The ups, downs, and occasional sideways bits of trying to be mortgage free

armchairexpert · 6 August 2017 at 9:25AM

I have heard of him but not checked him out. I tend to assume i already know what to do, it's just doing it that's the chore. But I should probably read him and see! I'll report back. Thanks for the suggestion.

Weekend's almost over here. Dog is snoozing on the couch after I made her go for a long walk with me and it hailed on her, and then she got so muddy that the girls gave her a bath and she had to run around the house madly to try and get the shampoo scent off. Poor Doggie comes from the north of the country, where it is hot and dry all year round (broadly speaking), so this land of fog and rain and hail has been a bit of a shock for her. Her face was like, I only just got used to the idea of wet stuff falling from the sky and now there are tiny ice cubes?

Mr E took the girls clothes shopping and went a bit overboard - came back with winter boots, jeans for Big Girl, a million pairs of socks, a jumper and long sleeved shirt for Little Girl, and a few other bits, but at a cheap store (Pr!mark equiv) so not as much harm done as could be. I have impressed upon all of them that there is really really really no more money left in the clothing fund for this month no matter what. We'll see if it holds.

Roast pork tonight with homemade chop-chip shortbread for afters. YUM.

armchairexpert · 9 August 2017 at 2:47AM

Nothing financial to report here. Bank is driving me batty by asking for one document, and only after we give them that one asking for another one, just tell me all the things you need. The person we're dealing with isn't a native English speaker, which isn't helping. I mean she's fluent, but maybe the nuances are getting missed. Anyway! I am assured it will be Any Day Now.

Doggie ate a TV remote last week, so we bought another one, and it arrived yesterday and the kids were watching TV with Doggie on the couch munching a bone, except it wasn't a bone, it was the new remote. Mr Expert went ballistic. I admit I didn't realise quite how much work dogs were! I am diligently taking her for a million walks a day, but the chewing is driving me batty. I imagine we will adjust. It's taking a bit of a toll on the family morale at the moment. Have gone and bought yet another set of chew toys and scheduled in doggy training sessions. Thank goodness for the tax return money is all I can say.

Tahlullah · 9 August 2017 at 7:51PM

Hello ACE. Sounds like Doggy is settling into family life just fine. If you had plumped for a cat, it would have scratched the furniture to pieces. You go for a dog, it chews everything that isn't nailed down.

I am positive that Doggy will soon learn what is theirs to chew and what isn't. And Doggy will come into their own in Summer, when it will be all about being outside, park runs etc. Winter can be difficult because of the lack of opportunity to get lots of exercise and stimulus outside to keep him occupied.

About the Bank, keep in mind, Any Day Now. Soon, it will be a distant memory and you will be living your life with a lower interest rate, a reduced mortgage and balanced budget.

Tx

armchairexpert · 10 August 2017 at 2:42AM

Thank you - she was a dream yesterday, and we're getting better at creating containment spaces for her to be in when we're out - it's us learning to live with her as much as the other way around. And it's getting me out in the fresh air, which I'm really appreciating!

More excitingly, I have a meeting with the bank to sign forms in an hour, and then hopefully the loan will be settled tomorrow. It'll be great to see how far ahead we can get after that.

Otherwise, things are ticking along. A few additional expenses on Doggie, but I did create a YNAB category line for her so it's just a matter of readjusting that as I learn how much her running costs are. Groceries are nice and cheap so far this month: I'm aiming for $950/month and so far I'm at $212 which is ahead of target.

After a few spends during my weekend away, I've decided definitely no more spending money on clothes or makeup in 2017, with the possible exception of socks/underwear if I really need them (although I shouldn't). Will report back if I fail at this.

Have a good one!

armchairexpert · 11 August 2017 at 3:18AM

Doggie's had a run in the dog park and is snoring on my armchair. Chickens are fed. Cats are upstairs, which is marginally warmer, snoozing on beds. I'm eating the best lentil soup in the world. All good.

Just had a look at the accounts thanks to a feeling that we were casually overspending everywhere again and actually they're looking good. Pet costs have blown out because of all the doggie set up costs, but things that were big line items last month are non existent this one. I'm still not getting 'pots' built up in enough categories to cover bigger expenses though.

