Throwing My Hat in The Ring

Iced_Bun

Good Afternoon All

Have spent a couple of weeks reading and absorbing as much information as possible from this thread and finally decided to throw my hat into the ring and make my challenge a real one.

So I had a mortgage of £35,000 with 9 years to run which I have recently down paid by £10,000 so now sitting at £25,000.

The ten grand was a payout from an endowment I started 25 years ago dreadful return but at least I feel I have done something positive with it after all those years.
It was actually 15,000 but I have decided I also want some work done in my bathrooms so I will use the £5K for that.

So I am now left with 25K - the mortgage company reduced my payment after the 10K was deposited but I have requested it stays the same with a bit extra so now at £350 per month. I am extremely fortunate to have a tracker mortgage rate of only 0.68% so most of the payments will pay down the total. So the question is it wise to start the journey or should I just keep this mortgage at the ridiculously low rate it is and save money elsewhere?

I am 47 and have £400 on an interest free card which I am paying off at £200 so will be gone by the end of March and a car loan for 157.00 per month for another 2 years. So as you see no massive need to focus on debt but I do only have about 6 months wage cover and as its just me wonder if I should increase this?

Havent really set any target date to pay off yet I will work on that when I get everyones thoughts on my situation

Thank you and wish everyone on the same journey good luck

elantan

your situation looks good to me, have you thought about ways that you want to pay off quicker? the small things that will add up over time?

Iced_Bun

elantan wrote: »

your situation looks good to me, have you thought about ways that you want to pay off quicker? the small things that will add up over time?

Thank you for responding elantan. yes lots but I am also conscious of becoming too obsessed.

My initial thoughts have been to save to a certain level in my online account and when that gets to certain level to make another overpayment with the rest. I can also cut down on little things day to day which I know can add up and keep adding these to the savings to help the 1st objective

I do not want to live too frugally to achieve this but for the first time since buying my 1st home I can see an end point.
I am on a good salary but I do know that nothing is forever so the savings do need to be there.

Baby steps at the moment for me but I am getting more and more excited about finally owning this ball and chain

Lois_E

Hi Iced Bun and welcome to MFW. :wave:

Since your mortgage is at such low interest, you'll be better off taking the money you'd like to OP and saving it somewhere where it'll earn more interest. If you want to feel you're getting rid of your mortgage, then why not open an account specially for virtual mortgage OPs and put the money in there? Then if your mortgage rate rises at some point in the future, you can just take the money out of the account and pay off the mortgage.

Of course, if your mortgage comes with hefty penalties for OPing more than a certain amount, then that might change your strategy, or if you think you'd be tempted to blow the money on something else. Everyone's circumstances are different, so you'll have to decide what's best for you.

You'll see that in my sig I quote my mortgage amount, but I also quote "mortgage minus ISA". My ISA's getting higher interest than I'm paying on my mortgage, and it's also my emergency fund in case anything unforeseen happens, and TBH it's my car fund too because eventually my car will need replacing (don't they all) and when it does, that's how I'll be paying for its replacement.

Hope that gives you some ideas. Enjoy the companionship of this board full of fellow-travellers, anyway.

Iced_Bun

Lois_E wrote: »

Hi Iced Bun and welcome to MFW. :wave:

Since your mortgage is at such low interest, you'll be better off taking the money you'd like to OP and saving it somewhere where it'll earn more interest. If you want to feel you're getting rid of your mortgage, then why not open an account specially for virtual mortgage OPs and put the money in there? Then if your mortgage rate rises at some point in the future, you can just take the money out of the account and pay off the mortgage.

Of course, if your mortgage comes with hefty penalties for OPing more than a certain amount, then that might change your strategy, or if you think you'd be tempted to blow the money on something else. Everyone's circumstances are different, so you'll have to decide what's best for you.

You'll see that in my sig I quote my mortgage amount, but I also quote "mortgage minus ISA". My ISA's getting higher interest than I'm paying on my mortgage, and it's also my emergency fund in case anything unforeseen happens, and TBH it's my car fund too because eventually my car will need replacing (don't they all) and when it does, that's how I'll be paying for its replacement.

Hope that gives you some ideas. Enjoy the companionship of this board full of fellow-travellers, anyway.

Thank you for that Lois that is an interesting view I had hadn't considered.

No penalty for overpayment - it really is a dream deal at the moment although of course when i took it out the tracker rate was significantly higher and I am very mindful that this interest rate is unlikely to last too long.

and there in lies the dilemma - if I dont pay down now and in the next year or so it may go sky high again

Yes I see the car as an ongoing expense - I need a reliable and newish car for the milage I do each year so saving there is probably not an option.

Like your idea of a virtual account. I will look into setting another account up online

Thank you again my mind is now buzzing:)

elantan

there are so many ways you can tackle this goal, being frugal wouldnt work for me either, but i am enjoying a few wee challenges that i know will make the difference in the long run, its just a case of finding what suits you, keep posting others will pop by and give you other ideas, some of which you may like and others you may choose to pass on

good luck with it all

Iced_Bun

elantan wrote: »

there are so many ways you can tackle this goal, being frugal wouldnt work for me either, but i am enjoying a few wee challenges that i know will make the difference in the long run, its just a case of finding what suits you, keep posting others will pop by and give you other ideas, some of which you may like and others you may choose to pass on

good luck with it all

Thank you again for you kind posts.

