Fighting the mortgage interest

Numbercruncher_mfw

Yes @Kittenkirst it's so addictive!!

March update: Things are going ahead as planned. My savings now stand at £9.5k, I'm so close to the milestone of having £10k in the bank which I'm excited about reaching. The last time I had that much in the bank was when I was saving for the deposit. 

The mortgage balance is currently £137.6k with £1k being overpaid so far this year. I'm toying with the idea of trying to get the mortgage under £130k by the end of the year but that would need around an extra £2.5k to be paid off in addition to the scheduled overpayments. I have to remember this is a marathon and not a sprint and that when lockdown has finally eased that £2k might be put to better use. I find it hard not to obsess over the figures, it's a nice idea in my head to commit to £10k coming off the capital each year but I need to remember to make the most of my younger years.

I've fell out of my reading routine, hopefully I can make more of a habit of it this month. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

Wow well I've had the toughest few months of my life with my mental health. Onwards and upwards but it's going to take a bit of time to get back to me, my self esteem is currently on the floor. Just putting this here so that I can hopefully read back in the future when I'm feeling better and remind myself I can get through it. My passion for mortgage overpayments and reading  these boards has waned the past few months but I'm going to try and post and read more regularly. 

greent

Hi - just read the whole of your diary Don't be disheartened by waning passion for OPs - my diary has a few periods of me being AWOL (usually when my MH was not the best or stress from things was high - there's only so much mental energy I have to go around ) I found it (passion for OPs) came back when I was feeling stronger x And I definitely think that there's a balance to find between living life and OPing x

Numbercruncher_mfw

Thanks greent, nice of you to drop in 

Good news is my mental health is much better at the moment and I'm feeling more like myself with enthusiasm again for overpaying. I had a nice summer break in Torquay which was a good chance to have a change of scenery and recharge the batteries. 

Exciting mortgage news, it was time to remortgage this month and I was excited to be able to get a 5 year fix for 1.16% (our previous interest rate was 2.04%). That means our standard mortgage repayments have dropped to £510 per month. It's crazy to think that it's £80 less a month than our previous monthly repayment (£590) which is nearly £1k per year saved. It's also £150 per month cheaper than what we were paying when we originally took out the mortgage which is £1,800 saving or the equivalent of a nice summer holiday. Not that I'm using the money in that way, we are still continuing with the plan of having a regular payment of £834 per month (so a regular £324 overpayment) so that saving on the mortgage payment comes straight off the capital. 

When I started this diary we had paid £2k in overpayments and the current figure stands at £8.5k. The best thing we did was to increase our standard monthly payment so it automatically includes an overpayment, that means we don't have to think about overpaying and it happens naturally. Little payments add up, I couldn't imagine paying £8.5k off in one go but doing it over time it is manageable. It's so easy to fritter away money on fast food, meals out or takeaway coffees so it's rewarding to have the spare cash be spent well. 

I think that lesson of small things building momentum also resonates with my personal life and my mental health journey. A few months ago I was really suffering from self critical thoughts and lack of self belief with a huge fear of failure. My main bit of learning over the past few months is that doing something is better than nothing and can build momentum. Perfectionism can really hold you back, and that applies to overpayments. Yes there are many people who are able to make big overpayments  and when you read their diaries you can end up feeling bad about your money habits/income but the reality is even if you pay a £1 overpayment you are still making progress and further forward than if you make no overpayment at all. My new mantra is not to be the best at things but to try my best. Anyways, that's my ramble for today. I'm so glad I started this diary as it's great to document how far we've come. Have a nice weekend all, I have a cough and a cold so it'll be a night infront of the tv watching strictly come dancing for me 

FatJock

I've just caught up on your MFW journey - you're doing great and just wanted to say keep up the good efforts. As I often tell my son, effort = reward....but remember to enjoy it as it can be a daunting effort. Keep going you're doing amazing. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

FatJock said:

I've just caught up on your MFW journey - you're doing great and just wanted to say keep up the good efforts. As I often tell my son, effort = reward....but remember to enjoy it as it can be a daunting effort. Keep going you're doing amazing. 

Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate the support. I'll go and check our your diary too. I totally agree about effort=reward and often that reward is being proud of yourself for making the effort, regardless of the outcome. 

The cold is still hanging around so I've dusted off the juicer and have been making juices to try and get some vitamins. Yesterday was homemade orange, carrot and ginger juice and this afternoon has been apple, celery, cucumber and ginger. Tastes delicious but the reason I don't do it more often is my juicer is a pain to clean. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

Happy November, can't believe we are coming to the end of the year already. I'm so glad I renewed my mortgage last month as it looks like rates are going to start to creep up. 

Big news in my personal life, I've started driving lessons. Driving is my biggest fear in life, before October I had never had a lesson but after a tough patch with my self esteem this year I decided I needed to face my fear. Its nerve wracking but atleast I'm doing. Any one else learned to drive later in life?

happymum37

You vare doing fabulously well. Just read your diary and wanted to say we'll done.

With your mortgage rate changing have you figured out how many years you will have knocked off the term? 

Best of luck with the driving.  Apologies I learned when I was 17 so can't advise x

Numbercruncher_mfw

happymum37 said:

You vare doing fabulously well. Just read your diary and wanted to say we'll done.

With your mortgage rate changing have you figured out how many years you will have knocked off the term? 

Best of luck with the driving.  Apologies I learned when I was 17 so can't advise x

Ooo good question. Just used the mse overpayment calculator and the number of years knocked off by paying £834 a month mortgage (standard plus overpayment) is as follows:

- 2.89% (my initial rate) - mortgage would be paid 8 years 2 months earlier
- 2.04% (my previous rate) - mortgage would be paid 9 years 5 months earlier
-1.16% (my current rate) - mortgage would be paid 10 years 6 months earlier. 

So compared to my first rate, 2.5 years have dropped off the mortgage without changing level of payments, not bad going . Of course, interest rates might go back up so it's not as set in stone unfortunately. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

Latest driving lesson was quite bad. I had to finish it early as I started feeling too sick with nerves. I'm fine driving on a road but as soon as I get to junctions and I have that element of pressure I crumble. I ended up coming in crying, I've had nightmares since then. Whilst I really want to face my fear, I do wonder if I'm pushing myself a little too much. I don't want to let my OH down as he's really proud that I'm attempting to learn, I just can't describe how scary I find it. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about it. Yikes.