Where to put the extra cash..?

cb4fwh

Another month, and another overpayment. Next month will take me below £175,000, so looking forward to that! In terms of my additional monthly savings, things are a little unclear at the moment due to wedding costs, honeymoon etc. as I am getting married in a few weeks. Not the end of the world - I consider myself extremely fortunate to even be in a position where I don't have to borrow to pay for these, but it will mean that I will behind target - the only question is how much! Anyway, all should be clear again in a couple of months...

Only 4 months or so now until I can finally remortgage and get off this 4.79% 5 year fixed product. Need to start giving some real consideration to whether I go down a new 5 year fixed product, or offset route...

cb4fwh

Another month, and another overpayment. This month has taken me below £175,000, and still on target for just under £171,000 by year end.

The good news is that I got married over the past month. The bad news is that the bills have come in & weddings apparently cost alot of money! So much so, that I think that the majority of the additional money that I had put aside for January overpayments may be no more! Anyway, I should have a clearer picture on this by next month.

Only 3 months or so now until I can finally remortgage!

cb4fwh

Another month, and another overpayment. This month has taken me below £173,000, and on target for just under £171,000 by year end.

Still not paid off all my wedding bills, but should be clear on my financial position this time next month.

Only 2 months or so now until I can finally remortgage!

cb4fwh

Ok, 2013 is pretty much over & my target of just under £171,000 was achieved!

Wedding bills have all been paid, which is great news as well.

I've decided to book all my luxuries (holidays) for 2014 well in advance, the theory being that they are paid for and there should be no further extravagant outgoings during the remainder of 2014. I'm doing this as we speak, and by next months update I should be clear on my current financial position & hopefully what the savings pot for a one-off payment in January 2014 may look like.

My target without any one-off payments for December 2014 is £146,064.57. This assumes that I can shift my current 4.79% fixed deal to a 2.99% five-year fix in April 2014.

I thought that I would be able to switch this deal sooner. My Santander mortgage states that I can switch onto a new fixed product 4 months before the end of my existing one. As I took mine out in June 2009, I thought that I could switch in February. However, the actual mortgage documentation states that the product ends 30/08/2014, so it looks as though I may have a couple more months on this 4.79% rate than I had hoped...

Happy xmas everyone & I hope that 2013 has given you what you hoped for!

cb4fwh

Ok,

So a new year! December saw sorting out my extravagant spends (holidays) for 2014, and things are looking clearer financially for this year.

My current balance is now under £170,000 for the first time at £169,053.08.

My 2014 plan is to get my mortgage balance down to approximately £147,000 by December 2014 through standard mortgage payments & monthly overpayments, and down to approximately £131,500 by January 2015 through an annual overpayment in that month.

So wish me luck, and I hope that you all achieve your 2014 targets!

cb4fwh

Ok, holiday bills have all been paid. I also decided that it was about time to renew the bathroom. I'll do all the work myself, but I've still spent close on £2,000 on bathroom suite, shower, taps, tiles, flooring etc.

The bad news is that the bank is pretty much empty. The good news is that I've got all of the big costs out of the way for 2014 (hopefully!)

Santander 5 year fixed rate 60% LTV is nudging up, so fingers crossed that it doesn't move too much before the end of April!

My balance is now just above £167,000.

The bad news is that I am a short term IT contractor, and it looks as though I will be looking for a new contract at the start of April. Not the end of the world, but with a holiday already planned am likely to be without an income for a couple of months. I'll be battening down the hatches between now and then in order that I have a bit of money to tide me over. Hopefully shouldn't affect my overpayments, but we will see...

Good luck everyone.

cb4fwh

So, my contract did end - unfortunately for me a month earlier than expected!

My project was cancelled - I could've played hard ball & just sat behind my desk earning money doing nothing, but there is the distinct possibility that this client will ask me to return in a few months so I've agreed to terminate my contract early.

The bad news is that, trying to be clever, I booked a holiday in for the end of my contract. I'm now the in the position where I'm unlikely to obtain work in the short term due to having a 2.5 week holiday in the middle of April. Unless I can find a really flexible client, I may be out of work for at least 8-10 weeks.

So, it has been a good run (this is my first period 'out of work' since 2010), but the hatches have now been battened down & it looks like I'll finally get around to prettying up the allotment at the end of the garden, and finishing the bathroom.

The bad news is that I've temporarily cancelled my monthly overpayments. Not nice looking at the figures this month, but one of those things...

cb4fwh

So I'm still out of work, but the time off has allowed me to get a lot of the odd jobs done on my list as well as refit the bathroom.

This finally meant that I could get the house valued, and it has come in at a rather pleasing £425k, at least £30k more than I thought.

I'm off on holiday in a couple of days, and will reflect on my options but it looks like I will finish the last couple of jobs when I get back then put this house on the market to hopefully sell after the time that my fixed mortgage ends in August.

My dream is to build my own eco home. The difficulty is finding a plot of land, and being able to move quickly if one came up. So, the likelihood is that I will buy a smaller house to live in whilst searching for land - a doer upper that I can work on with a view to letting out once I've built my eco home.

I will retain a similar mortgage on the new property, with a view to having as much cash in the bank for the land & eco home.

How a few weeks out of the rat race can change perspectives & circumstances!

cb4fwh

So I've had a nice long holiday, and am now back to Blighty & interviews!

Just off the phone to Santander - switched to the BofE BR+1.99% lifetime tracker - will give me full flexibility to make unlimited overpayments. Well, as soon as I get a job that is!

cb4fwh

So I'm back in work. Not the most exciting job in the world, but only 25 minutes away from home so mustn't grumble!

The last big job of block paving the drive is booked in for a week on Monday, and I can then put the house on the market!

I may have also found a plot of land! I'm not getting too excited though until the legal pack is available for review, as the guide price seems far too cheap...

My mortgage switches over to the BofE BR+1.99% lifetime tracker as of the 1st September. I'm looking forward to the cost savings that this will bring!