So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

I'm fortunate that my parents had to deal with most of the loft stuff when they divorced and so there's definitely not that much in Mum's (large) loft. Dad's, while smaller, has quite a bit in it though. 

It is now absolutely hammering it down here and we have thunder and lightning, so plans to pop to allotment have been shelved. Lunch was the last of the picky bits and a roll each with some Port Salut that MIL brought us back from a day trip to France. Dinner is going to be Quorn escalopes, mashed potatoes and homemade sauerkraut - our first taste of my first attempt. Also some kale (Olio), in case the kraut is vile.

Had a quick discussion at lunchtime about the mortgage. At the end of the month (technically 2nd June) our deal runs out and we'll OP a lump sum, leaving less than £10k. Mr MV can get a 0% balance transfer deal (2.5% fee) with Virgin cc for £6,500. We are thinking we'll do this, hammer the remains of the mortgage and get it dealt with in a couple of months and then have a bit more leeway to pay off the BT, the 0% on which expires in a year. This looks like it would be the cheapest way and would also take the pressure off a bit - we'd be able to take a bit longer to finish paying without it costing more (current SVR with Santa is 7.5%, so we would only save if we'd paid it all off before Christmas, which while still the aim, would be a stretch/unnecessary pressure). We'd also be able to earn more in interest on the balance than we'd be paying in the fee. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Good idea? Bad idea? Anything we've not thought of (bearing in mind we've never used credit in this way before)?

EssexHebridean

themadvix said:

rtandon27 said:

<snip>

...still thinking about the diary - LOL - when it's you & EH egging me on, there must be something to it! xx RT

That's what has been brilliant about the recipe boxes - and great that OH can now improvise! 

EH and I just like to ramble on - you've seen how long our posts are, right? It always makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one who can put out such volume on a daily basis! 😂 But I love the input from others about my thinking and it's really helpful to have something to look back over and remind myself of a) the progress and b) things I might forget to do from time to time. And there's always the hope that I might say something that helps someone - I know I've picked up so many invaluable things from the forum over the years. To my mind, the forum is way more valuable than the website (sacrilege, I know) - once you get to a certain level of money saving skill though, learning from your equally tight/prudent/thrify peers is the only way! 😂

Haha this is SOOOOO true! And the number of times I've seen one of your posts and felt almost vindicated by someone else writing lots! Somehow it can really help just emptying your brain into a diary, I've found!

I also completely agree about the forum - there is just an incredible amount  of really invaluable information on here, and the level of support never fails to astonish me too. 

You sound like you've had a lovely weekend Vix - and productive too! I need to get back to tackling Mum's loft at some stage - you've reminded me on that in fact. 

Interesting considerations on the mortgage stuff - have you considered shifting to an offset for that final bit? Although I confess having said that I've no idea how they work in terms of rates/competitiveness etc! 

themadvix

I think the issue is (and I also have very little knowledge of offsets per se) that we won’t have long enough left unless we extend the mortgage duration to get a deal of any sort. And I don’t want to extend it - the sooner it is gone, the better! If anyone knows otherwise, I’m happy to be corrected!

So glad to have a fellow rambler! 😂 

Karmacat

Hi madvix - as far as the mortgage goes, almost any sort of mortgage has high fees these days, and for this amount (well, any amount you've owed over the past few years, actually) it makes the actual "interest" rate paid crazily high.  The 0% credit card is a great idea - it's very like what Martin recommends as the way to use 0% ccs.  I'd just say that to give yourself even more leeway, you could roll it over at the end of the year if you hadn't quite finished paying it off?  "Under £10k" leaves some wide options - seeing your actions through the diary, I bet you could pay off the £6,500 you mention, but £9,900 might be a stretch.  I love the idea of you finishing off by using a 0% deal, though, it's great!

EssexHebridean

themadvix said:

I think the issue is (and I also have very little knowledge of offsets per se) that we won’t have long enough left unless we extend the mortgage duration to get a deal of any sort. And I don’t want to extend it - the sooner it is gone, the better! If anyone knows otherwise, I’m happy to be corrected!

So glad to have a fellow rambler! 😂 

Yes - that would be my suspicion too - bearing in mind almost all the deals are 2 years at the shortest aren't they. I've no idea whether a straight SVR offset is a thing, and how practical it would be to switch like that at this stage anyway. 

