Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

Kittenkirst

Afternoon mortgage-free wannabes!

Back to work after a lovely long weekend; how fortunate are we to have had three lovely days off work together! Ive been reflecting on my list I made during lockdowns; it was a list of all the activities I was missing and wanted to note it, so that I could make sure I prioritise when we are able to do more.

My list was:
1) Hiking/walking outdoors- Ive arranged with my friend that i used to walking with regularly and we are going for a 10km walk on Saturday morning on a new route. Ive downloaded alltrails.com  and we’ve found a route in Leicestershire that looks pretty.
2) Kayaking/ SUP- We’ve already squeezed in some kayaking this year, however want to look at joining that canoe and kayak club at the canal by our new house; so we are booking in for 10th June for their beginners night- £5 each for a two hour paddle and see what we think.
3) Diving/ scuba. I was never into this as i simply couldn’t see underwater so found it traumatic, however since the laser eye surgery in 2018 (still the best thing I’ve ever done!) I can see clearly and have loved the snorkelling Ive done. I researched during lockdown and there’s a local club that do a “try-dive” at a local pool, so Ive messaged them to try and organise one when the restrictions permit and see how that goes.
4) Music & gigs- I really missed these however i am lucky that i do get to go to quite a few each year; I have lots of concerts and festivals postponed that have been rearranged for the next 18 months so will go to those
5) Laser quest- currently trying to arrange this with some friends when restrictions allow again

So, quite a lot of activities to look into and get booked in over the next year.

In money saving news I went for a short lunchtime walk and collected two bags of satsumas and a mixed bag of prepped sweet potato & butternut; so I microwaved the sweet potatoe/butternut when i got in, blitzed with some chilli and had a chunky soup, with a feta salad for lunch. Tasty and nutritious! 

Last night wasnt as nutritious as we fancied a sweet desert and had been chatting about fresh hot cookie dough, however its £7.50 a portion if we got a dessert delivery (!!!!), a quick google and i whipped one u; made 2/3rds of it with white chocolate for me and mum-in-law, then 1/3rd with orange bournville for the gf. Turned out really well; however I then put it into my fitness pal to look at the calories and promptly wished I had not!!! Sometimes ignorance is bliss

Tonight I think I’m having leftover roast chicken from Sunday warmed with some masala dosa that mum prepped and had yesterday (it smelt phenomenal!) so I’m very much looking forward to that, especially as i went a bit gung-ho at the gym this morning at 7am

SandyShores

You are doing amazingly Kittenkirst.  You have so much energy.  

Kittenkirst

Hi all, almost a week since I last updated and lots has happened.
We have finally completed YAY!!!!!!!

Completion happened on Thursday at lunchtime and the funds were in our account by 6pm Thursday!

Annoyingly the funds didn’t match what we expected for a few reasons:
- £420 off extra solicitor charges than what was detailed on the quote. I feel they have been super cheeky as these costs are in their Terms of Business but at no point did they let us know what and how much would apply- we were just expected to guess despite them using different terminology for differing charges. Grrrrr.
-Mortgage interest: I had expected this to be for 12 days only at the SVR (standard variable rate 4.5%); however due to the delays by the two solicitors, this was actually £545.49!!! OUCH  
-The deposit paid to Redrow was lower than we expected. We expected to pay 10% of the house price (so £39,495), however the solicitors agreed with Redrow to simply pass on the 10% from the buyers of our house over, so only sent over £22,100.

So we had a nice sum of £64,173.16 paid into our account; I am moving this across to our Marcus savings account £10k per day (max HSBC will allow) to keep safe until late August when we buy the new house.

Our friends who are going to be next-door but one coincidentally completed on their house sale on the same day as us, so we are now all sorted and ready to go.

It’s now time to focus on saving, saving, saving!

Kittenkirst

Oh and I’ve now had my second covid vaccine (Astra Zeneca) so yesterday was a wash out as i was exhausted, but I’m so so thankful to have better protection and therefore better protecting my family I was so amazed by all the volunteers at the vaccine centre- such a wonderful thing and I’m very thankful to all who make it possible- it has certainly made me emotional a few times.

Poppycat1

Congratulations Kittenkirst, great news.  

themadvix

Congratulations! Glad it’s gone through for you at last. Annoying about the extra costs though, especially the solicitor-incurred ones!

