Gasp!! (Follwed swiftly by *faint*)

I was actually thinking about starting a post for you a couple of days ago after reading about SS and wondering how your anti consumerisim was going...

Mortgage rates are sooo sky high, I'm glad we fixed a while back and don't have to think about it for a while longer, and our mortgage on both our home and business is smaller than most people's home loans..(for now, i'm busily looking at new homes *in case*)

im a bits and bobs spender as well, especially bad at "popping" into the supermarket and spending $35 on "milk and bread"...grrr. Was really bad at this when in the grip of wedding fever...good job thats done and dusted. Been going to couplands for milk etc instead now, it helps a wee bit, but, hell, I'm baaad.

Yeah I feel lucky about our mortgage as well, but we are talking about extending it a bit to put a pool in, and that scares me a wee bit...hence the "looking" at other places - well, if you're gunna extend the mortgage, you might as well look and see if there is something you like with a pool already, aye?

Don't forget if you are not going through a mortgage broker you should be able to negotiate a lower than advertised interest rate directly with your bank. They pay the broker a commission, so there is room for negotiation if you are dealing directly. I tried this and got a couple of points off the advertised rate. It all adds up.

AnnC wrote: I work in a bank and see the rates everyday and think eekkk... I do hope by next november they have come down a bit (thats when our big mortgage is coming off fixed) And the banks don't know the rate till it comes out either so no insite there either...

I second that. We have to refix in October next year.

I saw ASB advertsing 9.25% fixed for 2 years and said very loudly (and not abbreviated) WTF!!!!!

That's what me and DH have started thinking - depending on how it goes, I may not get to be a SAHM. But then, I have a job at the mo which may allow me to work a little bit without taking too much away from our plans for me to be at home.

Thanks for the suggestion Lulu - I might try that. We're with Westpac, and have Redpac, so they're a bit tricky. With Redpac, you get 2 points off the mortgage rate, but you pay $25 per month for it. So, they tend to argue that you're already getting 2 points off ... hmmm! Cheeky poo! I saw the advertising by ASB too nzpiper - perhaps we'll have to shop around when the time comes. Westpac's rate for 2 years is 9.4!