Something is better than nothing

RuralDreams

Not really sure which thread this ultimately belongs as is a mismatch of a couple of qus but since I really would love to be mortgage free sooner than the term I have placed it here.

I have a mortgage, new, with Atom and I am debating between monthly overpayment vs 1 off start of term lump sum. My op amount isn't vast but it's what I can afford and as the old saying goes "something is better than nothing".
So would it be more beneficial to pay a lump sum upfront than monthly op?
With this being a new product the interest is at its highest so the margins saved don't seem huge just now but all relative the gains will increase as the mortgage decreases.

I'm a first time buyer and only now in the position to start to invest in my future financially. I could op more but I am also concentrating on building my pension pot and savings.

I did use a LISA to buy and benefited from first time buyer stamp duty relief so saved some cash there. Currently building up my workplace pension, making the most of the matched %, I am still using the LISA, for pension now, as a mini personal pension pot.
Looked into VLS40/60 but currently wrangling with the £100/month min contribution….maybe that's for a other day in a year or two.

I want to be sensible.
Looking for ideas re investing, is there any kind of platform whereby I can invest less than £100/month that is as user friendly as VLS and competitively priced?

ec9wrr

Lots of places will accept less than £100 a month. I invest my spare cash in a stocks and shares isa and sipp rather than paying off the mortgage. Borrowing on mortgage is so cheap so I find payments into these two investment vehicles is a better use of the extra money.

Vanguard have low cost trackers you can invest in through a stocks and shares ISA and have a very easy to understand website.

AnotherJoe

I disagree that something is better than nothing,
You have a schedule to,pay down your mortgage, relatively speaking compared to other debt, to inflation, to the gains you can make via investments in a pension or ISA it's low cost.
I suggest you focus on those instead and leave time to take care of the mortgage.

Thrugelmir

RuralDreams wrote: »

My op amount isn't vast but it's what I can afford and as the old saying goes "something is better than nothing".

The old adage. Look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves. Overpay by what you can when you can. Don't expect immediate results though. The benefits will come in the longer term. There is something immemsely satisfying about being mortgage free.

RuralDreams

Thanks for replies. I have adjusted my plans to:

1 lump sum overpayment at the start of my term each year. (roughly a rounded up to nearest thousand of what I would be op monthly)

Uping my workplace pension contributions. Only 40% of my contributions will be matched by workplace but they increase theirs next year due to length of service

I will open a s&s isa for spare monies

I will continue to hold an accessible emergency fund of cash