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If at first you don't succeed...
if_at_first...
Posts: 157 Forumite
Hi there,
Have been trying to get my mortgage down for quite a while now - I have been very on/off about it. I had a period two years ago when I managed to pay an extra £3.000 pounds off it. So I am now going to give it another go.
I will be concentrating this year on sorting out three things:
1) my mortgage in the UK - I am living in Belgium at the moment and here I rent but i kept my flat as I want to return to the UK as soon as possible. I was presented with a job opportunity here I could not refuse. My flat is rented out and he just covers the mortgage
2) my health - all my issues are my own fault. I never drink water, live on junk food and have problems with hair loss. I also never do any sports any more. I have good genes I think as I never get "fat" but I am "skinny fat" I look thin with my clothes on but I have to hide my fat roles
3) my divorce - am on very good terms with my husband we are just not couple material (we also have no kids to upset with this decision). But the law here says you have to live seperately to get a divorce. I have somewhere I can go and live but it needs a lot of work. So I want to be able to move out ASAP and the start the divorce process.
Wow - can't wait to get started on that lot!!!:eek::eek::eek:
Will check my accounts tonight and see what my state of affairs looks like.
Have been trying to get my mortgage down for quite a while now - I have been very on/off about it. I had a period two years ago when I managed to pay an extra £3.000 pounds off it. So I am now going to give it another go.
I will be concentrating this year on sorting out three things:
1) my mortgage in the UK - I am living in Belgium at the moment and here I rent but i kept my flat as I want to return to the UK as soon as possible. I was presented with a job opportunity here I could not refuse. My flat is rented out and he just covers the mortgage
2) my health - all my issues are my own fault. I never drink water, live on junk food and have problems with hair loss. I also never do any sports any more. I have good genes I think as I never get "fat" but I am "skinny fat" I look thin with my clothes on but I have to hide my fat roles
3) my divorce - am on very good terms with my husband we are just not couple material (we also have no kids to upset with this decision). But the law here says you have to live seperately to get a divorce. I have somewhere I can go and live but it needs a lot of work. So I want to be able to move out ASAP and the start the divorce process.
Wow - can't wait to get started on that lot!!!:eek::eek::eek:
Will check my accounts tonight and see what my state of affairs looks like.
Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,000
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,000
0
Comments
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Gosh, that's quite a lot to take on! All the best as you make great strides in getting your house in order - but not just your house, but health and divorce.
If you are time busy, make soup and freeze it, and eat it 4 times a week. It will be good for you, cheap and very tasty! Loads of cheap ideas on this board!Feb 2012 - onwards MF achieved
September 2016 - Back into clearing a mortgage - Was due to be paid off in 32 years in March 2047 -
April 2018 down to 28.00 months vs 30.04 months at normal payment.
Predicted mortgage clearing 03/2047 - now looking at 02/2045
Aims: 1) To pay off mortgage within 20 years - 20370 -
Thank you original - somebody read my post. Wow:j
I love the litte sign next to my post telling people they have to be nice to me
Indeed one of my "resolutions" will be to cook all my own meals over time and soup is one of the few things I can make!
And congrats ib paying off your mortgage - you must be very proud of yourself!Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Well just went on to my nationwide online mortgage account - the site tells me the last time I logged on was 10/08/2012 :eek::eek::eek:
So my mortgage stands at £55.956 with 4% interest and a monthly payment of £386.73. I took the mortgage out in august 2008 for 25 years and now my total repayment date is 9/2029. Already shaved a few years off then!
The way my mortgage works is like this:
If I overpay £500 or less they take it off the monthly amount payable (at the start of my mortgage I was paying £525 so that has come down a bit too)
If I overpay more than £500 it takes time off.
Whatever I do I do not get charged for any overpayments after the first two years and I am at 5 years.
Ideally I would like to pay it off by the time I hit 40 - in 7 years time.
Will be checking the calculator to see what that means in terms of overpayments.
Bring it on Nationwide:D:D! Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Went on the calculator and it came to about £400/month - but for £600 a month it would be 5 years - very tempting to go for that but it also depends a bit on exchange rates - am being paid in €s. £600 would be quite a challenge but I might just make it? Will have to think about it - maybe use that as my target for a few months and if it turns out to be impossible will go back to my £400 goal.Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Have been reading some other threads (this morning and last night). WOW there is some great stuff on here. I have been thinking about challenges for the rest of the year and have come up with this list:
1) €100 spending money per month to spend as I please on whatever silly piece of tat that I simply "must have"
2) €75 per week as my food budget (that comes to about £50 - I know it sound like a lot but food is more expensive here and till now it has been €100 per week.
3) No more TV for the rest of the year - I will leave the TV behind when I move.
4) No online shopping for the rest of the year.
5) I will not buy any alcohol for the rest of the year (this does not mean I won't drink - just that I will not pay for it myself
)
6) I will carry on my sewing lessons and learn to make all my own clothes by the end of the year.
7) I will read top 50 of the BBC book list (including the 23 on there that I have read already as it has been a long time since I read them!) by the end of the year.
8) I will build up to 5 NSDs per week so will have to organise my shopping much better.
9) I will cook fresh meals starting from scratch three times a week till may - then I will build up to 4. Always cooking enough so I have leftovers for lunch the next day.
10) I will get my weight down to 56kg by the end of the year (am now at 64kg from 72kg at my all time high in September 2012).
11) I will get my body moving four times per week for a minimum of half an hour.
12) By the end of the year I will have overpaid £5.000 on my mortgage.
