My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

craftingmad

Everyone has a day off today so we plan to spend it making some memories as sometimes there are more important things than our mortgage mountain mission However the weather does not appear to be playing ball at the moment - its chucking ot down here on the Norfolk Broads so we will wait to see how today goes.

Always time for a little bit of MSE'ing though so today I plan to:-

1. Update spreadsheets for this year - savings figures entered - just waiting for the mortgage companies to open on Monday so I can get new balances for these Feeling pretty proud of the 11K we have managed to pay off/save ready to be paid off
2. Play on Mistplay - aiming for 100 points a day now I can earn them quicker with my new phone - DONE 200 points added - I'm loving my new phone and kicking myself I did not set it up sooner 
3. Complete order received yesterday and get it posted off before Royal Mail price rises kick in on Monday 
4. Try and pay in cheques from Royal Mail for lost parcels (local branch closed so will see if I can find another branch to pay these in) - sadly no bank was open so they have come with me again and I will hopefully be able to pay them in on Monday On the plus side received another cheque for £5.95 for another lost order today so that can be paid in at the same time as the other two Now just waiting for two more International Postage claims I had to claim so hopefully they will come through soon too  
5. Complete a Nectar survey - tried to complete 5 but kicked out of all but at least I should get a credit of 10 points for those - my balance is moving slowly every day and I am now getting close to £10 in rewards
6. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some (boys are sleeping still so may as well do a little self promotion) 
7. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders
8. List an item on FB marketplace - DONE Thomas the Tank train set listed for £30 - really hope it sells as a) this money can be added to savings pot and b) the box it is stored in is huge so it will give me so much space back  
9. Check free postcode lottery in the hope I might have won - DONE not a winner  
10. Minimal heating on - DONE hubby complained he was cold so I stuck a blanket over him and he is now happily having a power nap on the sofa with the heating firmly off  
11. Find a small way to save electric - DONE another extension lead unplugged only to be turned on when needed an hoover unplugged 
12. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
13. Submit shop and scan for week to gain points (getting close to another £10 voucher) - DONE after next weeks submission I will have earned enough to claim another £10 voucher
14. Open High interest savings account or ISA
15. Sort more of the spare room and find more things to declutter/sell (got to get a wriggle on as get daughter from Uni on Monday)  - well I listed a huge box full of thomas train sets so need that to sell before Monday ideally as this will clear lots more space and took a basket of washing upstairs ready to put away so I'm starting to be able to see the bed again   
    

I've also added £10.50 to the OP savings post today as whilst the boys (son and hubby)  were having their haircut I had a mooch around the shops and refrained from buying anything. I was tempted by two radiator airers which would have been £7 but I have two large airers already which I can put close to the radiators so managed to resist. I was also very good and did'nt have a greggs either so added another £3.50 for what I was planning to spend in their
I've also just opened a card from my mum and dad which came today saying hello and inside was three scratchcards. Sadly two were not winners (the boys lucked out) but I won £5 so it is now in a safe place ready for me to cash in tomorrow. Won't add this to the total until it is cashed in though.

Every little helps right   

Sncjw

Can I ask why don't you pay off your mortgage with your savings also surely it will be cheaper to pay the admin fee which I think is actually early repayment charge rather than let it run til 2035 like you said you were going to. 

Then you will have the money you pay to that and the overpayments to one of your btl..

craftingmad

Sncjw said:

Can I ask why don't you pay off your mortgage with your savings also surely it will be cheaper to pay the admin fee which I think is actually early repayment charge rather than let it run til 2035 like you said you were going to. 

Then you will have the money you pay to that and the overpayments to one of your btl..

Hi Sncjw, thanks for taking the time to read my thread

We are paying into a savings account at the moment because the rate of interest is much higher than our mortgage rate (until our fixed rate runs out and we have to re-mortgage). 

Because our balance is so low on our existing mortgage we are not really paying lots of interest, but you are right, it would probably be better financially for us to just pay the admin fee and be gone but I think we are waiting to see what rates are like when it comes to remortgaging before making any final decisions. 
You have made me think though so I will certainly be crunching some figures to make sure we have made the right decision.

Thank you x

~FlowerPot~

craftingmad said:

I'm up early as it's spreadsheet day - I'm  little excited to see our progress and also realising that maybe I need to get a life too!!!

Here we go:-

YEARLY UPDATE

Overpayments Made = £3179

Amount Added to Savings Pot = £8289.61

 

wow, go you!!

well done thats amazing progress in three months!!

Flowers x

Baileys_Babe

craftingmad said:

Sncjw said:

Can I ask why don't you pay off your mortgage with your savings also surely it will be cheaper to pay the admin fee which I think is actually early repayment charge rather than let it run til 2035 like you said you were going to. 

Then you will have the money you pay to that and the overpayments to one of your btl..

Hi Sncjw, thanks for taking the time to read my thread

We are paying into a savings account at the moment because the rate of interest is much higher than our mortgage rate (until our fixed rate runs out and we have to re-mortgage). 

Because our balance is so low on our existing mortgage we are not really paying lots of interest, but you are right, it would probably be better financially for us to just pay the admin fee and be gone but I think we are waiting to see what rates are like when it comes to remortgaging before making any final decisions. 
You have made me think though so I will certainly be crunching some figures to make sure we have made the right decision.