I will be using this thread to track my success and my even one day work out how to put a signature in


Can I ask what challenges you do Elantan? would be good to see what I could join with

elantan

i tend to stick to very few to be honest as i get lost with them all lol

but the mfw 2013 thread is a great thread to see progress, you basucally make a plan then post each month as to how you are getting on .. i am trying to pay £2k off my mortgage this year, i'm doing not too bad so far as i have managed £350 this month alone

i also do Tilly tidies, this is where any pennies in my bank accounts get transferred over ( you could put them into a savings account) say you pay your t.v licence by direct debti it comes to £12.12 you would Tilly tidy the 88p over to make it up to £13 basically keeping your accounts with an even number, this for me helps me stay focussed as i check my accounts every day to do any tidy ups it also doesnt break the bank paying them becuase its always less than £1 .. i tend to now by things with a debit card as well so that i dont lift £40 from the atm and only need £35 so spend £5 on junk .. if i spent the £34.50 i Tilly tidy the other 50p over if you see what i mean?

i also do what i call sugar shuffles, this is a kinda addition to the mfw packed lunch thread only i already take packed lunches to work as i work nights and cant get out to spend money anyway... however i am addicted to sugar and on my way to work at night can often be in the shop buying chocolate or haribo sweeties to get me through the night shift ( i need the energy) i have started to pay £1 every shift that i do where i dont go to the shop before work it gives me a few things to do this, i will be healthier and not eat sugar, i will be feeling like i am paying something even if its small off of my debt and i will have thos feelings of satisfaction seeing my debt reduce

i started off just on the shifts i work but have started to incorporate it into any day i dont buy sugar type things, it seems to help me deal with my addiction a bit

as i say there are many many more going about and it really is up to you what suits you ... some save 20p's £2 coins etc some do surverys to have a cost free xmas ... the list is endless ...

do you have anything you fancy trying ?

Iced_Bun

elantan wrote: »

i tend to stick to very few to be honest as i get lost with them all lol

but the mfw 2013 thread is a great thread to see progress, you basucally make a plan then post each month as to how you are getting on .. i am trying to pay £2k off my mortgage this year, i'm doing not too bad so far as i have managed £350 this month alone

i also do Tilly tidies, this is where any pennies in my bank accounts get transferred over ( you could put them into a savings account) say you pay your t.v licence by direct debti it comes to £12.12 you would Tilly tidy the 88p over to make it up to £13 basically keeping your accounts with an even number, this for me helps me stay focussed as i check my accounts every day to do any tidy ups it also doesnt break the bank paying them becuase its always less than £1 .. i tend to now by things with a debit card as well so that i dont lift £40 from the atm and only need £35 so spend £5 on junk .. if i spent the £34.50 i Tilly tidy the other 50p over if you see what i mean?

i also do what i call sugar shuffles, this is a kinda addition to the mfw packed lunch thread only i already take packed lunches to work as i work nights and cant get out to spend money anyway... however i am addicted to sugar and on my way to work at night can often be in the shop buying chocolate or haribo sweeties to get me through the night shift ( i need the energy) i have started to pay £1 every shift that i do where i dont go to the shop before work it gives me a few things to do this, i will be healthier and not eat sugar, i will be feeling like i am paying something even if its small off of my debt and i will have thos feelings of satisfaction seeing my debt reduce

i started off just on the shifts i work but have started to incorporate it into any day i dont buy sugar type things, it seems to help me deal with my addiction a bit

as i say there are many many more going about and it really is up to you what suits you ... some save 20p's £2 coins etc some do surverys to have a cost free xmas ... the list is endless ...

do you have anything you fancy trying ?

I will have a good read through and see what would work for me. I am sure I could do a food challenge as like you I am often buying lunch or snacks when Im hungry and that means a lot of extras going in - yum yums were todays extra

I know for certain I could save on some of my 'bad' habits too and have made a vow to give at least one of them up very soon (smoking :o) I think the big thing for me for me is to set clear budgets the day I get paid and load the rest in the savings. I hate transferring money back into my current account so I think that would make me make it last. A good friend of mine always says pay yourself first and thats what I am going to start doing.

No time to do much else income wise sadly long hours and the rest but it may push me to do something about my stagnant wage at work at some point too

Phew lots in my head and I am so glad I have joined the world of MSE

bbh30

Im quite new to this MFW board and Ive really been focusing on eating cheaply (and healthily!) and have found that much of the time, it is down to being organised. So if you know you are going to want to eat something when you are out- just pack something in your bag- that way at least you wont be paying for it!

Smoking is hard to give up, Ive spent much of my life stopping and starting smoking on and off. I recently gave up as part of the "stoptober" challenge in october and thankfully havn't had one since. I actually dont think about it at all anymore but I do remember the first few days were quite hard and I went to the gym every day to try and curb the cravings! One thing I found helped me was to think that smokers are just trying to recreate the sensation of being a non smoker. In other words- non smokers never crave cigarettes and feel normal without a cigarette. Smokers want to feel normal and the only way they can feel normal is by having a cigarette. So by being a smoker- you are essentially trying to be a non smoker! (might not make sense to you but helped me through those first few days!!)

elantan

paying yourself first is a very good thing to do .. maybe you can think of a challenge that will involve you giving up smoking ?

how are you at budgetting?