Allowing that the final chunk of our mortgage got paid off over the phone using my debit card I'm wholly in favour of mortgage clearing deals that are a bit outside of the ordinary I have to say, and effectively "stoozing" the end of your mortgage onto 0% deals seems like a winner to me! 

Definitely hold onto that "sooner it's gone, the better" thing too. Also - don't be afraid to decimate your emergency fund at the very end to clear it as remember with no mortgage payments going forwards, you can rebuild at least a basic pot again incredibly fast afterwards. As long as you still have a credit card for any real "SHTF" moments in the few weeks right after clearing you can almost take an EF down to zero IMO.  

I'm so excited for you being so close though - I LOVED getting ours cleared, and am almost now looking forward to taking another one so we get to do it all over again! 

themadvix

Karmacat said:

Hi madvix - as far as the mortgage goes, almost any sort of mortgage has high fees these days, and for this amount (well, any amount you've owed over the past few years, actually) it makes the actual "interest" rate paid crazily high.  The 0% credit card is a great idea - it's very like what Martin recommends as the way to use 0% ccs.  I'd just say that to give yourself even more leeway, you could roll it over at the end of the year if you hadn't quite finished paying it off?  "Under £10k" leaves some wide options - seeing your actions through the diary, I bet you could pay off the £6,500 you mention, but £9,900 might be a stretch.  I love the idea of you finishing off by using a 0% deal, though, it's great!

There are a few deals without fees (but a concomitantly higher rate), and we did consider taking a 2-year fix and just sucking up the ERCs as this would work out about the same, but I think the BT is the way to go. It'll last until March - so gives us more leeway anyway.

themadvix

EssexHebridean said:

Allowing that the final chunk of our mortgage got paid off over the phone using my debit card I'm wholly in favour of mortgage clearing deals that are a bit outside of the ordinary I have to say, and effectively "stoozing" the end of your mortgage onto 0% deals seems like a winner to me! 

Definitely hold onto that "sooner it's gone, the better" thing too. Also - don't be afraid to decimate your emergency fund at the very end to clear it as remember with no mortgage payments going forwards, you can rebuild at least a basic pot again incredibly fast afterwards. As long as you still have a credit card for any real "SHTF" moments in the few weeks right after clearing you can almost take an EF down to zero IMO.  

I'm so excited for you being so close though - I LOVED getting ours cleared, and am almost now looking forward to taking another one so we get to do it all over again! 

I hadn't thought of it in terms of stoozing, but I guess it is!

We will use a small amount (£2k) of the EF for getting rid of the mortgage, but it's my buffer fund for self-employment, so I won't let too much of it go I'm afraid. SE income is never guaranteed and it is my peace of mind (fortunately I've only very rarely ever had to use a tiny bit of it, but it's what allows me to sleep at night, and Mr MV isn't convinced there won't be more cuts at his work so definitely not inclined to wipe it out!).

I am very excited about it being nearly gone!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

I woke up to no work this morning so planned to get a load of allotment/gardening bits done before physio appointment at 12.30. I popped down to the allotment and weeded a bed and planted my oca tubers and also fed the garlic. It was very soggy down there but the parsnips I planted at the weekend hadn't given up in the deluge yesterday, which was good. By the time I got back home, main client had some urgent work for me, so I spent the rest of the morning doing that. Physio was good and I'm now typing from mum's where I came after the appointment for some much-needed lunch (I drove my car here as it was available and Mr MV's in the office today). I've finished the work and entered the daily comps just now. I've got some more work to do, but I might leave this until tomorrow morning.

Dinner tonight will be BNS risotto and I've already got the pre-roasted BNS out of the freezer. I've got my Olio collection tonight, so something easy is called for.

MS things:
* Clicks, comps and HW done - £5 withdrawn from HW
* 1P surveys - over £7 now
* PA surveys
* YG and NV surveys in my inbox
* Olio collection tonight
* Physio and I have left it that I'll ring if I need another appointment - glad she's not so keen to see me as the last one

Gratitudes:
* Lunch with mum in her garden with lots of birdsong - and a starling's nest in her eaves
* Made the most of the sunshine this morning (it's chucking it down again now)
* No further action required with physio, unless needed

Have a good day all!

rtandon27

Hooray for the physio having worked and leaving further appointments up to you!

I've been to chiro myself today - wow he's good - an afternoon of diminished pain! He did warn that I'd be achy for a few days though!

Karmacat

Hope you're both feeling better from lovely treatments - timescale is a bit individual, it's true.  

Good times!