Yes that's right...I got money out of a bank !!
I got a letter today...it looks like a standard reply. They don't believe the charges are unfair, the rules are all laid out in their guidelines etc etc... A full A4 page of gumph
Then on the next page ...as a gesture of goodwill, we will refund £833 into your account.
£833.... a gesture of goodwill !!!
That's the full total of all the charges I've had over the last 6 years.
As far as I can see its a full admission by Natwest that they haven't got a leg to stand on. Its true I could decline this and take them to court to get the extra interest, but to be honest asking for that was just a bargaining tool, and I'm completely satisfied with getting he money back. At the end of the day all it took was two letters, and I get £833.
What a result !!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Is the mortgage a debt....part 2
Some interesting replies to my original post, most of which were very helpful.
I have decided for my benefit, that yes, I will keep the mortgage in my net worth calculation, as its something I have to pay each month. Also if I want to be moving towards the million mark the first thing I need to do is to get rid of the debt before I can start investing for growth.
The second thing is that I am NOT going to include the value of the house in my net worth calculation. This is because I don't see it as an asset as I cannot / will not use it to raise capital. My family's security is paramount and the house is key to that. Its not something I plan to use at all.
I'm sure the purists out there will be pulling your hair out, but I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.
Still no answer from Natwest. It looks like I'll have to get the relevant information together to start the court claim... Can't say I'm looking forward to it, its a bit scary.!
I have decided for my benefit, that yes, I will keep the mortgage in my net worth calculation, as its something I have to pay each month. Also if I want to be moving towards the million mark the first thing I need to do is to get rid of the debt before I can start investing for growth.
The second thing is that I am NOT going to include the value of the house in my net worth calculation. This is because I don't see it as an asset as I cannot / will not use it to raise capital. My family's security is paramount and the house is key to that. Its not something I plan to use at all.
I'm sure the purists out there will be pulling your hair out, but I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.
Still no answer from Natwest. It looks like I'll have to get the relevant information together to start the court claim... Can't say I'm looking forward to it, its a bit scary.!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
No reply from Natwest
One week gone and no response from Natwest, Not even an acknowledgement. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I wonder how many of these letters they get a month ?
Went and got a new PC monitor at the weekend but took an ex display model so we saved £20 on it which made me feel a bit better. And the sky man came to look at our dish and he said it was definitely knackered so again I feel a bit better spending the money as he has put it right.
DVD recorder is playing up now though..... What have I done wrong !!!???
Went and got a new PC monitor at the weekend but took an ex display model so we saved £20 on it which made me feel a bit better. And the sky man came to look at our dish and he said it was definitely knackered so again I feel a bit better spending the money as he has put it right.
DVD recorder is playing up now though..... What have I done wrong !!!???
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tracking My Status
Currently this is my first month, but as I imagine this is going to be a (very) long road I need to see how I am doing. I stumbled on this great site NetworthIQ which allows you to enter a value each month and it will track how well you are doing.
The graph on the right of this page will eventually show my total net worth going up over time ( or down !).
It looks a bit rubbish at the moment unfortunately.
The only problem with the site is that its in dollars not pounds, but that's only a symbol, the numbers stay the same.
The graph on the right of this page will eventually show my total net worth going up over time ( or down !).
It looks a bit rubbish at the moment unfortunately.
The only problem with the site is that its in dollars not pounds, but that's only a symbol, the numbers stay the same.
Is the mortgage a debt??
For the past few days I've been mulling over whether to include the mortgage / equity in the house as part of my calculations of net worth.
The fact is that the house is not a realisable asset as we need somewhere to live and the mortgage is part of that. Also as the mortgage is over 30 years and secured against the house, is long term secured debt different to short term unsecured debt.
The long and short of it is that I don't know, and I don't know what the financial people would decide either.
After a good few nights in the bath thinking about this... yes, money is what I think about when I relax....I have come to the following conclusion...
I will NOT include the equity in the house because we need somewhere to live and it is not reasonable to have this value as part of my net worth as it cannot be released.
I WILL include the mortgage as part of my debt calculations as its still money I owe and have to pay for. After all that £722 a month makes a huge hole in my bank balance every month. The mortgage is like a millstone around my neck and I want rid of it. And if I want to be aiming for a million in 20 years then first I need to get rid of the mortgage then I can start investing heavily to build up cash.
