The Final Countdown...

black_cat

I had to scratch my itch! I've paid off another £100 so only £99 to go!!!! :j
I've got the money in our savings pot but I don't want it to below a certain figure so I can't take it out of there!

black_cat

Discussed situation with OH and we've paid off the final £99
We're now officially Debt Free !!!!!!! :beer:

beanielou

Great news for you black cat :j :j

black_cat

It's funny how my OH and I can't celebrate our debt free status with anyone in the real world - for most people, debt is a private thing. Oh well, I'll just note our "successes" here. Over the past four and a half years we've:

• paid off £25,312.76 of debt
• Overpaid the mortgage by £1350.61
• Paid cash for four holidays
• Paid cash for car repairs
• Given nearly £5000 to charity
• Built up a savings pot
• Replaced laptop, printer and DVD recorder (all broken) in cash

As you can see, we probably could have paid the debt off more quickly but we found it easier to take it steady. We paid everything in full - no final offers. Ironically our joint income is now less than it was, but we're now financially stable and are very organised.
It's a bit premature, but I'm really looking forward to 2016 :beer:

crazy_cat_lady

That's fantastic! Congratulations on being debt free :D:D:j:j:j

black_cat

I wasn't going to continue posting on here as we're now debt free (:j) but I'm not quite ready for the MFW diary yet. Depending on OH's job I hoping we can be living in a new house by Christmas 2016 - and that might increase the mortgage before working hard to pay it off.

So, new plans (not set in stone) are as follows:
- holiday fund (will need to be paid by March 2016)
- house repairs (need to do some things before selling)
- 3 month expenses fund (aim for January 2017) have some money in here already
- car fund (MOT, repairs, insurance and replacement in 2021)


Emergency Fund is already established. We are waiting for an inheritance to come through. We don't know how much it will be or when it will be available (depends on the sale of a house), but that might change some of the plans. Don't want to count chickens so forgetting about that for now.

black_cat

I've spent some time investigating mortgages for moving house. There are some good articles online about preparing for the affordability meeting with potential lenders. I've also looked to see how much house you can get for your money locally. Off to start new spreadsheets and to do what I can to make our finances squeaky clean for the next six months...

crazy_cat_lady

I need to have a good few months to look at a remortgage as well. I shouldn't be paying as much as I am in interest but I can't get out at the moment.

black_cat

I think I'm learning that you can't do everything at once! I'm enjoying the fact that we now have opportunities and possibilities...

black_cat

NSD yesterday but went food shopping today. Bought some reduced meat and paid good prices for the other stuff but still spent more than I wanted to. Aimed to only buy stuff that helps me to use up what we already have in the freezer, fridge and cupboards. I was overcharged by 48p - I always check my receipt as I hate being diddled!