First ever mortgage and start of my MFW Journey May 2024

MrFrugalFever

So as of yesterday by Mortgage Lender had transferred the mortgage money to my solicitors plunging me in to the most amount of debt i've ever been in, in my life. I am very much looking at this as 'good' debt as opposed to 'bad' debt.

I am starting a journey on here to try to make myself accountable for becoming mortgage free sooner than my current chosen term and provide myself with the motivation to find solutions to overpay where possible.

Current Mortgage Debt = £140,250
Current Mortgage Deal = 4.53% 5 Year Fix
Current Mortgage Term = 30 years


I pick up my keys on completion on Monday 29th, very excited, lots to do and plans are afoot!

I aim to try to overpay at least 10% of my monthly mortgage payments each month so things like cashback, savings interest and other forms of income will assist me in doing this.

Here I go.....!

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary. 

South_coast

Good luck with your plans. Great to get cracking on it straight away 😀

LadyWithAPlan

How fun! Enjoy the journey  

MrFrugalFever

Ok so first ever mortgage payment has now been made. Interestingly (pardon the pun) NatWest applied the interest to the mortgage account on the 24th May but my DD's are set for 2nd of every month, I'd have though it would have been after payment but no real difference I guess.
The sad fact is that I pay considerably more in interest than I do capital! Although I know this is a fact that will eventually swing in to my favour......eventually!

I incurred a small amount of debt from the whole move and purchase which I had mostly accounted for, this has been buffered by Santander 0% BT Fee CC to the rescue, with a brucey bonus of being able to BT from an Amex card and still gain plenty of membership/avios rewards points for majority of my purchases so no interest paid and plenty of points = win in my book.

I will get shot of this niggly 0% debt in a few months and then start focusing on making regular overpayments to the mortgage, in my head i'd always had £100, I think i'll start with this. It appears very straightforward to set such payments up in the NatWest app.

I am still undecided as to whether I 'hide' the mortgage balance in the app or leave it exposed, I think i'll leave it for now as potentially its a motivation factor for getting the damn thing gone!

I am now off to a much more southerly and sunnier climate for a week (very much needed) and will re-evaluate spends upon my return. Luckily this is all paid for and all inclusive so I should have almost no spend whilst out there at all!

MrFrugalFever

Well hello everyone!

As I sit and write this I have a nice Welsh Hill Shoulder of Lamb slowly simmering away in the slow cooker on low. I'll be leaving it for a good few hours and letting the rosemary & thyme blend in with the juices and meat.

So, DD mortgage payment 2/360 gone out and now £139,885.50 remains.

 At the moment the amount of capital repaid is not very much due to the level of interest but I am pleased to see it coming down so I think i'll leave it visible in the app!

No firm plans are afoot for overpayments just yet, still got a few bits to pay off from the move in to the property and I have treated myself to a couple of nice holidays abroad this year as well. All holidays with the exception of one impromptu booking have been financially accounted for so I am pleased that I am not relying on the book now and pay for it later scenario, incurring interest for the privilege. I'd like to think those days are very much long gone now, I know in the past i'd have just put on a credit card and paid bits back here and there. Not anymore!

I am still finding my feet with bills - Council tax is fixed over 12 months now and I do have to ensure I make provisions for an unknown amount of service charge due on 1st April each year, it was £1,581 this year so i'll aim for around the £1,500 mark and shouldn't be a million miles away.

My property is only electric so no gas. I do have a smart meter which is great in my opinion, I am constantly conscious of how much electricity I am using. Last month was just £39 but I did go away for 6 days so perhaps it would have been more £50 which I'm OK with.

Well i'm off to make a packed lunch ready for my trip to London tomorrow and if I can build up the motivation to do a small amount of ironing I may tackle that too! How exciting!

MrFrugalFever

Good afternoon all. 
I know I have been absent for quite some time.....with little excuse!

I was threatened with redundancy at the end of 2024 so it threw me in to a bit of a psychological dilemma about everything, especially as I had just secured a mortgage and property with the basis of my current employment etc. Luckily I have compromised and negotiated and stayed with my employer for the time being.

So I am back, here to hold myself accountable for all things MSE, especially clearing the Mortgage sooner than initially intended.

Well, I am 1 payment away from the first year of mortgage payments and I cannot believe just how quick it has gone, it only seemed like yesterday the solicitor was on the phone telling me I could now go and pick up the keys. Where does life just go?

I have been able to make some overpayments along the way which has been a real bonus. The last year and next 2 years are going to be challenging with regards to overpayments due to some pre-planned expenditure for some incredible life experiences but I am still determined to maintain a minimum of £100pm, looking at the MSE calculator it can shave off years.

I am feeling pretty good about this aspect of my life.