Do you admit to overpaying?

So strange are the times we're living in, that I received a letter from the Newcastle Building Society, saying I can overpay as much as I like and actually welcoming the idea that I would.
Of course, they were just trying to increase their cashflow in the short-term.

I was mortgage free for a couple of years - now back with a mortgage due to upsizing. ANYONE who found out we had no mortgage would comment on how loaded we must be to get in that position or ask whether we had inherited money.
The fact we had slogged it out in horrible jobs for years, working opposite hours and never seeing each other, no holidays, we don't drink, smoke and had the worst car on our street (much to the horror of our friends) seems to have escaped everyone.
And although it sounds strange, I did feel a bit goaless when I had no mortgage - money just seemed to drift from my hands, instead of having the overarching goal of getting rid of the debt as quickly as possible.

I tell some people but it depends upon who it is, their circumstances & various other things.

My parents know & are so impressed with us.
My sister does not know, she does not work, her hubby works 6 days a week, thye are fairly skint & it would be like rubbing their noses in it.
Some friends know, usually at their instigation in a finances conversation.
Work have no idea. I am a higher grade than most of the people I sit beside & get paid the same although I only work 2 days a week (17h). I think a lot of them struggle financially - you get to hear a lot of chat - & I don't think it would be right to tell.

Nicky

I started a thread on an American based forum about trying to pay off my mortgage. I thought it would be a great way to motivate me and keep me on track.

All I got was, "well aren't you lucky to be able to overpay." Or other, "well we've already paid off x amount more then you," etc. etc. Basically I emailed the mod and asked them to delete the thread because it wasn't motivating me at all and it wasn't fun at all to share with those people

I also used my real name in that thread and a family member google'd me and came across it. She has always been a member of my extended family that I didn't get along with. She presented the information she found in a very unfavorable light to my Aunt (her mom) and her 2 brothers (my cousins). A lot of my family took my thread as a "brag thread" instead of what it was intended to be, a "stay motivated/stay on track" thread.

That's how I came across this forum. I wanted a forum where I could start fresh, use a pretend name, and be around other supporting people. The only people in the whole world I tell are my OH, my father, and the teller that accepts my overpayments She's very nice and is actually doing the same with her mortgage.

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone....this forum has been very accepting and supportive (even though I'm the silly guy from America )

We OP by a decent amount every month: more than double what the bank asks us to pay each month. As others have said it's a life style sacrifice - although we have an aim to move in 5 years to a different area and the more we overpay the better chance we have of securing the house we will probably never move from so the incentive is there. We live in comfort - but sometimes the brand new cars of my friends tempt me, but then I know their financial circumstances and it makes me shudder to see how precarious they are willing to make their financial lives to have the nice car, foreign holidays, etc. Good for them while the sun shines... They know I overpay, but probably would have a fit if they knew just by how much! Don't tell other family members - I think the reaction would be 'lucky that you can do that' and then I'd probably just end up feeling guilty.