Mortgage Free Sooner rather than later

family355

So the boiler was collected by the plumber and thankfully left amicable. £2200 shuffled back into premium bonds until we need to actually replace the boiler. 

Soon after my non urgent car issue turned urgent as the alternator died, the garage priced 425 for new or 225 for reconditioned so I opted for the reconditioned. DH non urgent car issue is his door handle has broken but the replacement mechanism for that is a few hundred 🙄 For now he is opening it by reaching through from the back door.
An expensive couple of months but for the first time have had cash available...our oldest turned 18 and we made the best out of the lockdown situation. She has lived with us for the last 10 years under a Special Guardianship Order. I had tracked down her trust fund and we have paid in small amounts over the last 10 years so she now has enough for a car or towards a house deposit. I also made her a photo album of the somewhat limited Childhood photos we had, she was really happy and hopefully took her mind off the fact her biological parents were as they always have been-non existent! 

Our mortgage is sitting at 95220, the mortgage statement arrived and for the first time was a couple of pages due to the extra OP’s since June. The small amounts have certainly added up! I want to clear it as soon as possible but without sacrificing family life along the way. My aim will be for 10 years/by the time I’m 45. Hopefully 🙂

savingholmes

Glad you resolved the boiler. Good luck with your MFW plans.

family355

Thanks @savingholmes, appreciate you stopping by an well wishes 💜

Ami-Rose

Awwh, that sounds like a lovely 18th for your eldest. Sorry you've been given the run around with the boiler. We had an issue with our garage roof and arranged someone to come look, he just didn't turn up! Luckily we had a backup person who has turned out to be much more reliable and hopefully will be sorted this week.  I couldn't imagine the same problem, but with the heating!

family355

Thanks @Ami-Rose, I dread having jobs done for this reason...don’t turn up, turn up then don’t come back with a quote 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

Good Luck with your roof, I have actually book marked your diary as we are at similar amounts so will catch up soon and pop by 🙂

Ami-Rose

We'll be in your rear view mirror in no time, haha. Ours is a similar amount but on a 29 year term. It'll be good to share experiences though! I've found the community here so helpful and a good motivator to stay on track.

family355

Agreed Ami-Rose, I’m so glad I found this forum to begin this journey! 

Thankfully an uneventful month since my last post, Girls are all back in school/college and payments are all going as planned! I’ve officially knocked 6 months off the mortgage 🎉
Mortgage Balance £94580-Only 16y 6m to go 😂 (original end date March 3038)
0% c/c Balance £5200-Balance at March 2020=£11,147
Bonds £9k-Savings at March 2020=£0

eternal_sunshine

family355 said:

Agreed Ami-Rose, I’m so glad I found this forum to begin this journey!

Thankfully an uneventful month since my last post, Girls are all back in school/college and payments are all going as planned! I’ve officially knocked 6 months off the mortgage 🎉
Mortgage Balance £94580-Only 16y 6m to go 😂 (original end date March 3038)
0% c/c Balance £5200-Balance at March 2020=£11,147
Bonds £9k-Savings at March 2020=£0

You are doing great! Well below that 100k too! Can’t believe you have been paying a mortgage for thirteen years and managed to make such a jump on the properly ladder! I’ve been paying mine for ten years and still in the same house! (Although to be fair we have no interest in moving anyway).

is it easy to get your money out of bonds if you need it?

family355

Hi @eternal_sunshine, thanks for stopping by! 

Our first house was a 2 up 2 down for 80k in a different area than we wanted to live, although our mortgage could have essentially been paid off now, I’m not sure it would have been so much fun our 3 girls sharing a bedroom 😂

We bought the second house as a repossession and the only house we could afford in the area we wanted, then made the move here once our family expanded from 1 to 3 children in a few months to give them all their own bedroom. Turned out to be the best move, We bought it for 218k In 2013 and 2 neighbours have recently sold for 375k/415k. We would not pass affordability for those prices nowadays! 

Yes the bonds draw out quicker than getting a win paid (2-3 days from memory in Feb time when we were going to replace the boiler) I am actually going to draw some out after May’s draw as I’ve realised I’ve been paying the wrong credit card down and been hit with the interest this month 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

This month our costs have increased going forward, Along with non lockdown spending, we took in a foster dog who is absolutely amazing so have decided to adopt her too🐶 Not very MSE but definitely the best family/lifestyle decision 🙂

family355

12 month update from joining MFW...

                  May 2020.         May 2021

Mortgage   £101,343.          £93,365
Term.          17yrs 10m.        16yrs 3m
C/cards.     £10,768.            £2700
Bonds.       £4125.               £9250
Lisa.           £5k.                   £5k

The initial ‘savings’ were from a holiday refund. In reality we have never had savings so I’m really pleased that these have been added to, credit cards reduced by £8068 and over payments of just over £3k made to the mortgage. The lockdowns have rebooted our finances for the better, We will continue to to rid ourselves of the credit card debt and overpay on the mortgage. The aim is to be MF by 2030! 🤞🏼