Pinky's Mortgage Free Mission!

Pinky15

Hi all after spending a long time on the debt free wannabe forum I have finally cleared our credit card, loan and car loan woo hoo!
I am mummy to 3 little ones and have a DH who works full time.
We would like to move in the next few years so felt the extra money we saved on paying debt could help towards getting the mortgage down and saving for moving costs - stamp duty etc.
At the moment we are fixed 5 yrs on a 4.1% our mortgage stands at £53500 ish. We have just upped our payments to the full 20% allowed without penalty. If we move we can also port our mortgage with no ERC.
So that's all so far next step is to look for a savings account to start putting any extra bits of cash in and of course try and stay debt free:D

Anna_Glypta

Well done on getting rid of the debt and good luck for your next challenge.

We are also looking for a good savings account to use to save the extra cash for our next mortgage overpayment. We don't want to lock money in long term so that we can make another capital repayment on the mortgage as soon as it's financially viable.

Time to start searching the boards for me I think!

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Pinky, well done on clearing your debt. If paying the 20% is less than you were paying on your debt busting, is there a chance the mortgage provider would allow you to reduce your term? Abouttimetoo and FinancialBliss would both recommend that, I think.

I did this when I was with the Spanish bank and that was the beginning of my OP steps.

Best of luck, Tilly

Pinky15

Hi there and thanks for popping by! Yep am sooo pleased all the debt has gone so I can start focusing on something else for a change.
Tilly re- mortgage - how does that work then we currently have 11 yrs left and with the over-payments it just shows a saving in interest - sorry I am still getting my head around all this.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Some mortgage providers will allow you to reduce the term itself. So let's assume it is 15 years, if they 'allowed' you to reduce it to say 12 years, would that mean you would be paying the same as the current mortgage payment and the 20% Op per month? This would then enable you to OP as well, if and when you had the funds available.

Bear in mind I am not suggesting you do this, just putting it up as an option to consider

Best wishes, Tilly

abouttimetoo

Hi Pinky, welcome to the board and very well done on clearing your debts

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Hi Pinky, well done on clearing your debt. If paying the 20% is less than you were paying on your debt busting, is there a chance the mortgage provider would allow you to reduce your term? Abouttimetoo and FinancialBliss would both recommend that, I think.

I did this when I was with the Spanish bank and that was the beginning of my OP steps.

Best of luck, Tilly

Ooh, lol Tilly, you've got me in exalted company there with FB :rotfl:

Pinky, if you can afford to OP more than the 20% restriction you currently have then reducing the term is also something for you to consider. I can see Tilly has explained above so I won't say anymore until you reply as it may be that currently you can't afford to pay more than the 20%

Very best wishes with the next stage of your plans

Regards
ATT

Pinky15

Hi abouttime - Yep see what you guys are saying - we are £250 up from having no debt plus DH has got a £110 per month payrise. £92 is the maximum overpayment, at 20%.
However we also want to bump our savings up to £3000 in the ISA and then £1500 for stamp duty. Once I have met these targets then I will certainly give mortgage provider a ring re - term. Will the ERC charge be payable on this I wonder?
So i will set up my sig to show our targets and look at shortening the term also as a next step.
Today I have looked at some savings accounts and will def be moving DH ISA due to a rubbish interest rate. Tried to phone Hali**x today but was told wait was 20 mins!:eek: On an 0845 number - i dont think so....
Anyway I think I will pop in and have a chat about my options as I also want to move the kids money out of some rubbish interest accounts - I may open a Junior ISA and put the money in that - at least it will hopefully make some extra for them at the mo its just sitting not earning anything. I also have a small amount in an ISA which I will keep going if the rate stays the same. So hopefully that's that taken care of for the moment.

Pinky15

Morning all! Well have phoned mortgage company and payments are now at full 20% this will save me around an additional £3200 in interest - (will check when documents come). I will also have a think about reducing term once my savings pot is back up again.
Have inquired about an ISA which I am going to open online tonight with DH.
We have done an updated SOA which with overtime next month shows a healthy surplus. DH is going to also up his pension this week.
Have sorted a pile for ebay any money which I make I am going to put towards kids uniform bits eg name tags ready for September, stationary.
I have managed to get a little bit more overtime at work so am going to put the extra away for day trips, ice-creams etc in the summer hols - as stuff like this usually costs a fortune:D

Pinky15

Well today I got my statements and projected savings from mortgage company. Including money I am saving after I bought out of my fixed rates and ongoing 20% payments I will save £4672 in interest over remaining term of the mortgage.:j
Once I have met our savings target I am going to ring up and perhaps get some quotes on reducing the term also.
Managed to get an ISA sorted. Am £65 in credit with electric so am going to leave that towards this years bill.
Have sorted a few more bits for ebay which I need to get motivated to photograph and put on.:D
Hope everyones ok!

curlygirl1971

A huge well done in becoming debt-free, a fantastic achievement. Also welcome to the MFW board it's great that you're ploughing on when I bet there is often a temptation to relax and even treat yourselves. Continue to fight the good fight!

Sepa74

Hi Pinky, welcome to the MFW board! Congratulations on becoming debt free - it must be such a weight off your back.

Reading your posts, my only comment is £3000 enough for an emergency fund? Most people would recommend 3 - 6 months of outgoings, to give your DH a nice big buffer if he loses his job - although given he just got such a great payrise, that is probably unlikely!

Just a thought