Time flies when you fix your mortgage

Time flies when you fix your mortgage.

When we first bought a home, Mrs B and I opted for a two-year fix. Those two years flew by in a flurry of soft furnishing shopping, decorating and the general glow of owning a place.

Remortgaging onto a three-year fix, those years also melted away as we started a family, before it was time to remortgage for a third time, without even a thought of moving.

That time around, we went for a five-year fix. This was in early 2021 and I had a hunch we’d never see a rate this low again — a totally bonkers 1.24 per cent.

Would our circumstances change before 2026? Well, it felt like a leap of faith at the time, but as I write, we’re already cruising towards the halfway point.

And, of course, the mortgage market has now turned on its head.

Rates rocketed from September onwards, and the base rate has reached 4 per cent from a historic low of 0.1 per cent in December 2021. But there are signs that rates are settling down and lenders aren’t quite as nervous as they were at the tail-end of last year.

Lloyds and Virgin Money have launched ten-year fixes at 3.99 per cent for those with bigger deposits, First Direct and HSBC have sliced their five-year rates and mortgage brokers seem far more positive compared to pre-Christmas.

One broker told me this week: ‘We’re twice as busy as in December. January rebounded in a strong way, and we believe that’s the way it’ll now be.’

Rates are unlikely to fall back to anything like we’ve seen, but at least there are signs of more stability after average two and five-year rates soared beyond 6 per cent (which is nothing in comparison to home-loan rates in the 1980s and early-1990s).

So, if you, or anyone you know, is in the house-buying or remortgaging process, ensure you are getting the lender’s best rate.

Things change fast.

Nintendo fun

When it comes to investing and saving, I play it relatively safe.

I save hard into my private pension, drip-feed a monthly sum into a variety of funds, have a savings pot on hand for emergencies, along with an Isa, and I hold Premium Bonds, too.

But I also think it’s exciting to have an investment you can hold and admire that makes up 1 per cent of your portfolio. That’s why I became an accidental ‘investor’ in all things Nintendo.

Yes, you read that right. The Japanese gaming firm synonymous with Mario and fun consoles.

As I reached my 30s, I began to pine for something I had enjoyed in my youth — namely, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), the handheld Game Boy and my favourite, the N64.

It’s a phenomenon that happens, I believe, when you hit a certain age and have disposable income: you want to spend money on something that brings you joy. For the generation before me, that’s likely to mean vinyl and Star Wars memorabilia.

I now have a sizeable collection of games and accessories which have grown in value in recent years. 

I hunt for bargains online, snap them up, play them (very, very occasionally) and keep them in good condition. As they become more scarce, the value grows.

It’s a fun hobby, but also my investment sideline. Plus, it’s a colourful collection to pass on.

Go on, tell me your fun tangible investments. I’d love to hear about them.

Child’s play

How do we teach children the value of money?

Some parents do it by paying a monthly fee for them to have a debit card (see Page 33) which also comes with teaching apps.

Personally, it’s not a route I plan to go down with my daughter, Brooke. I like handing her coins as pocket money, and recently I sat down with her, explaining the denominations of coins and notes, hoping some of that maths soaks in. Sometimes, the old-fashioned ways are the best.

To truly get to grips with budgeting, in my view, cash comes up trumps compared with numbers on a screen.

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