MeandO's mortgage-free musings

MeandO · 10 November 2017 at 12:39PM

*sneaks in from DFW board*

Hello, I'm MeandO, I'm thirty something [STRIKE]just[/STRIKE]

and I'm a mortgage-free wannabe.

To cut the backstory short, things kind of went like this:

2008: Married, mortgage free.:o
2011: Mini MeandO arrived. :happyhear
2013: Moved house > £60K mortgage with (now ex) husband.
2013, later: Life went a bit pear shaped.

2015: Single, £102K mortgage to buy ex out of house.
2017: Moved area to a £30K cheaper house to enable me to go P/T to be around for Mini MeandO and eradicate need for childcare.

Mortgage now: £78789.15

So, last year I moved from a new build to an old house which needed a bit of work, mostly decorative and now 70% done. The rest will be tackled as and when (and if!) I can afford it. I went P/T at work which has increased our quality of life tenfold, but has obviously had financial implications. I also have a small business I run from home which has greatly helped to build up some savings in the past few months, but I will be closing this down soon for a variety of reasons. Hopefully one day I will be able to develop that income source again, but not right now.

DS's Dad and I still get on well depsite being (almost) divorced and he does his fair share of parenting, so I live alone with my little boy for half the week and DS spends half the week with his Dad.
I have a lovely man in tow now,

we don't live together but are only a short walk from each other which is lovely. Hopefully one day we will 'combine households', but I don't see that happening imminently.

My mortgage deal is fixed but expires in May 2018, so I am trying to overpay as much as possible before that date. With long term goals in mind, if I can manage to knock at least 10 years off the mortgage (currently 24 years left to run :eek:) then I will be ecstatic.
I'm not in the position to overpay in large chunks, apart from last year with funds from the sale of the old house, but I frequently throw pennies/pounds/chocolate buttons

at the online mortgage account to reduce it by what I can. Every penny counts and all that...

Link to my old thread for those interested:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5650914&page=16

Feel free to drop by for a virtual cuppa and cake, I'd pull up a chair though, I think I'll be here some time...

M
X

MeandO · 10 November 2017 at 12:46PM

Today I've swept a small payment of £14.80 to the mortgage. I've paid the full 10% allowed to one of the sub accounts, so I'm now throwing the rest at the second sub account for the remainder of 2017.

My new allowance starts 1st January 2018, sadly I won't have 10% ready to throw at it like last year, but I'll be chipping away at it throughout the year.

I'm also building up my savings pots presently as I have the MOT tomorrow (please be ok car, please be ok

) and car insurance to come out of that next month.

Current balances:

Savings: £1630/£2000
Mortgage: £78,774.35

louloubelle79 · 10 November 2017 at 1:33PM

Hiya welcome and enjoy your MF journey, I'm putting mine on hold ATM as had to get£10k loan for house repairs

MeandO · 10 November 2017 at 1:41PM

Thanks for popping by Louloubelle79, sorry to hear about the house repairs.

I live in fear of the same happening to me tbh, I don't have a lot of cash to fall back on and this old house has already thrown up a few unexpected problems. Hope things go smoothly for you from now on.

x

beanielou · 10 November 2017 at 7:09PM

Happy shiny new diary

MeandO · 11 November 2017 at 5:09PM

Thanks BeanieLou

Today has been a busy one - the car went in for its first MOT and thankfully passed with no issues - £35 spent there.

My new oven was also delivered and fitted this morning, I'm so happy! The old one that came with this house gave up on me a couple of weeks ago and I'd been trying to get it repaired to save buying a new one, but it worked out uneconomical to do so.
Cue mass panic about finding the money for a new one (it's a range cooker with a range-shaped hole to fill), so was not cheap to replace. I eventually gave in and ordered one (albeit with £150 cashback), but my wonderful parents have very kindly stepped in and paid for it, despite my protests. It really has helped a lot though, as I was worried about paying for it and it as going to have to go on the credit card which I've just cleared.

So, later today I'm going to make a big pan of HM soup to freeze into portions for next week. Were also doing some baking tomorrow and making pasties and fruit pies.

I've caught up on a few surveys whilst DS is 'minecrafting' for a little while. I've gained enough points for another £5 Amazon voucher, so have just claimed that one and will add it to the account when it drops into my inbox. It'll be used towards a christmas present.

I paid £30 less than expected on postage for my small business yesterday, so I'll be paying that either into the savings or off the mortgage shortly - haven't decided which yet.
I've had a few more orders over night too, so they'll all add a little more into the savings pot.

stepuptothepl8 · 11 November 2017 at 5:15PM

Happy shiny new MFW diary!!! Will subscribe and cheer you on x

MeandO · 11 November 2017 at 5:53PM

Thanks Stepup! xx

MeandO · 11 November 2017 at 5:53PM

£20 added to the savings pot
£17.95 paid off the mortgage.

Totals now:
Savings: £1650/£2000
Mortgage: £78,756.40

MeandO · 12 November 2017 at 10:55AM

A little op of £4.57 sent to the mortgage this morning.

Balance now: £78,751.83

sleepygirl126 · 12 November 2017 at 7:59PM

I was wondering where your diary was! Looking forward to reading it!!

MeandO's mortgage-free musings

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