The Road to Financial Security

A question about : The Road to Financial Security

I've been reading a lot of the posts on this website and been very inspired by many of the mortgage free wannabee diarists. After a roller coaster of a year I think we are finally in a position to start making in roads into our mortgage.

Without wanting to waffle on too long here is a summary of our situation:

We are a family of 3, (my, husband & 12 year old son) plus our 9 year old labrador.

Lived in current house for 15 years and were hoping (and got very close) to move to a bigger house as part of our long term pension plan!

Still the chain fell apart and rightly or wrongly we have decided to stay put, spend some money on getting this house how we want it and more importantly OVERPAY on the mortgage!

Shamefully I'm not even on the mortgage (husband bought house in early stages of our relationship and it's one of the many things we never sorted out. So the list for the immediate future is:

Get my name put on mortgage
Get on line access to mortgage - think they all do this right?
Set up regular over payment

Still working through figures but wanted to kick this off as I am hoping it will inspire me to make progress. Quite nervous posting but so many inspirational folks here

Best answers:

• Not exactly MSN day today - new kitchen bin bought as old one was cracked and I had to fill my car up with petrol. In fact quite expensive weekend - had to pay for son's school blazer dry cleaning and buy him new pe uniform yesterday as well. Ho hum.
  Although it may sound counter intuitive to aiming to be mortgage free part of our plan to stay in our current house is to spend some money improving it so there are lots of decisions to be made. We will be parallel overpaying the mortgage though -we are just using a capital sum we have on our house rather than as part of the moving house costs.
  Looking forward to tomorrow's call with the C&G to make some progress on getting this mortgage sorted out - after that I will be able to post some figures as the last actual mort balance I have is from May (c Ј120k outstanding).
  Now I need to go and tackle the housework which is long overdue - pretty much every room is in disarray not to mention oh wearing Christmas socks today
• Hi Pushkin
  Sounds like you have a plan! You've had some big decisions to make it would seem. Good luck!
• Missu - thanks for responding, while I love the anonymity of this forum it's nice to be read and get feedback!
  Yes only a week ago we were all set to move house at beginning of September - our buyers pulled out last Monday morning. We were pretty sucker punched but after a couple of days started thinking maybe these things happened for a reason.
  We were inexperienced buyers and had really stretched ourselves with the new house & associated mortgage which was only fixed for 2 years. All that coupled with the fact that my company isn't doing too well and seems to be running a continuous redundancy program made us think staying here was maybe the best option for right now.
  Loose plan is to aim to move when our son finishes school and we aren't tied to the rather expensive town we currently live in (we are in South East!). That gives us 6 years to make serious in roads into the mortgage!
• Good luck on your journey, 6 years sounds like a good amount of time to pay some good dents!
  Jodles
• Sounds like a blessing in disguise. Good luck with C&G - make sure you have all details before ringing them (well, hubby will have to do it) - including exact amount of mortgage payment and what date & bank it comes out of - they're a bit OTT security wise!
• Thanks gg - we are both working from home tomorrow, C&G are due to ring between 9 and 1 (nice narrow window!) so fingers crossed we make progress. I think you may be right about security, they have suggested I use a solicitor in order to make this change - I can't think of one reason why I would need to!
• Well what a day, feel exhausted and it's only Monday !
  The Good
  Well goodish I think - we have ordered some new windows and a new front door for our house. Of course the quote was more than I expected but it's long overdue (existing ones were oldish when we moved in 15 yrs ago) and I'm trying take the positive view that it's good to invest in our house!
  The Bad
  Found out today we still have to pay the mort broker her fee despite our decision not to move, I was sure she told me on our initial phone call it was only chargeable if the house move completed. Embarrassingly stupid of me but am determined to learn the lesson of checking ts&cs more carefully in future. To be honest the amount of work she did on our behalf I was feeling quite guilty about her getting no payment - still hurts though!
  Well C&G didn't ring about the mortgage - call was due between 1 and 5 - of course we were both on the phone (working) a fair chunk of that but you can't not take phone calls for 4 hours! DH will chase up tomorrow - why are these things never simple!
  The Ugly
