Mortgage free in 4 years

Sensiblesaver

Payday on Friday and sent £750 OP to the mortgage from some share I sold. Mortgage balance now is -204,965. Normal payment will go out tomorrow and I will send the normal £500 OP. 

It has been a year since the start of the 5 year fix. Starting balance was -£228,980. 10% OP allowance £22,898. Total OP made £14,572. This next year I want to pay the full 10% allowance. It was still a reduction of £24,015 in 1 year, so won't beat myself for not paying the full allowance.

LadyWithAPlan

how motivating are your yearly savings figures!! 

Plus tracking the mortgage OPs - I think this is where our diaries are so useful as they reflect on daily life (DS loses kit again) and the big milestones of savings 

is your 10% max OP calculated of the starting mortgage or the current  annual year end balance ? 

Sensiblesaver

Hi LWAP, thanks It is good to have the diary to see the progress as sometimes I feel it's not going down at the rate I would like it to, but I am trying to build my pension and ISA at same time. The 10% allowance re-sets every year (mine goes from 1st of July to 30th of June), so from tomorrow the 10% allowance will be £20,496.50 for the next year.

Sensiblesaver

Had a lovely weekend, mostly spent at home, but got lots done. Yesterday weather wasn't as nice so spent most of the time in the house and managed to do a massive tidy up in the kitchen. I will use up what's in the cupboards and buy just the essentials. 4 weeks until our holiday

£504.25 OP made to the mortgage. Balance now -£203,648. Another 2 months taken off, end date now Dec 39
New 10% allowance £20,496

Sensiblesaver

I had some money paid from interest, reward account and sent another 3 smaller OP to the mortgage £55, £15 and £5. It is quite satisfying sending extra smaller amounts throughout the month, every little helps . It is also nice how easy it is with HSBC as it shows on the app and I just transfer across. My previous lender only allowed £500 OP and I had to call. Mortgage balance now -£203,573. Total OP this mortgage year £579.26/£20,496

I have an interview today. Not sure why I'm going though, I guess just to see what other options are out there. I go through periods where I really want to leave (we have a problem person at work and a lot of people leave because of her), but at the moment I'm quite comfortable. 

Last week I re-did my cholesterol test (I have high cholesterol even though I eat really healthy). I went to see a friend who is a nutritionist and she suggested I stop drinking coffee. I do drink a lot of coffee (4,5,6 cups a day sometimes). She also told me to eat more protein, as I eat mostly plant based, so I stopped coffee for 6 weeks and started eating more eggs, fish and sometimes chicken.  The results was that my cholesterol was even higher, so my coffee was not the problem. I don't think my body likes too much animal protein, so I am back on mostly plant based. I spent a lot of last Sunday cooking and have lots of meals in the freezer.

AgathaSquirrel

I need to get my cholesterol checked (family history) and I panicked when I read coffee might be to blame as I drink similar amounts! I can drink 3 mugs before I’ve even started work.

Good progress on the mortgage.

Sensiblesaver

Thank you, mortgage is going down nicely. I also drink 3 coffees before starting work I test my cholesterol quite often since I discovered it was high. I have adjusted my diet, fully plant based, no dairy but eating fish/chicken, eating healthy but more protein and cutting out coffee. The one that lowers the most is the fully plant based, coffee had no effect.

Interview went well and I was offered the job if I want it. I loved the owner, and was very tempted, just worried about the initial drop in income. I would be self employed as well. Not sure what to do, will sit on it for a while. They are not in a rush. This week the toxic person at work made a colleague cry, everyone is talking about. 

badmemory

You need the equivalent of scales to weigh things up.  I mean who needs toxic in their lives but then who doesn't need money in their lives.  But major would be how likely the toxic one would upset someone who was in a position to get rid of them.  All you can do is weigh up the relative up & down sides.  Sorry I know I am no help at all.  Sometimes outstaying them works & if you are really lucky karma comes back to bite them in the you know where.

Sensiblesaver

Unfortunately toxic person not going anywhere as she is married to the boss. The only way to get rid of her is by getting out ourselves. She doesn't come for me much as she know I am not intimidated by her, but when she starts on other members of the team it can be upsetting. We are joined against her though and boss is fed up with people leaving. When her behaviour starts to get bad I usually go and talk directly to him, she gets !!!!!! off for a while but usually the behaviour improves. I don't know if I am going to leave now as I am focused on reaching my goals. I have been there almost 14 years, so can cope with a few more I think.

badmemory

I think married to the boss is just about the worst case scenario you could come up with.  You could find yourself being the "last man standing" & put in for a massive pay increase.  Only tolerate what you can tolerate/get out before it really gets to you.  Or to quote someone - don't let the beggars grind you down.