FinancialBliss: My mortgage free journey…

Karmacat

Hey FB

I love the history you do on your situation - you obviously work it out so carefully too. I have a DFW diary, and I'm quite tempted to do the same. I've just read all three pages, and its quite different from reading as you post (and sometimes I've missed posts too).

I'm struggling quite a lot with a general unwell feeling - no energy at all, for matched betting, quidco, financial work, paid work, decorating, socialising or anything else: I've let my diet go over the last few years, really been chancing my arm, eating things I like but know I'm allergic to, and it has a tremendous effect on me in the end. So, when I'm clear of this, its get fit again (I'm so unfit that an hour's activity wears me out for two days, I've now discovered - this is kind of dangerous at my age, probably any age). I'd love to be as organised as you are on it all. Good for you.

setmefree2

Hi Fb,

What a great post. I think it's best to stretch yourself though (even though it's hard initially )- otherwise a couple of years down the line you're thinking about moving again and wondering why you didn't stretch yourself. It's always hard financially when you first have a baby for most people, I think - less money and more expenses:p I gave up work and found it quite a financial shock and then there is the constant trading up to get more space....:rolleyes:

Kaz2904

The trouble with stretching yourself initially is being able to increase your wages over the coming years. Otherwise you will be stretched for the entire term of your mortgage and that's how so many people end up on the debt free wannabe boards.
I often think that if people hadn't strung themselves up so tight and stretched themselves so far then we may not be in the situation now where first timers and young people are looking at horrifyingly high prices.
In my area people have to stretch themselves to the limit to be able to buy a 1 or 2 bed flat- and I don't live in too bad an area for prices.

financialbliss

Evening all,

Can I just say to setmefree2, rca779, karmacat, kaz2904 and anyone else I’ve missed out, thanks for the feedback and support.

Don’t think you’re getting away that easily, as I’ve a question regarding my current mortgage that I’d like to air – probably once I get the mortgage numbers sorted out and posted.

And if you’re reading this, but you’ve not posted, please, please, do say hi. That said, I think I lurked for about 6 months before I registered with MSE forums.


Monitors. I’m not especially clever hardware wise, but I think I’ve got a double headed graphics card in my work pc. Is that the right term?. This means that rather than the display output being stretched across the 2 screens, I’ve two independent displays. I can have two different resolutions too. I’d struggle to go back to 1, it works so well. I’ve got 2 17” flat screen monitors by the way.

Post topics. For short-ish ones, I’ll either type straight into the MSE forums or type into word, proof read and then post. For longer ones, eg property #2, this started out as bullet points, a few paragraphs, proof read and expanded, saved for an evening, expanded again, saved for another evening, factually corrected and finally posted to MSE forums.

Post ideas. As I was contemplating a diary, I jotted down some subject areas. Think I had around 12-15. Many I’ve covered, some I’ve touched on and scratched off my list, a few others I’ve still got to fit in somewhere along the way. I can’t be too far off the mark, as I’ve got quite a few views, but I’m still finding my feet!

I got a great sense of satisfaction when I placed post #1 up there and I’ve now got a published goal to strive for.

Stretching myself. Ouch! Financially that is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m a very lucky person. Not many people can manage a mortgage on one wage these days. I think we’ve really benefited from mrs bliss staying at home with the kids.

Only on Tuesday at swimming, #1 was being asked to do a length swimming on his back, to which he started discussing the exact style he should be adopting and that he’d not yet been taught how to swim on his back yet, just float. To cut a long story short, the swimming instructor said “if he put as much effort into swimming as he does talking, he’d be swimming by now”. He’s only 3!

Yes, we stretched ourselves, probably more than we intended, but luckily this was the one wage. Mrs bliss going back to work sooner could have been an option. We don't regret the time mrs bliss is staying at home.

I cringe when looking at the lengths a first time buyer has to go to, to get “on the ladder”. Hopefully we won’t need to up size again!

Having rambled on a bit, I'll leave it there. Mortgage numbers in the next few days...

FB.

Kaz2904

Well FB I have to say that I do like your diary very much!
I will try to help you out when you post up questions but I'm not that good at this stuff. I am going through a few mind shifts at the moment and am just sorting out the ISA issue. I posted ages ago that I was going to get the BMW isa paying 7% but I missed the boat on that so have ended up with a NS&I ISA. I opened mine last week and opened DH's just.
We still have money in other savings which I intend to move to the highest paying ISA available come April. Now if this new ISA will not take transfers in I am wondering if I will be able to move the current ISA's to a different one- I suspect I can.
My idea is that I will start to build up our ISA's and when we come to remortgage in 2010 probably go for an offset mortgage that will allow us to use our ISA's.
The branching off from this view is that you can often find a high interest ISA (maybe even higher than the %age of the mortgage) if you don't transfer past ISA's in. So I thought maybe I could open up a higher paying ISA (a new one) and then just transfer it in to my mortgage yearly when the high interest rates run out.

I like to think ahead but think that I may be looking too far ahead at present!


I apologise for my rant earlier but I stand by what I said. You say that you stretched yourself, but you stretched one wage. This is safe and perfectly acceptable (to me that is!). I worry about my children and my family. It is worse for my cousin and my sister really, the kids are far enough away age wise that we can start formulating a plan for them but my sister is stuck in a flat very close to a motorway (spitting distance) with a small boy. What happens when/if they have another? They already have a mortgage of £120000 over 30 years. Where do they go next?

Anyhoo, I think that we are all in for the long haul here.
I had a payment from quidco yesterday that I had been waiting for for months so chucked £100.35 to the mortgage. This has changed my final mortgage payment to £36.09 on 22/12/12. Mum loan finishes 22/08/2013 at £256.09. I reckon I can get this back to 22/07/13 by February with council tax non payments. Then the slog goes on to try to get it to before April that year when I'm 35. Would really love everything gone by January that year as DH's bday is in January but I will just try to go one step at a time.
Obviously if I go offset mortgage then I will be going for balance transfer deals left right and centre! Mwah haw haw- I will rule the world!


I'd settle for my house TBH!

rca779

I am hoping to pay off my mortgage in the next month :j .

Once the FA read my CV as a successful under 9's coach they are bound to appoint me along with a multi-million pound contract :T

After all I can't be any worse than that muppet we've had in charge for the last 18 months :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

setmefree2

Off topic, I know, but if you find that you can't accept the job wouldn't it be nice to have Jose Mourinho - what a disaster last night was:eek:

financialbliss

Just a quick "hi".

My parents moved house on Friday. Instead of being a 5 minute drive away, they're a 5 minute walk away, which is nice.

Spend Thursday evening until today sorting out and moving boxes, helping in the actual move, mainly with garden furniture and breakables, despite them getting movers in, and sorting out at the new location.

That's why I've not been around for a few days...

Thanks,
FB.

JonnyBravo

financialbliss wrote: »

And if you’re reading this, but you’ve not posted, please, please, do say hi. That said, I think I lurked for about 6 months before I registered with MSE forums.

Hi FB,

ok, I'll say "Hi".... I don't post too often.... but I'll say hi as your thread is one of the ones I look in on.

Keep up the good work and the interesting posts.

I guess it's just nosey-ness but it is interesting looking in on aspects of other peoples lives.... well, some people!

Dumb_Blonde_3

Hi Financial Bliss - I've just come accross your thread and its really helped me