My bid to bust that mortgage

Pennypincher2

Just about to send off my £150 to the building society, really really pleased with myself. Must keep pulling reigns in tight to another over pay end of March. Also need to sort out internet building soc banking so I can pay online You know £300 in two months seems already to add up....

Lois_E

Well done Pennypincher!

Harry_Boyle

Hi PP2! Good luck with your challenge!

Just a thought about your overpayments, a lot of lenders have a minimum OP level (often £500) and so if you make overpayments less than this, they just put them into a non-interest paying account until they build up. It's always worth checking with your lender to make sure your OPs go straight onto the mortgage. If not, you're better off putting your OPs into a savings account and getting a bit of interest.

Pennypincher2

Absolutely broke, pay day tomorrow... My lot over paid me two month in a row which I didn't spend but I owe them £250 that will be taken over next two months - phewie. I will try not to move back out my savings but it will be tight. And I want to over pay £150 each month.
Sarnies today. I shall keep you and me posted ....

Pennypincher2

Having sat in bed and read some diaries I feel I really need to up my game.

However for an update, my firm didn't manage to take the overpay from my salary! So that is £250 about that looms to be taken!!!

I increase my hours to full time in April. I am not spending my wtc this month as I am worried they will take it back and from April will lose it all as I am now full time 37.5 hours so trying to adjust to not having it!

I remain debt free except mortgage. One bug bare is that to get ex out of house we (he and I) took out a loan on the mortgage and I (not he) will paying that off till I am an old lady - it has the highest interest rate of all my mortgage assortment at about 4.59% and am paying that off first as it feels like a shackle round my neck. I think this will be gone in the next 3 years if continue to overpay in 25 years if I don't, then obviously the £150 over pay and £38 actual debt cost will move to pay off my next highest interest part of mortgage.

Since then I have borrowed more on my mortgage to buy ex out of house, as I may have said. This was because I couldn't face moving and I knew he would stop paying his half of mortgage and leave me in a fine pickle. This mortgage part doesn't feel so bad to me, but just like I had to do.

So outgoings along side overpaying mortgage-

I need to apply for a divorce as two years separated 1st June 2013, this will also cost money. But needs to be done cos....

1. Husband and I split cos he came out (Diana Ross stylee), after 20 years together. No one is apparently surprised, not even my Mother! I am happy to report lots of people think he is brave to finally address his needs and wants. Well no one is surprised except me I guess. Still a little pi**ed of - I think I am allowed to be, this doesn't mean I am homophobic or anything just pi**ed off to be left holding all the responsibilities financial, emotional and physical for my family when I kind of went in for conventional family me haing 10 year old twins and all!

2. I have met a nice man, a really nice man. But to move my life along I need to no longer be married to another I think. So watch this space.

So back to the mortgage thingy.

I have overpaid £150 this month, sent my snail mail using my last stamp.

Have a few nippers on my tail - £250 overpay which will be taken from salary.

Losing WTC - all or not, not sure it is worth while financially to work full time but hey hoo (also worried that if nice man stays I will be in trouble with WTC or council tax people so avoiding this sort of business!).

Need to reduce food shopping bill as creeping up.

I need to address fitness and diet - have a S W book and would like to do diet at home on own rather than paying and joining club - anyone to join me?

Need to do exercise - start walking more.

Not sure can cope with full time work but temporary contract till January so will review later in year.

Need to buy car September or lease from NHS if available/cost effective.

That is it, lots of needs to do. But have assimilated £150 overpay into consciousness as a I now do and I need to ramp up and do more

Life challenging but better than a year ago and therefore good xxx Happy Spring everyone. (oh tom and aubergine plants growing in lounge from seed and all!! get me eh)

if_at_first...