So overall no change, but I'm now happy with what I am doing. I can't believe its the 21st Jan already and nearly a month gone. I have to say I'm dreading doing my net worth on the 1st Feb as after such a rubbish month its bound to be worse, I just hope its not too bad. Still, if I wasn't doing this I would just be drifting along....now I have a purpose !
The fact is that the house is not a realisable asset as we need somewhere to live and the mortgage is part of that. Also as the mortgage is over 30 years and secured against the house, is long term secured debt different to short term unsecured debt.
The long and short of it is that I don't know, and I don't know what the financial people would decide either.
After a good few nights in the bath thinking about this... yes, money is what I think about when I relax....I have come to the following conclusion...
I will NOT include the equity in the house because we need somewhere to live and it is not reasonable to have this value as part of my net worth as it cannot be released.
I WILL include the mortgage as part of my debt calculations as its still money I owe and have to pay for. After all that £722 a month makes a huge hole in my bank balance every month. The mortgage is like a millstone around my neck and I want rid of it. And if I want to be aiming for a million in 20 years then first I need to get rid of the mortgage then I can start investing heavily to build up cash.
So overall no change, but I'm now happy with what I am doing. I can't believe its the 21st Jan already and nearly a month gone. I have to say I'm dreading doing my net worth on the 1st Feb as after such a rubbish month its bound to be worse, I just hope its not too bad. Still, if I wasn't doing this I would just be drifting along....now I have a purpose !
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Am I Jinxed ??
I think I must be.
This was going to be my year of living frugally and getting my finances into shape ready to really push down my debt over the next few years...
And what a start !
The car broke....2 grand
The monitor broke...£100 ish
Sky has stopped working ( because it got a bit windy ) which is £65 just for the engineer to visit.
And we need to get a roofer in because we have lost some tiles.
happy new year !
This was going to be my year of living frugally and getting my finances into shape ready to really push down my debt over the next few years...
And what a start !
The car broke....2 grand
The monitor broke...£100 ish
Sky has stopped working ( because it got a bit windy ) which is £65 just for the engineer to visit.
And we need to get a roofer in because we have lost some tiles.
happy new year !
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A Fellow Struggler
Nice to see a like minded individual at myfinancesareamess so hello Dave and welcome aboard.
I have to say though, given the info in one of your posts I would gladly swap places. I mean, earning 64k, 2 holidays, two cars sounds like absolute luxury. For mere mortals like me earning £28 k with no holidays and only one rustbucket on the drive the challenge is a little tougher.
Still, I guess its all relative. Hopefully we can learn from each other as we go.
No reply from Natwest yet. The letter was posted on Monday and I sent it recorded delivery so they can't say they never received it......
Me and the Missus had a good chat today and decided to cancel the sky sports and Films. To be honest we hardly watch either and we can still get box office films if needed and that will save us £20 or so a month.
Another rubbish day today... the PC monitor has been on the blink and last night finally gave up the ghost. Unfortunately as its 2 years old its out of warranty...more expense !!
Still no luck with the casino scalping, but I've been working a lot over the last few days so had no time to do it, plus I've had loads of jobs to do round the house. Very windy today and Sky isn't working at all...It had better be on by ten because I really can't miss Battlestar Galactica, the best show on TV at the moment until Lost comes back.
I have to say though, given the info in one of your posts I would gladly swap places. I mean, earning 64k, 2 holidays, two cars sounds like absolute luxury. For mere mortals like me earning £28 k with no holidays and only one rustbucket on the drive the challenge is a little tougher.
Still, I guess its all relative. Hopefully we can learn from each other as we go.
No reply from Natwest yet. The letter was posted on Monday and I sent it recorded delivery so they can't say they never received it......
Me and the Missus had a good chat today and decided to cancel the sky sports and Films. To be honest we hardly watch either and we can still get box office films if needed and that will save us £20 or so a month.
Another rubbish day today... the PC monitor has been on the blink and last night finally gave up the ghost. Unfortunately as its 2 years old its out of warranty...more expense !!
Still no luck with the casino scalping, but I've been working a lot over the last few days so had no time to do it, plus I've had loads of jobs to do round the house. Very windy today and Sky isn't working at all...It had better be on by ten because I really can't miss Battlestar Galactica, the best show on TV at the moment until Lost comes back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