Kittenkirst

Hi all,
Quiet week this week; we’ve managed the gym three mornings before work. Planning to go to David Lloyd tomorrow for badminton at lunch with friends (thanks to their free guest passes) and will use the gym and potentially swim (need to check if i kept my swimming costume here or put it into storage though!). We’re then booked in for yoga Sunday morning and I’ve booked in for a taster kayaking session near the near house on Tuesday evening, so maintaining the increased activity but on a budget

Girlfriend had an interview this afternoon- internal move that would make her a lot happier, so fingers crossed she’s done well. 

In money news, Ive signed up to UberEats and Deliveroo to hopefully pick up some driving work on evenings or weekends when we don’t have plans. Ive done the applications and signed up (& paid for Zego first £25 of insurance- will be 80p per hour of driving) so now just waiting to see next steps and give it a go. 

Ive been doing some rough figures based on what a few money saving people i follow on insta have been sharing.

If I can manage £12 per hour and did 8 hours in a week= £96.
Minus 20% popped into a tax account =   -£19.20
Minus the insurance of 80p/hour for 8 hours: -£6.40
Equates to £70.40 for those 8 hours
Minus petrol costs, i should be walking away with at least £50 per week, and hopefully will recoup some petrol costs back when do the tax return (this part I’m not so sure of)

£50 extra each week sounds pretty good to me, if i can make the time/hours work for me. May as well give it a go and see how i get on....will keep you updated.

We popped out Asda this morning, got a YS chicken which is for Sunday so in the freezer, and also used Greenjin to get 2x cans of Bud lite hard seltzer for free (after tha cashback, which has already been confirmed) they’ll be perfect for a bbq we’ve been invited to next weekend

Ive had some cashback clear through Airtime Rewards too so Ive redeemed that, and will send the £10 saved over to the mortgage savings on the bills due date (around 29th of the month).

My prolific mini-challenge I set myself has all gone pretty static. This week I’ve had £1.63 of surveys; Ive been a bit less constant with the refreshing the page and checking in; not sure if it’s just me thought and I’m checking at the wrong times, or if its quieter.

For my mini challenge of £5/ week until end of August I’m still ahead as should be at £25 by now but i have already cashed out £48.26, with that £1.63 also on my app balance waiting to hit £5 for cashout. Ive had a pinecone email this week however it crashed midway (annoying!) and now gives me a screened out message Sucks but will just try again next month as they seem to come monthly

themadvix

I think prolific has been quiet this week too, it’s not just you!

Re mileage as self-employed (I think you need to check the standing of Uber drivers as didn’t they recently win a court case getting them sick pay etc, so may not be considered that now?), you can pay yourself your expenses out of your gross income - so just keep a record of miles, and allow yourself the mileage allowance per mile that HMRC permits (44p/mile I think currently, but definitely check). You don’t need to wait until you’ve done your tax return. If you get your earnings paid into a separate bank account and then pay yourself expenses (ie mileage) first before you send over the rest of the money, it will be easier to keep track of.

debtfreeoneday

Prolific has been quiet this week. 

Kittenkirst

themadvix said:

I think prolific has been quiet this week too, it’s not just you!

Re mileage as self-employed (I think you need to check the standing of Uber drivers as didn’t they recently win a court case getting them sick pay etc, so may not be considered that now?), you can pay yourself your expenses out of your gross income - so just keep a record of miles, and allow yourself the mileage allowance per mile that HMRC permits (44p/mile I think currently, but definitely check). You don’t need to wait until you’ve done your tax return. If you get your earnings paid into a separate bank account and then pay yourself expenses (ie mileage) first before you send over the rest of the money, it will be easier to keep track of.

ooooh thank you for this; I will have a good google and look into it a bit more but this gives me a better idea of it all. Checking it out before Uber eats is still classed as self-employed and they didn’t change the status of people for Uber eats; only the taxi driving side so i should be okay *fingers crossed*

Thanks DFOD & Madvix- I’m relieved to hear its not just me; I started worrying they had put a stop on my account or something silly like that (silly anxious brain!)- that’s put my mind to rest, I will just keep on periodically checking it on break times etc and hope that it picks up a little more. Ive been checking in on Onepoll but for the past two weeks they have all been surveys that screen me out after confirming where i live & my age (which is annoying as is on my profile surely so why offer me the surveys!) there’s been at least 20 so waste of time really. Will give up on that; glad I got to the payout threshold but think its time to delete the account!