Welsh Mam on a mortgage free mission

cardiffmatch

Good luck Cariad! We are also just getting back on the MFW wagon after a pause, so I will follow your diary with interest. In fact, I'm here today to try and track down my old diary and undertake a good audit of where we are with all our accounts. I think our mortgage is a little bigger than yours, although our overpayment targets are similar.

It's a grey day here in Cardiff - warship grey I'm calling it, in honour of the astounding display of military and police muscle in and around the Bay at the moment.

We don't have an emergency fund as such, but our 'overpayments' are offset; like you, in the absence of any debt we have not yet had any major emergencies although I like the security of knowing that if either of us was made redundant we have a safety cushion financially.

Cariad71

Just worked out daily interest £14,94😱. But as our tenants pay enough to cover the interest only part of the mortgage I guess effectively we've bought the new house 'interest free'?😉

Had another letter today from Post Office/Bank of Ireland.....they're changing our payment date 'as requested'. We made no such request!

This month I have £1500 ear marked to overpay but have to stash it until said bank sorts out the fixed rate deal.....Nov 1 st.

Weather's stunning so yay for the gas bill👍
Ok...best go and sort sarnies for tomorrow's lunch boxes.
Hope you've all had a low spend day😃

Cariad71

Hello all,
What is a realistic grocery budget for a family of 4 and 3 cats?
Kids are 14 and 16 so eat like adults. How much should I aim for a week?
By groceries I also mean toiletries/ cleaning products etc

Cariad71

Anyone got any suggestions? Seems like an ideal way to make money go further.

Cariad71

Morning All, we had a mortgage offer today from Bank of Ireland.... Fixed rate for 4 years at 3.29%. They've also reduced our term to 12 years (it's interest only) so that should motivate us to overpay.
The plan is to overpay £1000 minimum every month. This should be do-able. We'll see!
The house is nearly complete now so spending on that will slow.
We're still planning on having holidays so let's see how it pans out.
I can't overpay now until after Nov 1st....or it will delay the transfer but I'm planning to start as soon as the new mortgage starts (Nov 1st).
Loan to value is now 67% so equity in this house is building up. ��

Busy_Mee

I have been trying to get my weekly shopping bill down and 4 of us (all adults) and DDs boyfriend who spends every other day at our house I have managed to get it down to £75-80 per week. We were spending a whopping £130-150. This has largely been down to switching from S@ainsbugs to Ald@ and being a bit more mindful about what we are buying. I want to reduce it further but think that might be a step to far for DH and the kids...so am trying to do it by stealth now !

Cariad71

Thanks Busy Mee. I'm going to aim for £85....the cats cost at least a fiver!
I was spending £100 or more....and still popping out for bits....which then equate to £20!
I love Aldi and I'm also finding internet shopping great because it helps with budgeting. I can see exactly how much I'm spending. Also Tesco send me vouchers all the time, delivery is £1/£2 so it's not worth going to the shops.
I'm starting to meal plan....less waste and the kids like the 'weekly menu' that I'm sticking on the fridge.
Thanks for replying....I was beginning yo think no one can see my posts:)

Cariad71

Well we decided to stop overpaying til the new year and tart up the kitchen. We've gone for a fifties theme, really retro. Looking lovely so far. You've just got to get the balance right between save and spend.

Technically we don't have a mortgage as property one is now valued at £195,000 by Zoopla.

So.....the Bank of Ireland mortgage is now all sorted....and we've changed the term from 20 to 12 years to give ourselves a kick up the proverbial:rotfl:

The plan for next year is to overpay £1000 EVERY month. I've also budgeted for a holiday. I'm going to post my success (or lack of) on the last day of each month as a motivator.

And the good news is that the LTV on our current house is 66%.

Feeling really motivated for 2015!:)

Cariad71

Bank of Ireland promised to reimburse the difference we paid by going onto SVR as a result of their failure to process the overpayment. Three phone calls later and they still haven't reimbursed us. Funny how they can manage to take money out on time but not put it in Grrr!

Did a Lidl shop today.... So much cheaper than the leading supermarkets (even though I do find the manic ness of the checkout all a bit frantic)!

I've budgeted for Christmas so all I need to do now is stick to it.....
Kitchen nearly finished....just waiting on a few bits and bobs now.

Oh well, the weather has turned very cold. I'm trying to be more mindful with the heating.....it's so easy to just knock it on and forget about it. kids! Put your hoodies on haha

Cariad71

Hi everyone, hope you've all had a good weekend. Well I'm turning into a grumpy old lady! I've had to complain about lots of things lately.....but it's been worth it.

1.To Bank of Ireland for having to phone repeatedly...result. They paid the money they owed plus £25 because of the amount of phone calls id made.

2. To EE... I changed from Orange to get a better deal.....then they moved my direct debit to a different date resulting in bank charges. So I complained and they've refunded me £20.

3. To Ebay, sofa and juke box not delivered on time/ me having to wait in....result.....£50 off sofa and £57 off juke box.

I'm not normally one to complain....but it certainly pays:j

Kitchen is all retrofied and looking lush. We've had some unexpected maintenance on the old house, but nothing too steep.

So roll on Christmas and the £1000 a month over payments!