Hi there :wave:

I would ilke to take you up on that offer of joining you on the diet. I am also MFW, about to get divorced too and in need of a life-style change myself. I don't really want to join a gym either - I find all those gym bunnies quite intimidating

Pennypincher2

Hello, well I must say slightly alarmed that I earnt £2500 more than I had predicted to wtc. This is because every time someone said, can you? I said yes and I kept creeping my hours up. Need to phone through actual figures once P60 has arrived - dreading the repayment amount think it is going to be loads!!! Contract for 37.5 hours finishes in December then back to 35hrs again which I would rather (but want the money!), I would rather 30 hrs actually (4 days a week). Am on second read through of the Secret. Trying to think that I have loads of time to get job done so less stressed. Feeling rather anxious and stressed at work this week that is why doing it.

Really would like to be rich and not work so hard. Finding my life a bit tough. Would like to be looked after a bit and not so dam independent, blame my Mother for this actually, not in a terrible way but when I am exhausted from working and paying the mortgage and the kids etc I think why could I not have just met a nice man who wanted a house wife, mother and lover. There we are I know, I know very lucky can earn a living so when husband left it wasn't the end of the world, have got nice job which pays alright ish, have two fab kids, have my health (physical and mental - just!!!!)

Managed to write a chq out for £150 over pay this month which is fab. Doing well. Not enough though. I am thinking of £150 as normal mortgage now and anything extra as proper overpay but not true just being silly and putting too much pressure on myself. Nothing extra but have overpaid (inc this one) £600 this year ! It does add up quickly.

The main budgeting problem I am having is food shopping. I have a budget but food is so expensive. I cook from scratch, plan write lists etc but still I am spending too much on food. I don't waste any food, I just find it enormously expensive. I am going to the market this week for fruit and veg. Shop in L#dls every other week but spent £140 there last week - can you imagine it. Ashamed of myself. Stretching last weeks shopping and will root round freezer and plan plan plan. off now, sorry for being miserable cow.

stedwell

Hi PP2.
You're not being a MC! I think you are doing amazingly well!!
I completely sympathize with the shopping. No matter how much I meal plan and budget I still seem to spend an absolute fortune.

Also independence is a good thing! When anyone asks me what I want for my two daughters I always say I want them to be independent both in mind and finances! Believe me I have many female friends who are rich house wives but not necessarily happy.

hang on in there!

Pennypincher2

Thank you for being kind, I was having a bit of a misog morning.

Made some decisions, am considering going back to 4 days a week, can do it all on a tighter budget (on paper). However contract runs till December so time to settle down and change mind and change mind. Telling myself I can reduce makes me feel more powerful (rubbish cos I have to work and work hard nil power what so ever like everyone else in the land) point of paying the mortgage off earlier. Empowerment of the little people, enslaved by mortgage.

Have a lovely bank hol weekend. I am about to have home made pork spare ribs made with out of date treacle and other bits. yum and do some hanging baskets on the cheap this weekend, two loads of washing done and a school day, woo hoo.

Bye xxx

Pennypincher2

Still managing the £150 per month, also tried the internet out by sending £5.00 electronically and it worked. One Tillys tidy as well. so an extra £17.12 I think.

Exhusband trouble which could impact financially,

1) her has been suspended from work - hope he doesn't loss job cos of my requirement for him to support the children financially

2) We have been two years separated since he came 'out' and he is not sure he will grant me a divorce, he likes just being 'naturally separated', well I have paid for it, the whole thing and if he refuses to sign I am going to get a different lawyer and go for unreasonable behaviour as grounds and get the lawyer to get him to pay for the whole bally lot. I wanted to avoid this cos it will be expensive and nasty but I will so watch this space.

3) Decision made need to work full time due to unpredictability of ex husband impacting on my financial world. Also have just enrolled son to a tutor to help with hand writing and literacy pre year 6.... And Taekwondo to try to build confidence.... So it is all all about the boy and all expensive. But it wont last forever and in this house the boy child needs some investment at present. Girl child super duper at mo but her time will come.

That is it from me for May. Off to Italy Sunday morning on a budget escape. By the end of this year all my savings will have dwindled from a divorce and from little saucy holidays but my over pays will still have been done and I will be putting pennies back into savings as fast as I can!!

Enjoy lovely weather this weekend xxx