Thank you x

As your mortgage rate is lower than your savings rate I would keep the overpayments in the savings account. I don't know when your fix ends but you may be able to find a fixed term account, which finishes before the mortgage fix, paying even more than your current savings interest.

craftingmad

~FlowerPot~ said:

craftingmad said:

I'm up early as it's spreadsheet day - I'm  little excited to see our progress and also realising that maybe I need to get a life too!!!

Here we go:-

YEARLY UPDATE

Overpayments Made = £3179

Amount Added to Savings Pot = £8289.61

 

wow, go you!!

well done thats amazing progress in three months!!

Flowers x

Thank you - I have to admit I am really surprised and very proud of how much we have achieved in only 3 months - hopefully we can keep up this pace  

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

craftingmad said:

Sncjw said:

Can I ask why don't you pay off your mortgage with your savings also surely it will be cheaper to pay the admin fee which I think is actually early repayment charge rather than let it run til 2035 like you said you were going to. 

Then you will have the money you pay to that and the overpayments to one of your btl..

Hi Sncjw, thanks for taking the time to read my thread

We are paying into a savings account at the moment because the rate of interest is much higher than our mortgage rate (until our fixed rate runs out and we have to re-mortgage). 

Because our balance is so low on our existing mortgage we are not really paying lots of interest, but you are right, it would probably be better financially for us to just pay the admin fee and be gone but I think we are waiting to see what rates are like when it comes to remortgaging before making any final decisions. 
You have made me think though so I will certainly be crunching some figures to make sure we have made the right decision.

Thank you x

As your mortgage rate is lower than your savings rate I would keep the overpayments in the savings account. I don't know when your fix ends but you may be able to find a fixed term account, which finishes before the mortgage fix, paying even more than your current savings interest.

Thank you.
Great advice and I will certainly look into that x

craftingmad

Trying to have a little bit quieter and less busy day today but still planning a little bit of progress on our MFW journey.

Today I hope to:-

 

1. Play on Mistplay - aiming for 100 points a day now I can earn them quicker with my new phone - DONE 200 points added
2. Complete order received yesterday and get it posted off before Royal Mail price rises kick in on Monday - DONE - saved 60p on postage
3. Send an invoice to a local lady who wants some stickers printing - DONE now just got to wait for payment - she is usually very slow at paying and very demanding for wanting her items quickly so I cannot wait but at the moment I need every order I can get
4. List an two items on FB marketplace - DONE some decorative wooden trees and a photo frame listed (£9 for all if sold)
5. Check free postcode lottery in the hope I might have won - DONE
6. Minimal heating on - DONE its quite cold now but sitting in my blanket
7. Find a small way to save electric - DONE turned tv off on our way out for a walk 
8. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
9. Scan bakers shop items we bought yesterday - DONE
10. Sort more of the spare room and find more things to declutter/sell (got to get a wriggle on as get daughter from Uni on Monday)  - Found a huge box full of items to sell, got a bin bag full of rubbish and also a huge pile to recycle (including a 2016 diary!)   

craftingmad

I have to admit to not really feeling like doing anything today. 
I witnessed a dog being run over this morning right near where I live (it ran away and back home so my fingers are so tightly crossed that it will be ok). I can still hear the noise and I've had to walk past the spot it happened a couple of times today and have had to fight back the tears. I've certainly cuddled our puppy dog a lot more today but she doesn't seem to be complaining.
Life is precious so I think maybe we also need to focus on having a bit more fun rather than working every hour to pay the bills at least for a little while.

I will do a few little things though so here's my list for today:-

1. Play on Mistplay - aiming for 100 points a day now I can earn them quicker with my new phone - DONE 300 points added and only 500 points away from another £5 voucher 
2. Update spreadsheet with new mortgage balances
3. Post off order got ready yesterday and make and post new order received today
4. Cash in winning scratch card
5. Chase local lady for payment who wants her stickers on Wednesday - DONE surprise surprise she doesn't want to pay until next week now so no stickers for her yet then
6. NSD - £5 transferred into OP savings account in readiness
7. Check Free Postcode Lottery - DONE  not a winner
8. Minimal heating on 
9. Finish sorting spare room and clean it ready for daughter coming home today - DONE
10. Transfer Etsy earnings into OP savings pot - DONE £401.80 transferred

craftingmad

Enjoying a day with my teenage kids today but still managed some small moneysavings today:-

1. Update spreadsheets for this year - get up to date mortgage figures - some progress made but still cannot get hold of one mortgage company :9
2. Play on Mistplay - DONE 39 points earned today - will try and earn a few more later
3. Complete order received yesterday and post off three others - DONE :)
4. Pay in cheques from Royal Mail for lost parcels - local branch was meant to reopen on 3rd April but still closed. They will have to wait until I go to Norwich now on Thursday  
5. Complete a Nectar survey -- DONE 120 points earned
6. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders
7. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
8. Check free postcode lottery in the hope I might have won - DONE not a winner  
9. Minimal heating on - DONE lovely and warm today so hoping it will not need to go on until much later tonight if at all
10. Find a small way to save electric - DONE unplugged daughters fairy lights at 9am or else she would have left them on all day  
11. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
12. Scan shopping for shop and scan DONE and remembered used daughter's student discount card in Superdrug and Boots so adding a further £5 to the OP savings pot