As a blogger I read a lot of online posts and articles about personal finance. A newish trend that has popped up a lot is people writing about financial independence, the FIRE movement. FIRE = financially independent retire early. There are many stories of people who have built up enough savings/investments to generate passive income…
Tag: mortgage
Like giving crack to a cocaine addict: my life with a 110% subprime mortgage
In 2005, I was given a 110% mortgage by a mainstream lender. For a feckless 29 year old with a history of bad debt, it was like pushing crack on a cocaine addict. Perhaps that’s a bit strong – but that “free” money can be financially lethal, if not literally so. To this day, I see it as one…
The hidden costs of buying your first home
Buying your first home is one of the most exciting times of your life, but it can also be one of the most stressful. There are endless delays, reams of paperwork to fill in and a load offees and charges you never knew existed. Thankfully, though, if you know they are coming, you can plan…
Money Web Issue #1: your weekly round up of the best of British blogging
There’s an increasingly big and brilliant haul of stories and advice out there about the pounds in our pockets. Each week, we’ll scour the best of the UK’s personal finance blogs and tell you what caught our eye. Monevator For those interested in modern online lenders – the type that are taking borrowers off banks…
Buying a home: the legal stuff
We’ve made it! This is the last instalment from me on the home-buying process. But first, a recap. After months of gruelling house hunting and putting up with buckets of drivel from estate agents, we finally found a flat. Our offer was accepted, followed by a busy period of choosing a mortgage and booking a…
You’ve bought a home – now you need a mortgage, right?
Congratulations! Your heroic search for a (relatively) affordable home has finally paid off and your offer has been accepted. So, what happens next? Many things, including, but not limited to, applying for a mortgage, choosing a solicitor, and getting a building survey done. M-m-mortgage Now, some buyers may already have a provisional mortgage agreement, called…
A mortgage holiday sounds great, but it’s not all blue skies and beaches
My first year of parenthood brought with it a fair amount of financial stress. We weren’t poor or bankrupt, but we needed to tighten our purse strings, and so paid very close attention to what we spent our money on. If we could, we would buy things second hand, and looked out for offers and deals…