Squirreling Away Those Nuts

FtbDreaming

Hi squirrel. I got my mortgage on the 17th August and had the same shock as you today. I assumed the capital payments were split equally across the term so in my case £69700/360= £193.61 off the capital each month but in actual fact its only taken £57 off the capital which is peanuts! 

I am also planning on doing up my house from top to toe. Done the first job this week and now it’s made me rethink the Overpaying as I spent so much money in so little time that I felt I should maybe be keeping a bit of cash back in case of emergency. 

Squirrelz92

Thanks for dropping by @FtbDreaming Oh wow you are also new to the world of mortgages and understanding it all then! Wish they at least gave us an overview in school or something to prepare us Yes exactly right, I knew the interest would be a fair whack, but not so it ate up nearly all of my standard mortgage payment! Thank the heavens for Google calming me down after looking into it. I understand now. It's just a shame that almost all your efforts to overpay no matter how much will barely get noticed until a few years down the line  

Have you bought a reno too? Which was the first job that you decided to do? I understand completely where you are coming from regarding overpaying/saving strategy. My main aim is to make sure I am squirreling away enough each month in my renovation pot so the job I am wanting to do gets underway as soon as possible and any floating funds after that are split between my emergency fund and overpayments. I think over the next few months its finding that nice balance but it doesnt help that EVERYTHING needs doing in this house so my pot will forever be filled and then emptied!

Gemma x

Squirrelz92

My outstanding mortgage balance has refreshed and now stands as a rather messy £97068.38.... Cant be having that now can we? It will eat me alive until I have fixed it Sooooo my first October overpayment is for £68.38 to round it off to a fabulous £97,000. I did debate adding one extra penny to bring it into the £96,000's but I thought it may wind me up not being neat.

Spent £25 whilst in the bath last night on a thermal base layer set for my eldest minion. The nights are getting colder and he was freezing at his running session yesterday evening so money well spent there. My youngest seems to have a habit of coming home with ripped tights always in the same place so I have ordered her a new pack of grey tights. Hopefully these will last longer being better quality!

Here's to a great Friday folks  

Gemma x

ruby_eskimo

Well done on making a start.  I'm almost 4 years into paying our first mortgage and it can still get disheartening when you realise that the payment barely covers the interest you're accumulating!  I also keep track of the LTV and in 3 years and 9 months we've reduced the LTV by 5% which I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing but at least that's a number I know will continue to go down!

Squirrelz92

Thank you @ruby_eskimo Oh gosh really? It is rather disheartening, but just keep on plodding! Oooh I have yet to track that so I might have a dabble on a spreadsheet  

FtbDreaming

Well done on clearing the first £1000.. I done exactly the same as you and paid the odd £43.20 to round it down to the next £100.

i bought my house off the housing association and have already been here 8 years. Ive already previously done it to a cheap standard and never done any of the big things like new kitchen and bathroom but the main issue we have is a loft conversion needs doing. 

I have 3 kids 11,8 and 6 and they fight like cats and dogs so really need their own rooms. At the minute I have dd 8 and ds 6 sharing as they get along slightly better than the 2 girls but I have just over a year until dd8 will be 10 and won’t be able to share with him anymore. I also have the same issue with The girls and their tights! We go through so many. And now dd1 has started high school that’s a whole new expense! 

Good luck with the mortgage and the renovation pots. I’ll keep up to date x

Squirrelz92

Hi @FtbDreaming Many thanks for your kind words! Rounding down to the next £100 is always satisfying. I feel a habit of doing this every month occurring Yes, i have read about your loft conversion on your thread and it certainly sounds like a big job. Awwww I can imagine them all now coming to the age where they would love their own little space. It's always a worry wanting to be able to buy a house where your children can have their own privacy, but we can't all win the lottery! A loft conversion sounds great though! It will be worth the money! This is the first year where my daughter's uniform must be a pinafore or a skirt. The idea of wearing either in these winter months without leg coverage makes me shiver so tights are a must! Just sucks about the reoccurring holes! I can't even begin to imagine how much it must cost you to equip your children for high school :O Sell the house to fund it is an option?!  

We have all just got back from visiting my family in the Midlands. Birthday surprise present for the other half was a trip to Alton Towers as I always remembered him telling me he had unfinished business with the rides back from when he last went as a teenager (now 28)! Everything was COVID mad! Face masks had to be worn throughout the park and on rides, although park capacity was reduced considerably, queues were longer due to the 2m space you had to leave between each party of people (no more than 6). Temperatures were taken, hand sanitizer everywhere, half the carriages on the rides were not being used to create extra space between people.... crazy! Not too much money spent thank goodness as we decided to fall prey to the prices of food there... we managed on a doughnut each and a coffee. Can't say the same for the KFC on the drive home though!

On a financial note, my final instalment of my First Choice holiday was refunded whilst I was away. £600 I need to transfer back to my grandma for her ticket. The rest I have split between my pots. £200 for Xmas, £200 to the emergency fund and £200 to renovations. I didn't feel the need to overpay anything today as it's been a long weekend and I would like to take the time out to study the next week or so of finances to see what I will have floating about. 

I should just about have enough in the reno pot now to get the jobs needed done that I wanted to for the year. Reboarding and plastering 2 walls in each bedroom plus the landing AND paying off the rest of the upstairs carpet and fitting! Will still need to paint the walls the desired colour (kids rooms first), wallpaper the feature wall and gloss the skirtings and stairs before the carpets can be laid but it is DEFINITELY doable now before Christmas! Things are coming along

Gemma x

jenni_fer

Happy New Diary Gemma!
Sounds like you have made a great start!
As someone who has done their ACCA...build a spreadsheet, you'll find it really satisfying to see the impact of your overpayments (e.g £50 this month may well take a month off the end of the mortgage) which is much more motivating than seeing how little the balance appears to drop each month in the very beginning. 
Good Luck!

Squirrelz92

Hi @jenni_fer Thanks for dropping in! It's great that you have completed your ACCA journey! I have 7 more exams to go but its half way there so not too bad Yes I think building a spreadsheet is definitely a great way to keep on top of how far I have come and visually see it elsewhere other than just my on my online banking! Many thanks!

Squirrelz92

Looks like the bad weather at Alton Towers at the weekend got the better of me. Felt like utter crap Sunday evening, made it to work Monday morning to then have to give in to going home after 2 hours. Haven't been poorly in a very long time so I am definitely overdue, but I forgot how utterly crappy it makes you feel. Cracking headache, hot and cold, tired and achy....could only be the flu! Aah well, lots of tea drinking and dozing off required! Allows me some extra time to get some bonus studying done too so all is not lost. My son has running again this evening. It's his first time wearing my running headtorch so he is bouncing with excitement! Kitted out to the max in hi viz; he looks like a Christmas tree! Thank the heavens I am able to sit in the car for this session as there is no way I could face taking him to his usual location where I have to stand for an hour in all weathers.

Had a good study of my bank accounts last night trying to work out if I can release any further funds to any of my pots or to overpaying the mortgage (anything to make me feel better). I reckon I could release the odd £ here and there but I am worried in case I eat into any leftover funds that I may need. It's only the beginning of the month so I have plenty of time yet  

Gemma x