Frugal Friday…

At the beginning of  the month we were able to celebrate the first big milestone in our “Clear the mortgage early” adventure this time round as we dipped under the £100k barrier. The celebration wasn’t huge, fancy or expensive - just a Chinese takeaway from our favourite place, with a toast drunk in a nice beer (that we were given free by the brewery when we placed our usual order with them for beer at Christmas - just to make it all the more frugal-Friday suitable!) 

To recap, we took our original mortgage for the flat in 2003- one of those Northern Rock offerings for those who had no deposit and needed to borrow the full value of the property or - to clear other debt - even more. In our case it was 110% - clearing some graduate debt of MrEH’s at the same time - starting at £103,500 on the then traditional 25 year term. Initially we just paid the required amount, but then a few years in thanks to a conversation with a friend the lightbulb flickered on and we started overpaying in 2007. That mortgage was cleared in 2016 - 12 years early, and those overpayments saved us in excess of £30k in interest! Because of the point we took it out, and when our product renewals occurred, we never got the benefit of the super low interest rates that were being enjoyed for a few years either - our lowest rate that time round was 4.34% - although as we both remembered the highs of 15% during our childhoods that still felt pretty low to us! 

This time round the figures aren’t altogether different - £115,000 borrowed with an interest rate of 4.03% - the term this time though is just 16 years, and we are aiming to be done with it a long time before THAT point I can tell you! The key thing I was looking for when we were searching for our mortgage product was that it allowed overpayments, at least the standard 10% of the capital amount per year, and ideally more, but still when I happened on the deal we eventually plumped for - a 5 year fix with unlimited OPs allowed - I did slightly worry it seemed too good to be true! It’s not though, and while we are a long way off the 10% OP level right now, it’s good to know we can OP without limit right to the end of the term.

Overpayments are happening much the same as before - first thing was to round the monthly payment up to a nice round figure - in this case just an odd pound and pennies, although that might yet get tweaked up a bit more. Then there is the “money we didn’t know we had” - so savings on bills we haggle down for example, or better deals being offered on things. Recent examples there are cancelling our satellite TV deal in favour of watching streamed (and currently just free) content, and a better deal being offered on broadband in return for us signing up for a new 2 year deal early. Fine by us when they are offering a £7 a month saving on what we were paying! Those bits and bobs get transferred into the overpayments pot (a savings account attached to one of the current accounts) and when that hits £100 I transfer that to the mortgage. At the end of the month I usually make an additional overpayment of the odd pounds and pence plus £100 - although that depends a little on what surplus we have in the joint account for the month. We still pay our council tax on the old 10 months payment schedule, so for the two months that’s not payable that money also gets thrown at the mortgage - a nice boost in the early part of the year. Finally there is any unexpected financial gains - so the tax rebates MrEH got last year for sorting out some stuff around his pension payments for example, and the payments our building society makes to account holders from time to time get transferred to reduce the mortgage figure too. 

So - what difference is all this making, you might ask? Well - some figures, a bit rough and ready as I don’t have the spreadsheet (well yes, of COURSE there are spreadsheets!) to hand, but monthly interest payments have already been reduced by a noticeable chunk - and of course that in itself means that the payments we make are having more effect. Had we just made our standard payments we would have roughly £106k still outstanding, and around 14 and a half years still to pay. Instead the figure stands at £99,400, give or take a few pounds, and the term has been reduced by a year - even if we stopped overpaying right now, that change is locked in. Down the line of course this also creates a big saving in interest - yes, even on a relatively small mortgage! 

If you currently have a mortgage, even if you can only spare enough per month to round your monthly payments up to the next £10, overpaying is well worth doing. Just a small amount every month can mount up - and for a lot of people now their mortgage interest rate is higher than anything that £10, £20 or £50 would be earning in savings too - so it’s a bit of a no-brainer! If you’re fortunate enough to still be on one of those super-low rates then a better approach is to stash those small amounts into a savings account earning a good rate of interest, then make a lump sum overpayment once your rate increases. If you check and your mortgage alows overpayments, then why not just make a start and see how you go?

Robyn

Hebrides Countdown…

 

Sunset at the “Kettle” rock arch - Tigharry

Oh yes - it’s time for one of these posts as we anticipate returning to our cosy little Island “home” on North Uist again! 

We’re returning to an old route up this time - using the ferry from Uig on Skye to get across to Uist. We prefer going from Mallaig to Lochboisdale - a longer sailing but far less time and distance driving on the mainland - but sadly the ferry company serving the Western Isles  (Caledonian MacBrayne or “Calmac”)  simply cannot be trusted to provide a service on that route these days, indeed, we have booked that route for our return and have already seen one change to the booked tickets, with another more tricky to manage one far from unexpected.  The compromise on the way across is to get the ferry from Mallaig across to Armadale at the bottom end of Skye, then drive up through the island to get to Uig - we still get the benefit of less  mainland driving for the relatively low cost of the short hop on the little boat.

There is something comfortable about reflecting on a return to a place you have visited so many times previously - you know the main routes, the good places to grab a coffee and a cake, the best supermarkets for yellow sticker reductions, and the times you need to be somewhere to avoid a crowd straight off a ferry or to ensure that the latest delivery has been unloaded. Even some of the people - over the years we have met a number of folk who even if we may not know them by name always greet us with recognition and “ahh - back again then!” plus others who we do know a little better and who will pause for a chat and a catch up on our respective news.  Then there is the cottage itself too - although it’s fun staying somewhere new of course, returning to somewhere we know means less time needs to be taken to work out how things will function for you there - we just unpack, shove things where we know they live, and we’re settled and ready to properly start our holiday! 

