Mortgage Free Mini-Goals

mrsp1987

That daft dog! Right I've finally managed to remember how to upload photos on here (FYI use tinypics to get a message board URL)



I've actually just realised that the top kitten has a teeny tiny moustache. How adorable!!!

Kittenkirst

Adorable or what???

mrsp1987

Totes adorable!! One of them actually got adopted when we were there. We found some that we're interested in but some of them are still under assessment. We had a chat with the member of staff there and then decided that we would wait and go back in another 3 weeks just before we go to Madrid and then possibly make a decision then. There may be different cats there and the ones we had questions about today may be available for adoption. That way if we do want to put a reserve in any of them it's only for 1 week and not a silly amount of time.
Slightly bummed we didn't adopt today but then again we get to go back again

CathT

Hopefully you will have your new kitten soon. Great running by the way, the HM sounds like a good one and you are going to have lots of support.

Sounds like your volunteering is really rewarding too.

I love Chester, feels like such a treat going there for a wander and possibly some lunch.

mrsp1987

Life seems to be good at the moment. Except I think I'm coimg down with something as my throat hurts and k feel really cold and tired. Early night for me I think! But other than that life is really pretty decent.
I didn't spend too much time with any one cat when we went today so I don't feel too attached to them and feel as if any of them are 'mine.' I'm also a firm believer in fate and that our kitten/cat wasn't there or wasn't available to be adopted just yet when we went today so I shall have to dig deep and try and find that tiny smidgen of patience that I possess.

cat683

Hi there mrsp1987,


I have just read your thread for the past few weeks. I had to stop though when I was reading about your cat, I nearly started crying!! I am so sorry!
Those kittens are just adorable!! I have my second cat now, well my first one was when I was young and my parents mostly took care of him.
Junior is little trouble maker and he is 3 years old now. First time I seen him was when he was about 4 weeks old and he fit in my hand!! Now he's a good 6kg, down from 7kg!!! and is so mischievous!


Very well done on your mortgage overpayments!! You're working really hard and making great progress, especially as you and your hubby are not on huge wages. I find that really great motivation for myself.
I do hope you keep it up and then you'll be mortgage free soonish...


Good luck on the new kitten. If you find one, or two, you must post pictures of them.

A_Frayed_Knot

Was over on Ms-Bristol's Diary, where I saw your post.[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It is Dec 31st, for H@lifax, so the next 10% allowance starts 1st Jan each year. However if your fixed rate ends, say in Sept (like mine did, last year) you can obviously pay as much as you like (as out of deal) then take on new fixed deal, you would have a 10% allowance from Oct to 31st Dec (like I did) then another 10% from 1st Jan. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]But to compensate for all o/p's previously made and with a raise in income, I added extra income figure (which was raise, interest saved in new deal and no internet to pay for 1 year) to my normal payments and reduced my years (took 6 and a half years off) so still had a 10% allowance allowed every year.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“I was having a chat with my dad yesterday and he was asking about my 10% cap as well. For me it runs from January to December rather than the anniversary of the loan, which I find simpler.
*He asked if I could pay 10% in October and then 10% again in January which got me thinking.
I'm also limited by only being able to make a minimum repayment of £500 at a time and my aim is to save up £500 and then make a payment. So, what I might do is find out how much I've got of my 10% left in the middle of **December and then make a lump sum from some of my savings. It might not be up to the full amount but maybe knock another 2/3K off it.
Originally posted by mrsp1987”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]*See my above answer to your dad's question, bearing in mind I'm with the H@lifax.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]**That's exactly what I done in Dec 31st last year as, as they say "[/FONT]once it's gone - it's gone" [FONT=&quot]meaning the 10% allowance for that year - you can never get last year's allowance back - it's gone. Have to tell you - I was so happy I done that - right decision for me [/FONT][FONT=&quot] and saves you interest in the meantime [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I have been told by my mortgage company that I can actually reduce my term even more, without penalty [/FONT]:eek:[FONT=&quot] even though I'm only 11 months into my 2 year fixed deal. Thought this may be my solution to o/p more as I have reached my 10% only 8 months into this year.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Hope this helps, give you food for thought [/FONT]

mrsp1987

Thank you so much Cat. It was such a difficult time when Skip became ill. I've never had pets as a child so t was the first time I'd lost a pet and I'd never gone through pet euthanasia before. It was tough and I kept popping my head in the bedroom to check on her forgetting that she wasn't there anymore.
I'd love to get a proper kitten (they had some at the RSPCA centre on Sunday) but we're just not at home enough currently to give them the dedication they deserve. Maybe when I'm older and I'm semi-retired or something.

Yes, most definitely food for thought AFK. My fix doesn't run out until March 2020 sadly. I will consider making a lump sum at the end of the year however, I am also reluctant to use all (or the bulk of) my savings when I don't know what may be around the corner. I am on a fixed term contract at work until March 2017 and I also just like having a nice stash of money. Makes me feel safe

Getting myself all in a tiz over this cheap energy club collective switch. I'm already on the collective fix Feb 2017 with BG and so I'm checking out the prices for the new one and basically the figures that I'm being billed by BG are cheaper than the figures that are being quoted by MSE CEC for the February Collective Switch.

On my bill it's 2.670 pence per unit for gas and 8.370 pence for electricity and an 18pence per day standing charge. However, according to the CEC website the tariff prices are 2.804 pence per unit for gas and 8.789 pence per unit for electricity with an 18.9pence per day standing charge. So I don't know whether I should switch to the new fix because depending on which of the above figures I use it'll either be £42 a year or £3 a year more expensive to switch.

mrsp1987

Apparently it's all to do with VAT. The unit prices that CEC quote include the 5% VAT whereas my bill prices don't include VAT and it's added on as in individual item at the end of the bill.

Why the heck doesn't it say that? I mean, I know not many people go into as much detail as I do looking at the price comparisons and stuff but how the hell was I meant to know that?!

mrsp1987

So after a week my £500 overpayment has been applied to my mortgage. A week! What a joke. Had a moan on the Santander Facebook page and they asked for more details so are now treating it as a proper complaint :rotfl: I may have accused them of keeping hold of my money in order to earn interest off of it for themselves :whistle:

In other news I have my flu jab at 9am tomorrow morning. Oh joy of joys! But I get it early and choose to pay for it because I actually got the flu 2 years ago and it was the worst thing ever. I understand how people die from the flu! Annoyingly I'd had the flu jab 13 days before I became ill but my body hadn't had enough time to create the antibodies (or I caught a different strain) so now I make sure I get it as soon as I can!! But I still don't like being jabbed with a needle