Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

CathT

Holiday sounds fantastic! Fab news on clearing your student loan too, my end date is years ago and I can’t wait! What will you do with the extra money?

ch4rly2002

That's amazing, well done! Still £14k left on mine so I can only imagine how good it feels. Enjoy the extra £98!

michelle09

Hooray! That's wonderful news on the student loan. My degrees were all sponsored but I am watching OH's come down slowly. It's actually a higher interest rate than our mortgage!

Hopefully the refund comes through easily, have heard that it's not that easy to finish paying. But at least you can cancel the DD?

themadvix

Great news on the student loan!

And hope you have a good time with your brother over the weekend and are able to help him.

Kittenkirst

Thanks everyone the £98 will be put towards paying off the braces first, then the holiday. After that I think it will be split to saving half and putting up my pension contributions

Luckily I had read some one ago that before you finish the student loan to contact them to pay directly- if they continue to deduct from your salary you overpay by an awful lot. So now it’s all finished I have cancelled the DD my end this morning.
With regards to the refund; it seems odd that it’s so much as I thought I had £13 left to pay so am taking it with a pinch of salt. Am just glad to be shot of it finally!

AFK- sounds like yoga is just what you need. I find it challenging but also so relaxing and it’s definitely helping me sleep better

On that note I went to my first intermediate class- it was tough but I feel great however I still have DOMS in my thighs & bum from that kettlebell class on Wednesday

Just having a little chill out time with the gf whilst watching he first episode of ‘Hard sun’ and then we need to clean up the kitchen, mop the floors and get the chilli con carne (turkey mince) ready for friends coming over tonight

JemmaBe

Hi KK,

Stumbled on your diary yesterday, amazing how the small OPs and changes to your lifestyle have added up - well done! I’ll pop back regularly to see how you’re getting on, your positivity is infectious!

Just an edit to expand, I’ve recently got a mortgage and have this kind of monologue/tally where I congratulate myself for saving. Having read your success, I’m going to throw that money into a mortgage payment to really see the benefit.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Kittenkirst wrote: »

With regards to the refund; it seems odd that it’s so much as I thought I had £13 left to pay so am taking it with a pinch of salt. Am just glad to be shot of it finally!

If you think you only had £13 to pay, go with that figure, Hmrc are a nightmare for 'readjusting' the amounts they tell the SLC they have collected.

Kittenkirst

Indeed wishing, I’m taking it with caution and that’s why it’s being double checked again. I may ring up this week and check off the payments from my wages against their records over the phone with them to ensure it’s correct!

I’m up and dressed for yoga in a little bit- have tidied up from last night but am naughtily using the dishwasher for all but the big pans we don’t use our dishwasher much as it seems wasteful when it’s just the two (& two furries!)

There is one small portion of turkey chilli left so that’s in the freezer- perfect for me when the gf is away with Work, mmmmm chilli jacket potato! Or wedges and chilli :heartpuls

Quite pleased how the meal turned out and that we had a NSD as we were tempted to go to Tesco’s for an avocado and extras but we resisted and they weren’t missed. Two portions of lean turkey mince out of the freezer too (one was ys too- result!) so the using up the stores isn’t going pretty well too.

Did two OPs yesterday- did a tilly tidy of £11.66 to round down the joint account as it’s payday tomorrow and no more spends from it. I then decided at midnight as there’s £70 left in there to OP an additional £20.
This means our Jan OP is at £71.64 which is not too shabby pre pay day.

Prolific surveys are slowly clicking over to approved- £14.51 now approved with £4.74 pending. Not far to get to £20 so hoping to hit that monday/Tuesday on my breaks so I can cash out and get it paid in January.

Our fixed rate ends 30/04 so we have booked in with the Mortgage advisor for some advice over the phone and I’ve had a look at a few rates online- First Direct look very competitive as we’re after a 5year fixed deal for security. It’s 2.49% (we’re on 2.99% at the moment!) with no booking fee but I’m not sure how the valuation bit would work (we’re at 85.04% LTV at the end of this month based on the house purchase price but having a look at sales on our road the house value has increased by 11k but we’re taking that with a pinch of salt. Will have a chat with the Mortgage advisor on Friday but this looks to be a good option for us.

(I’m also tempted to drop the term from 23.5 years (annoyingly our Mortgage was only for 19 months not 24!) to 22 years which would keep our monthly payment just below what we pay now but obviously knock some time off. Will play more with the calculators and work it out in the week.

Downshifterella

Fab news on the students loan being paid off!
Dinner sounds scrummy as do leftover options!. Always so satisfied when I can stretch things out a bit !

Hope you have a good weekend with your brother and things with his g/f are on the mend
Xx

Kittenkirst

Thanks Downshifterella- today didn’t quite go as planned but it was a good day.

Started with yoga which was lovely- nice full class as it’s new year so lots of newbies trying which is fab. I so want their business to be a success as I’m so enjoying the yoga itself but also the environment they’ve created.

We then drove down south to visit the brother- he had a call from his gf yesterday apologising for the threatening messages and horrible things she’s had said, she’s needed some clothes taking over so we drove him to the hospital. She seems to be doing a lot better, still very hyper when talking and a bit confused at times, but the delusions seem to have reduced somewhat. It’s good to see her improving, and she apologized in person to my brother and I think he understands that it was the illness talking.

He seemed much brighter after the visit and was smiling a lot more which is good to see. We took him to subway for a late lunch- it was nice and quiet in there so his social anxiety was manageable- and we had some vouchers through the door so it felt like a right treat for us all

We’re now home and watching ‘Kiri’ but it’s totally pulling on the old heart strings- it’s a tough watch!

Pay day tomorrow. Hurrah! Gf is away though tomorrow and staying overnight: I’ve planned yoga late in the evening and her mum made me a nice batch of dhal to have with my leftover rice (I LOVE dhal!) so it’s shaping up to be a good Monday tomorrow already. It’s my first full day but I’m working from home and have some huge contracts to read through so fingers crossed it goes well.

Looking forward to the money shuffle and some hefty (for us anyway!) overpayments dilly how excited I am about it!