On my way!

Escapar2020 · 24 November 2017 at 7:38PM

Ditched my mobile contract for a sim only deal, saving £23 per month even with more data and more minutes!

Dread to think how much contracts have cost me over the years!?

Escapar2020 · 30 November 2017 at 8:48PM

Well, November has been interesting...

I knew it was going to be a tight month after some car bills in October and more car work was expected in November. When I say car, I mean camper van, so it's a holiday investment really!

Anyway with these costs, I expected to be overdrawn at the end of November as I wanted to maintain my mortgage op rate. So I started the month intending to keep a closer control on other spending.

Firstly I missed out on stoptober, so no alcohol for November was part of the plan, which was harder than expected but I feel better for it :-) I made it almost to the end when I was given a bottle of wine, so no cost! Although I enjoyed drinking it, I felt quie lethargic the next day, so I don't think I'll be returning to previous levels for a while ;-)

Next, I used up all my supermarket points so didn’t by spend on groceries in the first half of november.

I also planned more meals and cooked more from scratch, which was quite enjoyable at the weekends, and was helpful to freeze leftovers for midweek meals - I hate cooking after work, just want to relax!

I haven't exactly been monitoring spend, just trying to avoid spending. Somehow, I've finished the month with £200 in the bank! I'm tempted to use it for the mortgage, but will keep hold of it until the Christmas excesses have passed, oh, and I have more work to do on the van :-)

So, it's been an interesting month, and I'll be wanting to see if I can make it more normal in future as I want to work out what level of income I'll actually need once the mortgage is finished so I don't have to be tied to my job.

Hope you did better than you expected at something this month too!

Escapar2020

Escapar2020 · 1 January 2018 at 12:05PM

Happy 2018 everyone!

I've now been seriously overpaying my mortgage for just over a year, having been paying smaller amounts in previous years.

On 1st January 2017, my balance was £42,898.

As of today, it's now £30,835, which is better than I thought I could achieve so I'm feeling really pleased :T

I was tempted to take £836 from savings to bring the mortgage under £30k for the start of the year, but decided not too after some big purchases in the boxing day sales (with some decent reductions plus cashback to come!)

My target is still to be MF in 2020. If I can maintain my current payment rate, my calculations are that I could be finished in 998 days time!

It feels good to finally be under 1,000 days to go :j However, there might be a slight change of plans ahead. I had thought about setting an OP target for 2018, but I'm looking at paying extra into my pension, which will bring me back into the lower income tax rate. I'm waiting for my LGPS office to tell me how much this would mean, but by my calculations paying double pension will only cost me £200 per month take home. So, by either making some further spending reductions, or extending my MFW date by a few months, I hope paying more into pension won't make that much difference in the short term and mean I can still achieve my 2020 target (even if it's the end of 2020!)

The other thing I'm thinking about is switching from mortgage OP to saving to become mortgage neutral within the same timescale. I really can't make up my mind about this! I like the idea of having a pot of cash in 2-3 years time, that I could decide to pay the mortgage or do something else with. On the other hand, I've become addicted to watching my mortgage balance reduce every month, and worry that having a pot of cash might be too tempting to spend on stuff! I hope to decide before the end of January, and will see what difference op pension will make before deciding.

I wonder what I'll be writing in January 2019!?

Escapar2020

Escapar2020 · 23 January 2018 at 8:04PM

I've made a slight change to my plans. I've switched from overpayments to saving for mortgage neutrality. The amounts are the same, I'm just putting the money in a different place, which I feel gives me more flexibility. I should still achieve neutrality in 2020 as planned, but will then be able to choose to either pay off the mortgage, hold onto the pot, or invest it somehow.
There is a slight difference between my mortgage and savings rates, which I can live with for the next couple of years if it gives me more flexibility. I will need to seperate my savings for mortgage from general savings to avoid the temptation to spend it.
I'm still looking at making extra pension contributions to reduce my tax rate, which might also reduce my savings ability slightly, but we'll see how that goes. My LGPS office hasn't been helpful with advice on ? issue, so I'll ask around on the MSE pension forum!

Escapar2020 · 11 February 2018 at 8:01PM

I hope this displays ok....

I've recently switched from making direct over payments to saving for mortgage neutrality. The plan is still to be free in 2020, but with a pot of cash I can either finish to mortgage with, keep saving, or do something else with.

This is going to require more self control if I'm not to be tempted to spend my op. For now, op are going into my main easy access saving account, so i've created a tracker to help me keep things separate in my head.

At some point, the red and blue lines should cross, then I'll be fully mortgage neutral.

Previously, I was motivated to see my actual mortgage balance decline by big chunks each month. So, the green line gives me a theoretical mortgage balance, to help me feel more positive as it should decline more quickly after taking into account my op. It's this balance I'll put in my signature. Finally under £30k:j

The pink dotted line takes my other savings into account, which will show when I'm !!!8221;technically!!!8221; mortgage neutral. I haven't included these before as I occasionally dip into them, which is why it went up instead of down last month. I'm planning some home improvements this year, so expect this line will fluctuate a bit.

Seeing the months laid out makes it feel like a long time, but it should pass quickly!

Blibble · 11 February 2018 at 9:03PM

Good read so far Escapar2020 - particularly a fan of laying out your target graphically like that

. Mortgage neutral is a great goal, as you get better flexibility and the rate is similar. Best of luck over the year

Escapar2020 · 14 March 2018 at 4:51PM

Just switched a dormant current account over to Halifax and received £125 from them, which has gone straight in to my mortgage neutral pot :-)

I could get more if I paid in regularly and had a couple of direct debits on the account, but i'm happy with the free money and will switch again if I get chance ;-)

Only a few days left in their offer, then it goes down to £75.

Escapar2020 · 28 March 2018 at 8:52PM

After, gradually increasing overpayments direct into my mortgage for years, my mortgage neutral project has now had its first couple of months….

The good news is that my actual mortgage balance has finally slipped under £30k. :T I'm now only paying the basic mortgage payment, so it took a little longer to get over that hurdle.

My OP rate will remain constant as it's arranged by direct debits into my savings each month. My OP offset balance is what I take as my real position to be mortgage neutral by September 2020.

I had a couple of bits of extra cash go into my savings this month from a car tax refund and bank account switch incentive. So, if I offset all of my savings against the mortgage, the balance drops to under £16k. Seeing an number starting 15, makes the potential for mortgage neutrality feel tantalisingly close! However, I know I shouldn't focus on this figure as it could go back up if I have to use some savings, which is likely as my camper van is having some major surgery in readiness for the long hot summer that I'm expecting!

Here comes summer!

Escapar2020