  I sold 2 items on eb@y - am a very novice seller having only started last month which all went swimmingly. Today though upon printing out the postage labels I ended up paying Ј3 more in total for postage than has been charged to the buyers based on the amounts calculated by eb@y. I think I need to read up more about it as it's likely me having done something wrong but Ј3 when you've only sold the items for Ј15 total is quite a % of the money made - not good!
  I am also fixated on a cash back amount (grand total of Ј.82) I'm due on a shopping site, but due to having screw up and managing to inadvertently create 2 accounts on their site I can't access the money (I somehow have 2 email addresses which both reach me). DH has offered several times to pay me the Ј0.82 just to shut me up but I am a woman possessed and have emailed the shopping site and the money holding site.
  This MSN lark can be quite time consuming huh!
• Lots to do today as well as being pretty busy work wise
  We forgot to include the study window on our order with the double glazing company - we need to add that in as once complete all back windows will match - can't have this one sticking out - its only a tiny window so hopefully not too much extra (I can dream)
  Got a plumber coming this evening to discuss many jobs with ranging from the annoying - possible damp in wall between bathroom and landing to the more exciting - can he plumb in an American style Fridge freezer! - always wanted one of those.
  OH needs to chase up C&G as I really want to added to the mortgage - it's so frustrating and I can't speak to them direct it has to be him - feel powerless!!!
  Getting frustrated with a certain on line CD buying web site, mid July I scanned in bar codes of 103 cds, got the price and sent off to them to sell for the grand price of Ј20.53. I had an email Monday 11 Aug to say there were transferring the money to my bank account - its still not there as of this morning! How long does it take !!! Not even sure how I can chase them up but given my fixation with the Ј0.82 owed from the shopping web site I certainly won't be forgetting about Ј20 due to me!
  Right better get on with some work..
• How awful about the house!! I would be so annoyed. And to have to pay the broker too but as you say though if they have done the work then its only fair I suppose. Sucks though.
  Hope the extra window doesnt cost too much. Enjoy them
• Good luck with your journey Pushkin! I am subscribing as I feel I am in a situation not so different from yours.
  We wanted to move this year but for security we have stayed put - DC2 is on his/her merry way and we'll be going down to one salary as I'm in a temporary position. With all the price rises earlier this year we were priced out of upsizing and we've moved and been skint before and didn't want to do it again with a toddler and a baby! So we have also focused on making our home more wonderful and are in the middle of doing costly - both money and time - improvements. It's really hard to focus on two things at once - spending money and saving it to OP mortgage so I'll be interested to see how you do!
  And those CD buying sites take AGES. Have had them take weeks before, so irritating!
• @ coffeecup - I am annoyed about the house, my head knows staying here is the right decision but I loved the house we were going to buy and it's hard to let go emotionally. Still I think head does ultimately overule heart with this - no point living in a fabulous house if we can't maintain it & worry about every unexpected bill that crops up.
  @katiegizmo - reassuring to find a sacred spirit judging by the age of your kids you must be younger than me - wish I'd got the MSE bug years ago but am working on drawing a line under what has passed before as it can't be changed.
  Our house is woefully neglected and we have drawn up a (long) list of what needs doing, sadly a lot of it is important but not what I call sexy buying:
  Plumber to assess possible damp/leak in bathroom wall
  Re-install radiator in kitchen, we foolishly had it removed when we installed underfloor heating about 6 yrs ago. Then discovered the (electric)underfloor heating costs a fortune to run and of course isn't connected to the main central heating. This has resulted in us rarely using it and the kitchen is somewhat of a no go zone in the winter - sounds appealing huh!!
  Electrician to assess the wiring with view to bringing up to code - this is (we suspect) possible reason our house buyer pulled out - we tried to get hold of the electric report they had done but no go (yet another source of annoyance in the house moving process)
  Tree surgeon to cut back huge oak tree in garden (long overdue)
  Multiple new fence panels
  Gardener in to revamp garden, remove overgrown trees & weeds and make altogether much more low maintenance (we are rubbish gardeners) and new patio
  I'll get the the 'sexy' purchases another day, have probably waffled on way too much.
  OH is with a plumber now so I'd better go and keep him him check - if I hadn't been around when the window company came I reckon he would have gone for bi-folding patio doors which although lovely were over twice the price of the French Doors we are getting...
• Hello there.
  As you've decided to stay put, it's a great idea to get your current house just as you would like.
