Tortoise or the hare?

patman99

FireWyrm, if you are a UK citizen and have made 30 years worth of NI contribs by the time you retire, then you will get the state pension.

Also, if that is all you get, then this could be to your advantage should you ever need to claim certain benefits. I know my dad is cursing the fact that he has 2 small works pensions that add less than £10 a week, but stop him from getting carers allowance.

If you are currently out of work, are you claiming JSA ?. If so, would you qualify for any kind of grant to have your boiler replaced free of charge? (or if not elegable yourself, do you have an elderly relative who could move in and pose as the homeowner to get the job done)?.

I would go with doubling what you are paying to your cc and also paying a small extra amount to your mortgage. Be advised though, that some mortgage providers only allow a certain % of the value of the outstanding mortgage to be over-paid each year.

Coffeekup

Congratulations on things working out for you.
I personally had a number of debts a few years ago, which took me 8 year's to pay them all off. I was never lucky enough to get interest free till late in the game, even then I only got it as I went with a DMP.
Anyhow I'm going to give you my two pennies worth after having companies grabbing me by the short and curlies for over 12 years. I personally would see this as a windfall, I.e. winning the lottery and would get them paid off, so they would no longer hang over my head. I learnt the hard way a number of times not to take things for granted, and if you read enough of the debt free forums you will see unforseen events happen all the time even though people have a plan in place which can set them back so long.
Also after I had payed of my dues, I started saving hard and I look at money differently these days. Feels so much nicer to pay for something you saved for, instead of racking it up on a card or loan. But unless you really get into trouble you may never really appreciate what you have.
The bonus you got with the new job and what you were paying in debts it will take you 4-5 months to recoup the buffer you want anyway.
Good luck with whatever you choose, but i would winceto see you here in 6 months time with a story on how its all gone wrong. As for your house I'm in a similar situation, but hey Rome wasn't built in a day and living in a society with loans and cc's thrown at you it makes you think it can be.
IMO You have a golden ticket don't waste it.