New Year New Start.....to being mortgage free

twinklestar123

New Year New Start...... I know it is nearly the end of January well tomorrow but I have seriously been thinking about this and it just won't go away I need to do something about it. Busybee inspired me along with all the other posts so thank you. Oh and the MSE program on the TV last night. I also had a sales call from a mortgage company and they said in today's current mortgage criteria they could not help me!!

I had a look at my thread from last year and my figures looked like this.
Mortgage - £215,000 interest only 3.5% 15 years - the same only 13 years
Loan 1- £10,943 variable 3.25% - now £6,299.26
Loan 2- £5,286 at 7.4% - now £3869
Credit card - £17,345 on 0% (an increase)

I felt elated when I paid off a loan with the 7.5% interest rate but I did not keep the momentum up and slipped back to my old habits.:( I have found that I struggle in the summer it is the winter months I can do it.

Hence now New Year new start with the finances.

There is also a further very good reason for this my OH retires from the Police Force in December next year 2015 and we still have the mortgage to pay. We simply do not want to use the lump sum to pay off our debts.

We would have been mortgage free if we had stayed in our 1st house as the mortgage then was only for £55,000. (I don't have regrets it is a wasted emotion.) We have since moved 3 times and ended up with the modest profit of £70,000 in this house which is the property we are in now. However the downside is that we do not live in the South where property prices and profits have rocketed. Thankfully though we are not in negative equity.

To be honest I am not sure what to do next. Your helpful advice last time made me pay off the debt with the highest interest but as I said before I did not keep it up.

I have made savings though.....
Ditched the Gym membership and I now belong to a walking club. Although it is £13 a fortnight I can go once a month if I want to. Fresh air and fitness you can't beat it!! and it keeps me out of the shops. Although I have had to invest in a decent set of walking boots. Sky we have got rid of and only keep the internet. We have found Netflix for £6 a month which is far better. We cannot reduce the utilities any further.

The mortgage though is the biggest issue.
I can if I become ultra frugal pay around £500 per week therefore
should I blast my debts or should I start to pay the capital on the mortgage instead?

My reasoning is that if I pay say £20,000 from my mortgage I still have £20,000 worth of debt so one has cancelled out the other?

I have two teenagers who are in the process of eating me out of house and home. I am not a newbie to Aldi I have been shopping there for around 10 years. My secret cooking weapon are lentils and rice but at the moment work means that I cannot cook like I used to and I need to get back into the habit.... like I said take aways and bad habits.

So any advice will be extremely helpful.

chocoholic_chick

Hi Twinkle :hello:

I'm no expert, but I would think financially it makes more sense to tackle the debts with the highest interest rates. When does the 0% offer end on the credit card and what rate will it be then?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Pushkin

Hi Twinkle & welcome, again I'm no expert but I agree with Chocoholic - looks like it makes sense to hit the loan with 7.4% interest first as it's the highest interest rate.

I think this forum is fab and would recommend posting as often as possible and reading other diaries too - that helps with keeping on track.

The other thing I've started doing is selling things - it declutters the house, earns a few quid and provides a free hobby - thats a triple win .
Good Luck!

Busy_Mee

Hi Twinklestar - found you and hope you find posting on here as useful as I have. I agree with others - I would zap the loan with the higher interest rate first - you can then use the monthly payment to pay down one of your other debts.
Presumably your OHs income will reduce when he retires ? Have you thought about trying to live on that amount now, so that the rest can thrown at the debt. I would check every single monthly payment you make to see if you can either cancel or reduce it. I keep thinking I have reduced everything but still keep finding ways to save more money

Anyway good luck -I am subscribing because we are in spookily similar circumstances x

twinklestar123

Hi choco-holic chick
Thanks for that advice that is what I thought because once I see one debt being paid off then it gives you the motivation well hopefully to keep going. I see you have been paying down the mortgage since 2012, so it can be done!

twinklestar123

HI Pushkin

I have started selling things to be honest. If it has not been used or if it looks like it is hovering to go into the loft then why do we need it. I find the free paper useful for smaller items as you don't have to pay the fees on ebay. Thanks for your support.

twinklestar123

HI Busy Bee

Thank you as well. I am just getting to grips with using this diary/blogg thing I am a bit of a luddite to be honest.
I have been thinking about only living on OH's wage and I mentioned this to him and it was flatly declined. So if I pay off one of the debts then I think this will certainly be an option which I am hoping to do.

Hopefully we can support each otherx

twinklestar123

Well I am officially a luddite. My DD has just had to explain to me how to use this forum and how to post an update.
Weekend over and with renewed vigour to change my habits I made my breakfast for work, I simply cannot eat as soon as I get up. But the downside is that I bought my lunch instead - M&S in the reduced section for £3.10. Unfortunately a gluten/wheat intolerance means that I cannot plump for a sandwich which does make it difficult when it comes to that question of what can I have for lunch let alone for Tea so I do end up cooking different meals.
Anyways I resisted Costa coffee today which I can tell you was a strain. So I will have to take my cafeteria along with a packet of coffee with me to work so that I can have a decent coffee fix and that should keep me going. Well that is the theory.
So all in all I only spent £3.10 today and it was a bonus this morning when the barrier was up in the car park so it was FREE to park all day. :T
So all I need to do now is to post my motivation signature!!

Busy_Mee

Great start Twinklestar - it took me a while to come to terms with taking homemade lunch to work, but I actually much prefer it now to bought stuff. I have bought myself one of those insulated lunch bags with an ice pack and it just takes a bit of organisations and it is much better diet wise too.
Well done on mastering the posting too x

velocity_girl

Hi twinkle star, I have started on here as a new challenge for a new year too so excited to start following your journey! Best of luck x

twinklestar123

I have not been on the forum for a while as I have been unwell. But saving money has not been far from my mind! I have finally got to grips with taking lunch to work and as Busy Bee says it is far nicer than shop bought lunches. I know I don't write as exciting blogs as some of the MSE bloggers but I guess it is the same end goal.I do have a confession to make though. The sofa I ordered in the January sales is being delivered this week. The difference being though is that I have paid for it as opposed to just putting it on the credit card. I realise that I should be saving but we are not going on holiday this year and this is a treat otherwise I feel as though it is all work and no play.