Lolu's Mortgage Free odyssey

killerpeaty

It must be really hard to connect when you feel like that. Has it got more difficult with lockdown? I think a lot of people lost the knack of being social during lockdown, so you need to ignore a lot because people don't actually mean it right now.

What would you prefer stylewise?

misslolu

@killerpeaty I think it's gotten so easy just to isolate myself and not do anything to maintain friendships during lockdown. I'm quite content just being on my own, but i do feel lonely once in a while, plus the clock is ticking 😭 .

I'm really trying to give the house a scandinavian/minimalist look, but my design skills are so poor that it's not quite going that way ha ha. The media table that I got was in that style but I feel like the colour was way too similar to the floor and didn't stand out. I think I'm going to look for something darker or even black.

misslolu

I definitely fell off for the last two weeks, I've been so annoyed about the amount of money I'm spending with seemingly nothing to show for it that I kind of haven't really been bothered about overpaying. Well luckily I went to TopCashback and found £35 worth of cash back in there that I hadn't realised I had been accumulating. And on top of that there's still £70 pending, though I don't think I'll actually get that much because some duplicate payments. All in all, it means that I can put £59.59 into the mortgage strictly from other sources which is a sigh of relief for me as I'm actually in minus for the month.

That brings me down to £191,609.40 and reduces my monthly payments to £862.06. I also in a moment of inspiration decided to increase my monthly payment so that I'm always overpaying even when I don't feel like it, at least that should make a dent.

Now I need to make sure I get my butt in gear and stop overspending, especially on food and prepping six months worth of milk, tins and other bits. I guess I'm slightly worried about the supposed food shortages that people keep talking about I don't want to be caught unawares. I'd also really like to be able to help my sister if it does come down to it.

killerpeaty

Do you know what you have been spending on? Because you might not have something physical but it might have been going to the cinema or something which can well be worth the money.

Food shortages happen. The shops will probably just put limits on what we can buy again. Perhaps I'm not as concerned as I should be!

misslolu

killerpeaty said:

Do you know what you have been spending on? Because you might not have something physical but it might have been going to the cinema or something which can well be worth the money.

Food shortages happen. The shops will probably just put limits on what we can buy again. Perhaps I'm not as concerned as I should be!

Funny enough I just think it's a combination of going back outside and the new house which has much higher bills than I did before. I've spent £150 on eating out alone whereas in a "normal" month i'd only spend £60. Then there's transport, i'm definitely going out a lot more and finally, i booked a holiday so had to get the necessary tests which are extortionate. To be fair, even with all that i've managed to save £300 which is decent, but compared to £1000 a few months ago, it's a bit disheartening. But you're right @k@killerpeaty i had lots of fun at those outings and got to spend time with friends and family.

Wrt the food, i've actually always been a bit paranoid, the shortages just give me an excuse.

killerpeaty

It is a big shock when your savings crash. I personally look at my cash still and still a little panic and it's been two years!

misslolu

😂not just you @killerpeaty i'm always checking my account and panicking about how much I have left. I've just come back from a holiday in Madrid and I already want to go back. I had so much fun seeing the sights, catching up with friends and eating spanish food. Coming back to dreary England wiped out my holiday mood instantly. Plus there's the fact I have to quarantine too 🥲. I'm hoping to have a few more holidays before the year is over, but i'm not sure how fun they'll be in the cold 😭.

Luckily, even with the tests i didn't spend too much on the holiday, everything was under £400 and since it's likely to be my only sunny holiday of the year, I don't mind spending it. Though sometimes I think about how that money could have helped with the mortgage. Life is for living though, not squirreling away money. 

misslolu

Long time no post! My payment for the month went out on the first, only for me to see that only the term is reduced, not the monthly amount. Slightly annoyed because I specifically asked if this was the case before I decided to have a payment and they obviously misunderstood or misinformed me. I've decided that instead of having the overpayment on the direct debit, I'll just do the overpayment myself when it's time which is less convenient but better for me. I checked my cashback account again and found another £53 that I can put towards this weeks overpayment as well as some other survey money so I'm excited. That means a total of £75 is going in which is absolutely wonderful. I was really ambitious at the beginning of the year and said I would put in one percent of the total mortgage as overpayments before the end of the year, I've barely even reached 0.1% so a definite overestimation.

Unfortunately, the council delaying my council tax payments means my payments are high till feb, then I have some outstanding tax to pay from a miscalculation years ago, add the holiday expenses I incurred last month and it's really been/going to be a tight few weeks. I don't think i'll be fully out of it till January next year which is a bit tough. I need to stop spending on my credit cards because even though I pay them off every month, I do tend to spend more than usual on it. £300 this month alone! I've told myself that everything will now come out of my main account and only my 0% credit card will be paid off each month now.

Anyways that brings my total mortgage down to £191,221.91and my monthly payment down to £861.69!! The monthly payment is now down a full pound from where I started, which seems tiny in the grand scheme of things, but I always get a bit excited when I think about the compounding effects.

misslolu

Mortgage payment has just gone out and my tight finances have just gotten even tighter 😭. I was delayed in getting my bill for service charge due to an error by my solicitor. I feel really aggrieved that if I hadn't checked myself, I'd have just been going about my life not knowing. Either way, I got the bill and saw that it was due mid November for a full 6 months worth. It's not ridiculously expensive on a monthly basis but 6 months of anything is substantial and added to current money issues, it's very upsetting.

So now looking at my budget i'm actually in minus for this and next month, which means i'll have to take the money from savings. Even those are low because of furniture bought for the flat, but i also helped my mum out with some money. It's supposed to come in today, and that should cover the full cost, but luckily I can pay in 3 installments so I can still use it as a partial buffer. It's a bit scary having finances this tight, it hasn't been like this for years so i'm really not enjoying being this way.

Another thing is i made the mistake of telling my family how much i earn, it's never been an issue before and i only earn £5k more than my last salary, and take home £200 extra a month. For some reason, they act like I'm now made of money and am being tight when I don't want to spend it or do money-saving activities. I've told them already that I took on debt to furnish the flat quickly and about the high compressed bills but they've been talking about me having £1000 to spend after bills which just isn't true. I may be luckier than some people, but after essential bills & debt goes through I have £550 left for groceries, transport, eating out/ entertainment, miscellaneous expenses and savings. I'm hardly living the life of Riley.

😞now I'm having to think about whether I can afford to keep overpaying my mortgage. Even though all the money comes from surveys, I may have to divert that to my main account, just to keep myself afloat. Really hoping that by January my financial situation is a lot better.

misslolu

Ok so after having my mini pity party i've managed to get myself together and figure out how to work out my finances so i'm not in mega debt. 

I checked my credit card and confirmed that even though I have 0% interest on my initial purchases made within the window, any purchases I make now that bear interest will be paid off first, then any extras will go towards the non-interest bearing part. So now instead of paying my minimum + the service charge, i'll put the service charge on my credit card in installments and pay the installments off so i'm still fulfilling my minimum payment, but also getting to pay off the service charge interest-free. I hope that makes sense, I had a hard time bouncing my ideas of my friend but they understood in the end.

I've got to make my first payment at the end of November, which means that I won't have to pay off the first instalment until January. That gives me some time to save up so I can pay that without hardship. Aside from that I have another bill to look forward to in February because apparently we pay in advance not arrears. Now that I know I have a good three months to save up, I should actually be able to pay off both service charges without bearing any interest on my credit card. But if I need to be interest then so be it, it should only be £50 or so which isn't much in the long run.

🥺I feel much better now, as I think I can still keep overpaid my mortgage without financially affecting me negatively.