Like, I have a category for medical, which covers everything from medication to specialist visits (our Medicare/NHS only covers part of the visit cost). I set this at $75/about £30, and even on cheap months we seem to spend most of it. The last three months we've spent, respectively, $288, $190 and $288 again. All of those are aberrant months in a way, because the costs are associated around Mr E's surgery - we didn't have to pay for the surgery, but there've been specialist consults and extra meds. But it means there's never enough saved as a cushion for those sorts of things, and that happens in a lot of category lines.

On the bright side, I've managed to top up the Christmas and birthdays budget this month. Both girls plus Mr E have December/January birthdays AND that's our summer holiday season, so it's horrendously expensive. I originally budgeted $100/month for each of those - Christmas and birthdays - but I didn't start early enough in the year so it's going to be a push to get it all covered. The girls don't expect anything hugely extravagant for birthdays/Christmas, it's more the food and the hosting and things. My MIL is coming down for Christmas this year so Mr E will want to push the boat out.

armchairexpert · 13 August 2017 at 5:07AM

This weekend has been glorious: temperatures in the high teens, blue skies, sunshine. What a difference from last weekend when I was taking Doggie for walks in the hail! We've been able to dry all the washing on the line, the chicken coop is no longer a mud pit, and household morale is much better.

Also: the refinance came through! Because I've switched from an IO loan to a P&I, my minimum repayments have gone up. Last month I paid $999.92 in interest alone: now I need to find $1292. However, the interest rate has gone from 5.5% to 3.8%, so the interest component is $791. That's $200/month less interest with the money coming off the principal instead. Excellent stuff.

Of course I've been playing around with the calculator:

1. With no overpayment, and if I redraw the $45K I have in offset so I'm paying interest on the whole $250,000 loan, mortgage free date is July 2042
2. With no overpayment, but leaving the $45K offset to reduce interest, I am mortgage free December 2035
3. With an overpayment of $600/month, I'm paying $1900/month in total, and I am mortgage free December 2028

My real goal is May 2028 because that's my fiftieth birthday. That would mean finding, in total, $1950/month. That's $1000 more than we've been paying per month hitherto. That's going to require some more earning on my part and some careful budgeting. We might do it. We might not. I'm going to try.

Tahlullah · 13 August 2017 at 9:18AM

Wow, those dates look frightening. 2042! But, 2028 is preferable and as you say, you will be 50 and what a great age to be mortgage free.

Yes, it is doable, $2000 a month. But whatever you do, don't forget to live and love your life. You only get one go at it.

Tx

armchairexpert · 13 August 2017 at 12:50PM

I know, I would be 65 in July 2042! No thanks.

I think I can make 2028. Although that depends on whether I end up renovating the kitchen and bathroom. But I also have untapped income-increasing potential over the next few years. We'll see.

armchairexpert · 14 August 2017 at 10:31AM

Another day, another set of bank frustrations. None of it significant, but lordy goodness if they send me a customer survey at the end of this process asking my opinion, they'd better send extra pages. Today's ridiculousness involves a form that I can only return by fax. Not in person, not by email: fax. FAX. Is it 1987?

The accounts are working differently now, as well. Instead of there just being one big account into which all my money goes (both in and out), and once a month the mortgage interest payment leaves, there are now a bunch of separate accounts. Meaning that I will have to make actual physical overpayments, and when the money's gone to the mortgage there it stays. I do have a redraw facility, so it's not quite stuck, but it's not the same as just hanging out there being available for a quick cafe stop. I'm really looking forward to it! I think it might help with discipline.

I'm even toying with doing a YNAB Fresh Start. Oh the giddy excitement.

armchairexpert · 14 August 2017 at 2:49PM

Hmm, here's a dilemma.

My mortgage numbers, due to the Big Bucket Of Money set up I used to have, have always actually been my whole net worth. I.e., everything I have in savings minus everything I owe on the credit card (gets cleared monthly) and mortgage.

Now I have a different set up which separates those things out. I've just gone through YNAB and counted up all the money that, while previously sitting in the mortgage account, is actually earmarked for other things (annual bills, Christmas, etc). Once I take that out, the actual mortgage sits at $220,000.

I hate to see the numbers go up again, but on the other hand this feels like a cleaner set of numbers than I've had previously - since it now reflects only the money that's actually been paid off the mortgage, and not savings wearing another hat.

So here we are. August And A Half Update: Mortgage is $220,000.

The ups, downs, and occasional sideways bits of trying to be mortgage free

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