Hope you have all been well and are staying warm, if you are then come on over to chez inigma it's too warm in here. Anyway I have an evening of University Challenge and making packed lunch and Ironing ahead of me.

Till next month.

inigma

Ok, come on inigma let's get back to monthly blogs, not much has changed since I last posted, I went to NZ on a 2 week holiday which was nice, I have been on a few dates, nothing has materialised

Moneywise touch wood I am doing ok, I got promoted to manager this year, whilst it isn't any more money yet they have said they will review it in April.

My challenge for August is to make a packed lunch 4 days out of 5 (if they did yoghurts in packs of 5 I would aim higher). Need to buy some new work shirts and I really want to find a girlfriend - this just seems an endless car crash though.

Trying to be really good with my money and going back to spreadsheet budgeting, I decided I need to save £42k by September 2016 when my mortgage deal ends. Just £31k left to go!