In spite of the above and the amount of time we’ve spent up there over the years, we aways seem to find new stuff - even bizarrely roads we didn’t know existed or have never explored! Sometimes it’s turnings we had assumed just went to somebody’s home, but then we see a mention of a particular bird being sighted from “X” location and realise that no, it’s just a rather less made-up bit of road, and so ripe for exploring. Other times it might be a turning that we knew was there but didn’t think went far enough to be worth looking at - but a bit of a wander proves otherwise, or throws up something interesting at the end. 

Loch Skipport

There are also the places we return to again and again - obviously the old Pier at Loch Skipport, which yes, is still just standing, or at least it was the last time we visited! Traditions like a wander on the Airport Beach on the first full day we are there, assuming the tides allow, while waiting to collect a Chinese takeaway, bizarrely! The circular walk at Loch Sandary - suited to less good weather - where you inevitably see some interesting birds and sometimes something a bit different - like an Eagle on a stick…

Yes, that IS a Golden Eagle casually minding it’s own business on a fence post, and no, I did not have my camera with me…just the phone and a pair of binoculars… 🙄 Of course there is also the walk around the headland that the cottage is situated on - that will get done at all sorts of times of day and in whatever conditions the weather gods throw at us, and is an endless source of fabulous waves and incredible sunsets… 

All in all, it’s safe to say that this year’s trip is being eagerly anticipated - who knows, I may even manage a post or two while we are there, this time! 

Robyn 

March in the Garden…

 

Spring colour in the flower bed

No doubt gardeners everywhere will be enjoying the flourishing of spring in their gardens at this stage - and we’re certainly no exception! It’s quite fascinating looking back just a few weeks to last months post and seeing how much things have come on in that short time - from crocuses then we now have daffodils, grape hyacinths and even some tulips on the brink of flowering too. My favourite Aquilegias have sprung into life and even have buds on, and to my delight the three Ranunculus that we paid £1 each for last summer have not only survived through the winter well swaddled in horticultural fleece, but also appear to be about to flower any time! 

A satisfying row of peas…

On the veg front the first things to go in were first early potatoes (“Rocket”)  and a row of peas (“Kelvedon Wonder”) in the new strip of bed we dug last month - and indeed the peas have already popped their heads up. Those are being protected from the attentions of the local cats and the pigeons by means of a complicated arrangement of canes and garden twine, efforts to protect them from slugs might be slightly more challenging. Hopefully once the potatoes appear as well, that should deter the bigger pests freeing up the canes to make a slightly more traditional pea support!  MrEH also sowed a bed with a mix of turnips and beetroot - the turnips being the small round ones we grew years ago on the allotment, and we’ve popped in a row of Kale “Scarlet” At the back of the main veg bed - this should both look attractive and help to fill the “hungry gap” from autumn into winter as well. 

Gooseberry flower buds

Mid month we decided that it was possible that the rhubarb was breaking through, and just a week later it was actually looking like rhubarb - my goodness when it grows it REALLY grows, doesn’t it! We won’t be able to take too much off it this year as it needs another season to get to full strength - we will be making a couple of small harvests though so that’s one to look forward to. Also on the fruit-front the gooseberries are covered in leaf and are even beginning to show their first flower buds, the blackcurrant also has plenty of leaf and while the redcurrant is lagging behind at the moment, it’s got plenty of buds. We’ve also gained several raspberry canes, a loganberry and a wineberry plus some strawberry plants - so if all that lot get going we will be well supplied with fruit through the summer and into autumn! 

Rhubarb!

Currently filling our front room windowsill under the propagator lids are an array of chillies - from my favoured “Hungarian Black” - those using saved seed from the single plant I managed to get to grow last year, to the distinctly more fiery “Bhut Jolokia” - MrEH uses those for concocting various mad versions of flavoured vodka, gin etc for post-rugby match shenanigans so being able to grow them would make life easier for him….however we’re not seeing any success with either of those so far sadly. More optimistic are the “Bishop’s Crown” variety - from a packet of seeds got free with our Kitchen Garden magazine - nearly all I sowed of those are now up and looking sturdy. Also on there are aubergines - with a couple of those having popped their heads up too - and some sweet peppers as well. Meanwhile in the garden the mini greenhouse is standing by ready for duty again - and already contains sowings of some soft herbs and flowers - notably mini sunflowers and calendulas, both of which will get used as companion planting  if they germinate OK. 

Coldframe with herbs

Further acquisitions this month include some more cover for bringing on tender plants while there is still any risk of the temperature dropping in the form of two small cold frame/giant cloche arrangements, plus a larger polycarbonate style cold frame which now houses herbs and will work well for more hardy sowings of other plants and hardening off. Joining our metal arches are four narrow trellis frameworks - two of those are already in place against the fence to support a couple of Clematis - the one I bought last year has been joined by a new purchase - and currently we think the other two will be placed alongside the arches to increase the spread area for beans and squashes. 

Strawberries settling into their troughs

It still feels like SUCH a novelty to actually have the privilege of this space - even though we’ve been here over a year and a half now, I’m not sure that feeling will ever wear off!

Robyn