Mortgage free & able to live the dream!

SWSEGirl

Hey lessavyfav,

Thanks for dropping by! It really does give me some assurance that others are in a similar boat to us - I like to think that our overpayments have even more impact (that's what I tell myself anyway!) I'll follow your diary with interest as you sound like you're in the exact same position as me.

I keep examining my mortgage balance sheet and although I didn't overpay by as much as I had hoped last year, the balance doesn't seem to have decreased as much as I would have expected...I wish I could login and monitor my payments - but my provider only send annual statements, so frustrating!

Have since been told the 'promotion' is likely to be the same money I'm on now - in which case I just don't think it will be worth it. Woe is me!

SWSEGirl

Payday :j

I've done a bit of juggling this morning - topped up the Christmas account & repaid my holiday account, which I robbed earlier in the month to buy a friend a present

I've got an expensive weekend coming up with friends staying - I've done an Amazon pantry order with a £5 off code - so that's something!

Need to order a few more Christmas presents...my DH loves a certain brand of wine, so I was planning to order him a case - then got sent a £10 voucher, result! He'd also love a casual coat, so I need to see if i can rejig budgets to afford this.

I need to buy train tickets home for Christmas - which will be eye wateringly expensive, but must be done.

My SO to savings is due out tomorrow & then my DH gets paid on the 28th - which is when we'll assess what we can pay in the way of an OP.

My account switch to FD is due to happen on the 27th - so I hope the £125 joining bonus gets paid to me shortly after this - I could do with the funds for Christmas!

It's an expensive month ahead - but hopefully one which has been reasonably budgetted for - I guess we'll soon see!

kirtsypoos

Just delurking to say my FD switch bonus was paid exactly 28 days after my switch but my OHs only took 15 days - no idea why the difference but fingers crossed for a quick one for you

SWSEGirl

Thank you Kirstypoos! My FD account is open, but the actual shift of funds etc is due to happen on the 27th November - so I guess the bonus will be 30 days ish after this. That'll be no bad thing to be honest - I'll probably need the funds after Christmas!

I seem to have haemorrhaged money today - Christmas presents & a bit food/drink order ahead of the weekend guests arriving. A lot of money spent - but hopefully it'll mean we eat/ drink at home & save a bit on going out - well it'll save everyone but me!

Feeling relatively organised on Christmas shopping - long may it last.

SWSEGirl

An early wake up with an awful headache resulted in an early morning painkiller dash.

I couldn't get back to sleep, so did some more Christmas shopping in the Black Friday sales online. Managed to bag a couple of bargains & happily my list is diminishing.

Feeling quite overwhelmed with the number of jobs I have to do - both with work & life - but am like a rabbit in the headlights & can't make a start. Must get on.....

More guests coming this evening, so need to clean & tidy the house. Food orders arriving this afternoon - so relatively well organised.

Some money shifted to savings - but will update my signature properly on the 28th when DH gets paid & we can assess how much to put towards the mortgage.

I hope everyone has a lovely Friday! X :beer:

SWSEGirl

A Monday commute again - although not as depressing as usual as the next 2 weeks are 4 days each - I had some leftover holiday to take :j

A busy weekend with friends staying & I was worried about how much I was spending....my account switched to FD overnight & my balance isn't looking too bad overall :T

DH payday tomorrow, so I'll try & work out then how much to put towards the mortgage. I'd like to hit £11k in our savings pot (currently £10,900) so should be able to throw a decent whack at a overpayment after that.

Managed to do a fair amount of Christmas shopping - so more people to tick off the list.

Still not sure what's happening with work next year, so that's giving me a bit of anxiety at the moment - really suffering from Sunday night dreads I hate not knowing what will be happening & where I'll be.

Aims for this week:
* Finish Christmas shopping
* Aim for 2 x NSD's
* Deep clean flat
* Get at least a couple of early nights
* Update my MSE signature after overpaying mortgage!

SWSEGirl

Husband's payday - so money allocated as follows:

£300 to Savings
£700 to Mortgage OP

Signature updated with new figures, so happy days. I still can't work out how to make it so that you can view the entire signature on posts - as the OP & Savings lines appear to get lost, but they're there somewhere!

My FD account is up & running - I just need to find an HSBC cash point, so I can change my pin and activate my card - job for the lunch break.

When my switch bonus comes through I plan to allocate the £125 to my holiday fund, just so long as Christmas shopping hasn't taken too much of a toll.

According to my spreadsheet my mortgage balance should stand at £314, 207 - although I really don't trust my maths! I wish there was a means I could log in & check online - I must call my provider to check they definitely don't offer this service - as it seems madness.

In other news - it's my birthday coming up, so I've booked myself & DH out for a posh meal - not very MSE at all - but sometimes, just sometimes, you need to treat yourself to justify all the hard work.

SWSEGirl

Still haven't got around to activating my FD debit card - which means my bank account hasn't been touched for 3 days - a happy side effect of my disorganisation

I had an interesting chat with a colleague yesterday - who has been seeking financial advice. I mentioned I am trying to OP the mortgage & save interest - secure a better rate of interest when we remortgage (in 2 years!).

He said I was going about it all wrong, that because interest is so low I should be borrowing as much as possible to generate wealth. He told me he has an interest only mortgage & that's the way forward. I guess he's also relying on house prices going up. It's confusing & feels completely at odds with what I'm doing. I guess perhaps you need to speculate to accumulate, but I think I'd prefer the security!

Tradcob

Hello! just thought I'd say a quick hi, and let you know that I will have a similar sized mortgage to you shortly & that I've subscribed to your diary.
I think different personalities will approach debt differently, but I'm with you, I want to pay off as much as possible as quickly as possible!

SWSEGirl

Hello Tradcob!

Thanks for dropping in! Yes - I think paying down this debt as much as possible is the way forward - and will not only increase our equity (& security!) But enables us to get the best deals when we come to remortgage - that's the plan anyway! I'll check out your diary & subscribe - I love to read about how people tackle similar monster mortgages.

This weekend has been a bit spenny - celebrated my birthday on friday with a lovely meal out, we also went for lunch yesterday too & I hit the shops.....:o In my defence I had a whole load of birthday vouchers, so 2 new dresses, 2 jumpers & a skirt only came to £33, so not too bad.

Still got the Monday dreads about checking my bank account though - but must be done! I hope everyone has a good week.