Southernman's steps to freedom!

Southernman

£1500 overpaid. £1000 from my dad, £400 from a cheque and £100 from my own savings. Such a nice feeling.

I'm actually walking around the house feeling a bit lighter just knowing a few extra bricks are now mine. It feels amazing. This is my first big lump sum overpayment. It's always been a few hundred at most. I might ring my dad later and say how happy it's made me feel!

A very rough overpayment calculator is saying this:-

Overpaying will save you
£2,733 in interest alone,
and mean you pay it off in full
0 years and 9 months earlier.

based on £1500.

I feel like Kate Middleton right now!

I also paid £40 to my credit card, it stands at about £50 now. As i'm away in August for two weeks and euros have already been bought, my next pay month will be very inexpensive indeed. Possibly meaning i'll be able to overpay largely again. We shall see.

megela

Southernman wrote: »

Cashed £25 in Natwest over the counter today. All my 10ps etc. Irritatingly it didn't go in automatically like it does usually. Not sure if it's because of the Natwest disaster of recent times. I have a receipt though but my beady eye will be watching that. It's annoying because it was just going on the mortgage but i can't even overpay :mad: My cheque will also probably be delayed.

I paid in £1300 in cash to Natwest on Friday expecting it to show immediately - worryingly that took until today to show!!! 5 days - I was starting to panic.:mad:

Southernman

i work for Natwest!! Don't even get me started on all the issues i've had to deal with the last two weeks!

Worked a 50 hour week last week and i'm onto the same this week!

sweetdaisy

Congratulations on the overpayment :T.

Georges_Mum

Good luck Southernman, wish I had understood finance at your age!!
Will watch with interest (and learn as much as possible!!)

Southernman

Well i got a letter in the post from Natwest today. Thanks to my large lump sum overpayment my mortgage has reduced by £15 a month. As i have no plan to reduce my monthly repayment it means that i pay £90 automatic overpayment compared to £75 each month now!

Now my question is, should i overpay in lump sums in future or keep as i am in dribs and drabs? Does it make a difference if the mortgage is fixed or svr etc? Opinions?

Lois_E

Hi Southernman.

I've been away from MFW for a while (fell off the wagon ) but back on now and catching up on the people who've joined since I was last here. Just wanted to say hi and welcome, and nice to meet another long-hauler. (My diary is here, if you're interested.)

Southernman wrote: »

Unlike what my username suggests, i am actually a girl!

I was wondering about that, because of this...

Southernman wrote: »

On another note, i have been holiday clothes shopping today and spent 30 minutes in what i thought was H and M only to buy a summer dress, walk out with a bright yellow bag and think it was a bit odd that it said Republic on it...H and M was next door!:D

Although obviously men who wear summer dresses on holiday would be very welcome here too.

Southernman

Nice to meet you Lois!

I think i took that username to confuse! Alas my overly girly side has taken over in posts!! It just can't be helped!

On another note i rang up Natwest at the weekend to increase my mortgage automatic overpayment by £10. Doesn't sound a lot but it means my total monthly overpayment would be £100. Something i didn't think i'd ever be able to afford to do when i first started out on my MFJOURNEY.

Now what i do need to invest in is a good fridge/freezer. The one i have came with the flat when i bought it and i have a feeling it's the original one from when my flats were built back in 2003...

It's not great and has a habit of freezing at the back of the fridge and no matter what i do it just won't go away! The freezer is fine but it's quite small. There are only two of us in my flat and it still feels too small! Everything is crammed and squished on a shelf, it's like Uni all over again!

I was in John Lewis in Liverpool this weekend and i was looking at them and it made me realise how disgustingly awful mine was! Although i don't need anything too fancy, the ones with an ice machine thing on the front were quite the novelty! I wonder if it's worth treating myself when August's bonus comes in...i would still be overpaying £400 regardless...

How much is a reasonable amount for a fridge/freezer and is £800 too much? My mum has already said she wants mine as a spare one in the garage of my parents house.

Southernman

Pay day today and what a shock i got!

Looks like a tax rebate for this tax year has come into effect! My wage was £300 higher than anticipated!

I've put £400 in savings including £290 into my easily accessible savings account to boost it back up to £500 (where i like it to be).

As i'm away for 2 weeks this month i won't be spending as much on day to day living so i'm hoping i'll have around £100 to throw at my mortgage by the end of it. So far overpaid £75. August is the biggy anyway where i get my bonus. This month was just a lovely surprise!

Have given my dad £75 for my holiday £75 in August too. Have paid off my credit card (£125) and still have plenty left!

*Jellie*

I'm also an old timer climbing back on the MFW wagon and catching up with diaries! I've had a good giggle reading yours and will try and keep up with your progress