I Wanna See the Light

Mysteek

FUTURE PLANS

I have a small deferred dc pension which I want to draw out in totalunder the new regulations that came into force in April this year. Apparently not all pension schemes haveadopted all of the options so I am at the moment waiting for the trustees ofthe pension scheme to confirm that I can do this. Assuming I can, then the money will be putinto my ISA along with all the money we are saving (CC’s will have minimumpayments made each month). When the freeinterest period on CC2 runs out in October this year, there will be enough inmy ISA to pay this off, with some left over.

Then I want to pay DH’s car loan off. I know it’s to do with his business and I haven’t been including it indebts and it is solely in his name, but it would free up £260 pm. I think by around the end of the year, basedon a settlement figure we got a couple of months ago, it should be around £4k.

After that, it will just leave CC3 to pay off, which should have beencoming down nicely (around £8k I think) as I will have been paying £250 a monthwith no interest applied. The interestfree period finishes in October 2016 so no immediate rush.

If all plans come to fruition then I hope to be debt free by this timenext year. :T

From January 2016 I want to pay the maximum 10% into my pension (ourcompany matches this) and also make the maximum monthly overpayments to themortgage (20%), which hopefully should reduce the time by approx. a year orjust under (we have 5 years left).

When all debt is gone and there’s just the mortgage, every penny will besaved. We need stuff doing in the housewhich we are managing to live with at the moment but will need to doing in thenext year or so. So some of thesesavings will go to house maintenance and the rest saved for:

1. Paying off the mortage

2. My retirement

So still a lot to do but I think I can see that light twinkling in thedistance.

Mysteek

Thought I would just list what’s been paid and what’s still to be paid

CC1 – PAID
TV BNPL – PAID
Catalogue BNPL – PAID
Overdraft – PAID
Flexiloan – PAID
Car Loan – PAID
Car Insurance – PAID
DFS – PAID
Next – PAID (last £50 or so will be paid end of this month)

Still to be paid:

CC2
CC3
DH Car Loan

Mortgage

Mysteek

Well my pension provider has confirmed that I am able to draw my total pension out as a cash sum so I have signed and forwarded the form confirming this is what I want to do, am awaiting their reply.

Depending on how much tax they take on the 75% which is taxed (20% or 40%), this money will either pay CC2 off completely or most of it.

Amidst people telling me not to do it, I am mindful of the fact that we have been told that there will be a 're-organisation' in March of next year, which can only mean they will be culling the workforce. Something that cannot be avoided, I think, when 2 companies merge.

So I need to get this debt off my back asap in case I lose my job as I wouldn't be getting enough monthly to be able to pay it off.

Mysteek

Have been buying a lot on my Next account for the little'un (norty me!) and have just paid the last £67.50 today so that's now zero. DH has my card hidden in the garage so I can't use it again until I'm debt free!

Going away this weekend with DD1, haven't been anywhere for ages so am looking forward to a break. All paid for from proceeds of my craft stuff I sold on FB late last year. Hotel, train, etc. already paid for so only some spending money needed.

On Monday, back to debt busting and also weight busting. I need to lose a stone.

Mysteek

Quick update:

CC1 - Although nil balance for a few months, I have now cancelled the card and closed the account. Card cut up and in the bin! Think I was hanging on to it "just in case" but have now been able to let go. Don't need to diet, feel a stone lighter already lol

CC2 - Pension monies will be received on 1 August to clear this, then card to be cancelled

CC3 - All available money to be thrown at this to clear asap, still on 0% till October 2016

Mortgage - First overpayment of 20% (maximum allowed) made on 1 July

DH's car loan. Decided to leave for time being as its for business not personal. Loan will finish in less than 2 years anyway. We'll see how things go and if we have any spare cash next year we might pay it off early, but CC's and mortgage are priority

Mysteek

Update:

CC2 - pension monies received to clear this off completely (just!), account closed and card cut up :j

CC3 - Balance £9,100, 0% till 23 October. Equates to 14 payments @ £650

So, going forward:

1. Payments on CC3 to be made as above.
2. 20% overpayments on mortgage to continue.
3. Maximum contributions to be made to pension from January 2016. I think I need to do this as I have only been paying the minimum so far, due to not having any money to do so, and I only have 6 years left to work but I'd like to retire earlier if possible.

This will leave me with virtually no spare cash each month but I can cancel the mortgage overpayments at any time if I need to. Hopefully I won't.

OH will try and make overpayments on his car loan when he c an, although as its for business purposes (he can't do his job without one) it is an expense he can claim against tax through his accounts.

I so love it when I am in control :T

At the weekend when I have time I will sit down and work out how much percentage wise we have paid off our debt. I think it may be around 80%. Fingers crossed

UPDATE: 78% paid off in just under 15 months!

Mysteek

Haven't updated for a while as there has not been much to report as things are ticking over nicely. All debt that is left is CC 3, balance £8,600. I have reduced the overdraft limit from £3,500 to £500 as that is the 'free' interest portion, but no balance on there as I am determined that is only to be used in an extreme emergency.

Decided not to pay any more mortgage overpayments but to concentrate on getting this CC paid off, hopefully in next 5 months or so.

Looks like being redundancies at work in next few months too, (announcement last week about one of our offices in another country) so we're saving as much as we can just in case, mainly to get the CC paid off as we won't be able to pay it if I'm not earning a wage. And then try to save a bit to help us if the SHTF with regards to work. I'm under no illusion that it would be very difficult for me to get a job at my age or one that would pay anything like the salary I have at the moment. Its not huge in comparison with people I work with but to me it is.

My mortgage is split into 2 accounts, and depending on what redundancy terms there would be I should be able to pay one of them off. If I pay the smaller one off, we wouldn't have enough coming in to make payments on the other one plus all living expenses. If I pay the larger one off we might, with a very tight squeeze, manage to make payments on that. There would be no room for any emergencies though :eek:

I hate waiting for stuff to happen, it drives me potty. I like to be in control and in this case I am not as I am in the hands of others

Mysteek

Quick Update:

Have decided I need rid of the last credit card, whether its interest free till next October or not! Have paid off half already and my target is to pay the rest by end of March 2016. I will do my best to try and pay it off earlier.

After CC3 paid I want to then concentrate on the mortgage. The terms have been changed so we can pay off 10% of the outstanding balance per year. Up until end of September the only overpayments allowed were up to 20% of the monthly payments, so its given us a little more flexibility. Am looking for a new product as my existing mortgage terms are due to expire end Jan 2016.

Still no news on the work front so carrying on regardless.

Can't believe its now November and getting closer to Christmas! Where has this year gone?

Mysteek

CC3 balance £3,400.

Have decided to continue paying the minimum for the time being as we REALLY need to redo our shower room. Its not a want, its a need, its 25 years old and shower has broken and its a coloured suite (yuk). No interest on CC3 till next October so plenty of time to get it cleared.

Have rearranged mortgage on a fixed rate for another 2 years (starts 1 February) saving around £6 a month. Not a lot, but its £6 towards overpayment! I want to try and make the maximum 10% overpayment allowed for next year.

Wonder4day

I don't believe that I've read it through.