happihorse's journey to mortgage freedom and contentment…

happihorse

Hello - I'm back!  I can't believe it has been 2 and a half weeks since I was last here although, saying that, so much has happened in that time too!  

I will do my monthly summary in a new post shortly (albeit a little late again)!

So, what's been happening over the last month?

I will start with the more positive news.  I am currently on annual leave this week so enjoying a hard-earned break from work and making the very most of it.    Last week I ordered some hedging plants and put them in at the weekend.  That was a day of very hard work but well worth it.  Hopefully they will thrive and soon grow to form a nice barrier.  I have decided to replace my car after all (further on the reasons why later) and went to see one last night which I have said I want so need to sort out the finances, insurance, road tax, etc later today.  Whilst not a necessity, the timing is right and I found a really good one, plus this one will (hopefully) be a lot more reliable than my old car.  My bonus has been paid and, whilst I was planning to squirrel some of this away, the majority has gone on paying off my credit card, getting straight again and the new car.

In less positive news, I had a car accident the weekend before last.    Luckily no one was injured but it has done quite a bit of damage to my car and it's being written off.  Prior to the accident I was resigned to the fact that I would run my car for a few more years (whilst paying the mortgage down) but this has pretty much taken the decision out of my hands.  I could replace like for like but it makes sense to upgrade now as I wouldn't get as much if I part-exchanged it later.

In money news things are all a bit up in the air.    I have had my bonus and used it to get my finances sorted with the remainder going towards the new car.  The rest of the purchase price will come from the insurance pay out and Premium Bonds.  One of my objectives this week is to re-do my budget to reflect my increased pension contribution and bills.  Then I will need to review whether or not I can continue my current level of mortgage overpayment.

My diet and exercise plans are broadly ticking along nicely.  I am still having the odd takeaway but getting out walking most days (averaging about 2.6 miles per day).  I am back at Slimming World tonight but have lost about a stone and a half in 6 weeks so far which I am really pleased with.  Need to cut out the takeaway and junk completely but pleased that I am heading in the right direction.  Previously I would have gone at it like hell for leather and then been unable to maintain it so this more sustainable gradual approach seems to be working.  

Right, best get on with some other stuff.  I have been out for a long (4.8 mile) walk this morning so quite happy to be inside doing some life admin stuff while it's raining outside!

happihorse

So, monthly update as follows:

Mortgage:
- Starting balance                                     £289,980.00
- Current outstanding balance                  £263,647.09
- Amount repaid                                        £26,332.91 (9.1%)

Savings                                                     £20,000

Credit card debt                                        £70.98 (previous month's spending paid off in full last week)

Day to day my spending has been better with less frivolous purchases although there is definitely still room for improvement.    The big drop in savings (held in Premium Bonds) is because I have withdrawn £11,000 to go towards the new car (which I will be purchasing on a cash basis to avoid any interest charges).  It was bonus payday last month so I made my standard £2,000 mortgage payment (which includes £895 overpayment) and my increased pension contribution but need to check if that is sustainable this month onwards when my pay goes back to normal.  I will be spending some time this week reviewing my budget.

In terms of other goals:

Mortgage free within 10 years – I had hoped to make another lump sum overpayment this month (but won't because of the new car) but will have a look to see where I am in terms of maintaining the current monthly overpayment as this would mean I re-pay the mortgage in 13 years (which would still be great bearing in mind my increased pension contributions ).

Getting healthier, fitter and losing weight – this is heading in the right direction with about a stone and a half lost in the first 6 weeks although further focus required in terms of planning, avoiding takeaways and not taking too many days off walking

Establishing a better work/life balance – this has been really good this last month or so (despite a very busy time at work) as I have been sticking to my contracted hours pretty much and got finished up in good time for my week off

Get back into horse riding – broadly on track to get back riding by the end of June 2022 although need to push on with weight loss to make this happen

Being less wasteful (particularly with money but across other areas of my life too) – again, better but room for further improvement, particularly around takeaways and unnecessary spends

Making my new house the home I want it to be – some good progress with planting the hedge last weekend and will push on to do some outside jobs (preferably low cost ones) over the coming weeks

badmemory

Will you be able to pay a small amount for your car by credit card for the protection?  Just in case!

South_coast

Sorry to hear about the car accident, but great that you have been able to buy the replacement in cash. And in a funny way it has cost you less overall, as you wouldn't have got anything for your old car if you'd run it into the ground, but this way you've got the insurance payout. Glad there were no injuries. 

That's cracking news on the weight loss and exercise - you'll be back on those horses in no time 😀!

savingholmes

Well done on the continued weightloss. I really must get started on that. Glad your horse riding dream is getting closer. 

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope the new car is what you dream of. If there's no additional cost - I would be tempted to buy the car on the CC and then immediately repay the CC. It protects you against bankruptcy by the garage which has been known to happen.

Sounds like things are heading in the right direction overall.

happihorse

badmemory said:

Will you be able to pay a small amount for your car by credit card for the protection?  Just in case!

Thanks badmemory.

It's a good idea but unfortunately I wasn't able to because the garage doesn't accept credit card payments.

happihorse

South_coast said:

Sorry to hear about the car accident, but great that you have been able to buy the replacement in cash. And in a funny way it has cost you less overall, as you wouldn't have got anything for your old car if you'd run it into the ground, but this way you've got the insurance payout. Glad there were no injuries. 

That's cracking news on the weight loss and exercise - you'll be back on those horses in no time 😀!

Hi South_coast and thanks.

Yes, very pleased there was no injuries and, like you said, it might have been better in the long run anyway (although still wish it hadn't happened).

happihorse

savingholmes said:

Well done on the continued weightloss. I really must get started on that. Glad your horse riding dream is getting closer. 

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope the new car is what you dream of. If there's no additional cost - I would be tempted to buy the car on the CC and then immediately repay the CC. It protects you against bankruptcy by the garage which has been known to happen.

Sounds like things are heading in the right direction overall.

Hi savingholmes.  Hope you had a lovely holiday and time off work.  I will catch up on your diary later this week.

Did you hear anything more about free subscription to Slimming World?

Unfortunately garage wouldn't have let me pay for the car (or part of it) on a credit card as I was thinking of stoozing the amount but hey ho, at least it means I can get straight again and a bit more organised with money.

It does feel like things are, more generally, heading in the right direction.  Slow and steady wins the race (despite me being desperate to run before I can walk)!

happihorse

So just a quick drop in before I start work.

My time off last week was fantastic.    Feels like I really unwound and decompressed.  Didn't do a huge amount of stuff (other than planting the hedge and getting the car) but did do lots of walking and sorting at home which has helped my wellbeing more generally too. 

Back at work today so feeling the blues a bit but just been looking at when I can take some more time off.  Looks like July for a week but might book a couple of long weekends before then (and there is the jubilee one coming up soon too). 

Car arrived Friday and is fantastic.    So nice to drive and something I have wanted for a long time.  It's low mileage and I am going to use this and a desire to keep it low to stop me keep doing lots of little short journeys each day and try to plan my travel a bit better.  Will help with wear and tear on the car as well as fuel costs (and contribute towards the less waste goal I have).

Right, better get cracking, have a couple of hundred emails to sort through and some weekly tasks to get done today plus a load of meetings. 

savingholmes

Glad you got your car sorted.

Glad you had some time off. I really enjoyed mine. Feel much more refreshed. 

On SW - I need to chase the referral. Not heard anything yet.