Ohh my! Feeling a little dizzy after writing all that down :eek:Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
The top 50 book list - I will cross them off as I read them:
[STRIKE]1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]2. Prideand Prejudice, Jane Austen[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]3. HisDark Materials, Philip Pullman[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]4. TheHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]5. HarryPotter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]6. ToKill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]7. Winniethe Pooh, AA Milne[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]8. NineteenEighty-Four, George Orwell[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE] 9. TheLion, the Witch [/STRIKE][STRIKE]and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]10. JaneEyre, Charlotte Brontë[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]11. Catch-22,Joseph Heller[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]12. WutheringHeights, Emily Brontë[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]13. Birdsong,Sebastian Faulks[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]14. Rebecca,Daphne du Maurier[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]15. TheCatcher in the Rye, JD Salinger[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]16. TheWind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]17. GreatExpectations, Charles Dickens[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]18. LittleWomen, Louisa May Alcott[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]19. CaptainCorelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]20. Warand Peace, Leo Tolstoy[/STRIKE]
21. Gonewith the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
[STRIKE]22. HarryPotter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]23. HarryPotter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]24. HarryPotter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]25. TheHobbit, JRR Tolkien[/STRIKE]
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
[STRIKE]28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving[/STRIKE]
29. TheGrapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
[STRIKE]30. Alice'sAdventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garc!aM!rquez[/STRIKE]
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
[STRIKE]34. DavidCopperfield, Charles Dickens[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]35. CharlieAnd The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]38. Persuasion, Jane Austen[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]39. Dune,Frank Herbert[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]40. Emma,Jane Austen[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]41. AnneOf Green Gables, LM Montgomery[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]42. Watership Down, Richard Adams[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]43. TheGreat Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald[/STRIKE]
44. TheCount Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
[STRIKE]45. BridesheadRevisited, Evelyn Waugh[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]46. AnimalFarm, George Orwell[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]47. AChristmas Carol, Charles Dickens [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]48. FarFrom The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]49. GoodnightMister Tom, Michelle Magorian[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher[/STRIKE]Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Started on my reading challenge last night - eased myself into it with a short one so I could get my first one crossed off!
So the Lion the witch and the Wardrobe is done (laughed till I cried at the part with Mr Tumnus and: Spare Oom in War Drobe". Wanted to read all the chronicles but with the other 49 books will not have time this year. Am now going for A Christmas Carol over the weekend (another short one I know) - but Anna Karenina keeps giving me the eye so she may be next.
Have checked and I have about 30 of the 50 books so I have a lot to be getting on with till I have to find a source for the other 20.
Just transferred €750 to the Uk - I'll see how many pounds that makes next week :jMortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Deconnected the TV over the weekend and my ex hid all the cables so in times of desperation I will not be able to turn the TV on. Therefore I managed to read A Christmas Carol, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. Have been cheating a litte by reading a bunch of short and easy ones first but if I get the total down a bit I will probably feel more motivated (only another 45 to go!).
Also saw my Grandmother on Sunday - have not seen her in a few weeks and she gave me €100 for my birthday :j
Wages will hopefuly be in by Thursday and then I will see what I have left after all bills come out.
I am going to do my best today for an NSD - will be the first in a long time as I am always buying a can of coke here and a mars bar there
Tomorrow I will have to do some shopping as there is not much food left- will write a shopping list and try and make a budgetMortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Managed an NSD day yesterday :j That is 1 out if the 12 I need.
Will be writing my spends down here so I can put myself to shame - am very bad with money and I am hoping that if I put it up here I will think twice before spending:
1/04: €15 (food for one meal only!!!)
2/04: NSD :T
3/04: €5.20 (only for breakfast) as I said I have serious issues but I know it and am working on it
and €23 for deoderant, dinner, soap and toothpaste
4/04: NSD
5/04: €4.90 on food
6/04: €2.70 for food
7/04: €11.48 food
8/04: €1.65 food and €16 sewing supplies
9/04: €12.25 food
10/04: €1.76 breakfast
11/04: €2.89 on food
12/04:
13/04:
14/04:
15/04:
16/04:
17/04:
18/04:
19/04:
20/04:
21/04:
22/04:
23/04:
24/04:
25/04:
26/04:
27/04:
28/04:
29/04:
30/04:Mortgage March 2013: [STRIKE]£55,956 [/STRIKE]£38,500 (aim to pay off by 2020)
Overpay aim 2013: £9,974/ £5,000 :T:T:T
Overpay aim 2014: £3,800/£12,000
Kitchen and curtain fund: €1,000 / €4,000
Emergency fund: €1,000 / €2,0000 -
Thank you for my reply, may as well write on here (publically).
Tomorrow I will weigh myself and begin. Loads to loose but will aim for a smallish chunk this year. Expensive hair do tomorrow shhh don't tell anyone cos that is overpayment money theoretically. I have to have good hair cos I have rubbish genes. Me I have fat on the inside and outside and porky in clothes!!! See I need good hair!
But will write long list like you.
Nationwide soooo long since visited to find out balances cant remember pin numbers!
I do cook from scratch, write lists and shop systematically but do little exercise and eat portions sized for a navvy.
Book challenge I love, lets face it all Roald Dahl should be on to give you a head start.
Divorce I was going to go for cheapy online divorce what do you think? Must off
Bye Penny P xxxDebt Sept 2012 £140,000 end age 65.5 (maximum) four mortgages in total
April 2016 £114,599.83 (3 mortgages now)
Nil debt for some many years now perhaps 8. Need to save for a tent for holiday this year but nil else.
Over paying about £500 per month but fancy £600 so will have to think of some very money saving techniques...0
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