  I do a bit of eBaying, and I never take any notice of what eBay suggest for postage.
  If you look on the Royal Mail website there's a leaflet which gives all postage rates, and armed with that and my trusty kitchen scales it's easy to work out the correct prices. Also, it might be worth looking at courier sites like My Hermes and Collect Plus for larger parcels. I've used both, and so far they've given a good service.
  Good luck with all your plans
• Goldie Girl - thanks for the tips I will look into that once I've decided what to sell next. I guess it was just dumb luck with the first thing I sold that the Eb@y tool generated the correct postage - lulled me into a false sense of security!
  Bit of a shock this morning when I got up to find the heating had kicked in. Don't like the idea of that in August in terms of what it will do to our energy bills which are already ridiculous - something else to look into.
  I have had another email from the cd selling web site - this one tells me they have transferred my payment but it could take up to 5 days to reach my bank account - really wonder if they are stringing me along but I hope to see the money this week. I can do instant transfers to my bank to husband, friends etc so don't see why a payment from this company should take days but we'll see..
  Not much on the list today, we have plumber no 2 coming round this evening -but DH will deal with that - it all goes way over my head. This possible leak is a worry though - especially as its only possible so currently we aren't at all sure what to do.
  OH spoke to C&G again yesterday and they are now due to ring this evening - at this rate we'll have paid back the mortgage before we manage to get me added to it
• I LOVE that you call it sexy buying!!! Brilliant!!
  I had some money come to my bank account from a survey site and thier process was 28 days to transfer! I have worked in making payments before and I presume they either pay a really cheap rate to have it take so long (money sits with the bank for a time and the bank earns interest) or they set everything up to leave the account later thus keeping the cash that bit longer.
  I'm early 30s - just. I should probably start calling myself mid-30s soon....
  Just think how much happier you'll be when those not-so-sexy jobs are done!
• Hey KG - well I'm clinging to my 'early forties' by the skin of my teeth so about 10 years ahead of you!!! Does start to focus the mind as I have got older, thinking about wanting to retire at a decent age etc. That was the plan with the move, enjoy the bigger house and then look to downsize in 15 or so years and use the equity to enable us to retire. But we have a different plan now and that's what I'm working on.
  I do find it difficult not to think about what we should have done financially before, we are very lucky in that our mort rate is low and directly linked to the BOE base rate - monthly payments now are actually lower than they were 10 years ago even including the Ј100 per month we currently overpay. Wish we had increased the over payment before now but again got to draw a line under it. We will overpay Ј500 a month soon and that will help reduce it and absorb interest rate increases which are on the horizon.
  I think you are right about these cash back/selling sites it must be in their business model which is understandable just bl**dy frustrating.
  More on 'sexy' purchases soon - I have to manage this all carefully, never done this kind of spending all in one go before and it's quite overwhelming.
• Hi Pushkin
  It's all too easy to remonstrate with ourselves about what we should've/ could've done - but the main thing is that we're now doing it - life is one big learning curve, after all. Definitely draw a line under what has gone on before financially! - you can't change it so look forward to what you can change now x
  Re eb@y - don't forget to take into account that they take 10% of your postage costs in your fees now, too - so if your postage would cost you Ј3 it's possibly worth making it Ј3.50, say - they'd take 35p, leaving you 15p towards packaging costs. And definitely check out courier options via someone like parcel2go - it's sometimes much cheaper than royal mail x
  If the CD selling site is the MM one, they do take their time, but they get there in the end - I've used them several times
• @ Greent- thank you for that tip - I had no idea eB@y charged commission on the postage charged as well. I feel another spreadsheet coming on to work all this out
  Yes the cd buying web site is MM - didn't like to name and shame have noticed a lot of people not using actual brand names on here which has made me somewhat cautious.
  Your words are wise but I do have to keep telling myself that as I am terrible for analysing everything 16 different ways.
• Good luck with all the work you are doing on the house. I feel for you about the plumber I'm currently having fun dealing with them as I also have a leak in my bathroom unfortunately mine's also leaking into the flat downstairs so need to get it fixed asap to keep the neighbour happy. I've owned the flat for less than 2 weeks and thought it would be a bit longer before I had to deal with things like this!