Overpayment Addict

Hi everyone, I've been reading lots of your stories and decided I should document mine too for lots of reasons...

1. The motivation and support all you lovely people have given each other is amazing (I would like some of that please :) )
2. Keep myself focused and see if I can push my overpayments higher
3. Share my frugal experiences with you all
4. Track progress of all over payments.
5. I'm sure there's more but too tired to think atm...

I've had my mortgage since 2009, moved to a bigger property in Dec 2011 with a mortgage of £87,500. I paid my mortgage every month but I also enjoyed myself every month (partying, cinema, food etc) and overpaying my mortgaging never crossed my mind... Having my DD in 2013 is what changed everything for me. The focus was no longer on me enjoying my life but her enjoying hers. I am a single mum and unfortunately I could not carry on with the job that I was doing before I had DD. I never want to be in a position where I've got to tell her no we can't do/have something because we have no money and that's where my overpaying addiction started...

I never had any budgets, I would use my credit card and pay it off in full every month on payday. And because of this I struggled throughout my whole maternity, at first I thought it was all the baby stuff I was buying but it was clear after a few months that not having a budget was not going to work....

From then on I have been focused on overpaying my mortgage and my balance today is £54631.
I will have to dig out my mortgage statements to give u a summary of overpayments I've been making but at first it was £260 a month, then it went to £360 a month and now I over pay £500 a month... sometimes I don't even know how I do it as I only work part time and I do spoil DD a lot but I've been sticking to my spreadsheets and have been addicted to overpaying my mortgage and seeing that balance drop. :)

My mortgage rate is 1.99% and it's fixed until Jan 2019 and I can start looking for a new fix four months before which is Sept 2018. There is 11 years and 5 months (I think, waiting for my letter from my latest overpayment) DD is 4 currently so I am aiming to pay off my mortgage by the time she is 10 which gives me 6 years. According to the overpayment calculator if I am on track with my overpayments of £500 a month I should have cleared it in 5 years. However I do sometimes miss a month not often tho... the mortgage taken out in 2011 was a 20 year mortgage so that would have ended Dec 2031. My current end date is August 2028 (I think...) Aiming to be mortgage free in 2023

Well that's all for now... if I've missed out any info please ask and I will update you :)
Balance at start of mortgage Dec 2011 £87500
1 Jan 2015 = £73,735 Overpayments = £3,360 (average £280 p/m)
1 Jan 2016 = £66,558 Overpayments = £4,770 (average £397.50 p/m)
1 Jan 2017 = £57,756 Overpayments so far Jan £0 Feb £550 Mar £3022 April £690 May £1513 total £5775
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Comments

  • Amazing progress so far, well done. I will be here cheering you on for the rest of your journey.

    What is your best tip so far?
  • Kittenkirst
    Kittenkirst Posts: 2,563
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    Wow well done on such amazing overpayments!

    I love overpaying and also find it addictive :)

    Looking forward to hearing your progress & cheering you on!
    First home- Oct’16 until June’21: £170.995- Overpayments made £13,784 (25% extra!).
    New forever home- Sep’21 £309,449 @ 2.05%. Plan to clear it before 30 years!!!!!!
  • Hi

    Best tip so far.... hmm... I just stick to my budgets and i find ways to be frugal elsewhere. I give my self £60 a week spending money £20 of that goes on petrol. If I want/need anything else I explore all other options before using my overpayment budget.

    Example for Xmas I knew I needed extra money for presents and I had not budgeted for this at all so in October I started to list things on Ebae which I had three very successful months and that paid for Xmas. And DDs swimming lessons (again it's not in my monthly budgets)

    I have no savings however I do take advantage of 0% credit cards where I pay the money into my account and pay the minimum balance until the 0% ends. Once it ends I pay off the whole balance and start again with a different 0% offer. This allows me to keep the money in my bank so I do not go into my overdraft and I earn interest on the cash.

    Today's achievements.

    8 things listed on Ebae. Won't bring me massive ££ but hopefully will get me motivated to list more things. As DDs swimming lessons are not budgeted for in my monthly budget I need to get on top of this or I will have to take the money out of the overpayment budget...

    No spend day by taking DD to ikea for a 45min free play in playland. Free hotdog and donut from previous Swipe a surprise. Then going for a walk somewhere before going home for dinner.

    I have dug out my mortgage overpayments for 2016 and this is what I managed to do

    Jan 260
    Feb 260
    Mar 260
    April 360
    May 360
    June 360
    July 360
    Aug 0
    Sept 550
    Oct 500
    Nov 500
    Dec 1000

    I paid £1000 in Dec because I can over pay 10% per calendar year so I managed to pay January's overpayment budget in December using the money from my 0% credit cards.

    Balance at beginning of 2016 £66558
    Balance at end of 2016 £57756

    2017 I did not make an overpayment in January because this was paid in December. February I paid £550 and in March I paid £1500.

    Again this money is from the 0% credit cards. One of my cards ends in June and the other is in November so I just need to be focused to make sure I replace this money so I can pay off the cards at the end of the 0%.

    Not sure how much interest I'm saving by paying an extra £1000 in March rather than £500 in April and £500 in May but it does feel good to see my balance go down.


    Hope everyone is having a good weekend! :)
    Balance at start of mortgage Dec 2011 £87500
    1 Jan 2015 = £73,735 Overpayments = £3,360 (average £280 p/m)
    1 Jan 2016 = £66,558 Overpayments = £4,770 (average £397.50 p/m)
    1 Jan 2017 = £57,756 Overpayments so far Jan £0 Feb £550 Mar £3022 April £690 May £1513 total £5775
  • lippy1923
    lippy1923 Posts: 1,374
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    Welcome. Great progress so far. I am also an OP addict. I have to OP £500pm every month. This is the max my provider will allow on my deal.

    I also stooze money from 0% CC's where possible. I have to pay one off tomorrow, so will miss the money (only £600 left to pay, but still a chunk of cash leaving my bank account :( )
    Total Mortgage OP £61,000
    Outstanding Mortgage £27,971
    Emergency Fund £62,100
    I AM NOW MORTGAGE NEUTRAL!!!! <<Sep-20>>

  • nellis10
    nellis10 Posts: 1,350
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    Love this!! it's great to see someone doing so well!

    I'm torn between O/P mortgage and investing at the moment and will likely come down to a balance between the two!

    But seeing the mortgage come down every month must be a great motivator to keep going.

    I'm hoping to remortgage shortly to a rate similar to yours, and I've got just under £67K left on mine.

    My goal is to get the mortgage to £48K ASAP so I can be in the 60% LTV just for the sake of being at that level! lol

    Wishing you every continued success!
    2024 Challenges
    • Grocery Budget (January £0/£300)
    • Decluttering (Underway!)
    • Frugal Living (January £0/£500
    • 24 in 2024 (0/24)
  • Well done, i am early in my 10 year plan so will look forward to hearing your progress!
  • tinkerbel
    tinkerbel Posts: 1,795
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    Sounds great you're doing so well especially for a single mum well done keep going!!! Your budgets are clearly working and I like the idea of giving yourself an allowance each week, I've been thinking about trying this and taking cash out then when it's gone it's gone but I don't know if I would stick to it!!
  • greent
    greent Posts: 10,669
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    Fab progress so far - am sure you will continue to smash your mortgage :D
    I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul
    Repaid mtge early (orig 11/25) 01/09 £124616 01/11 £89873 01/13 £52546 01/15 £12133 07/15 £NIL
    Net sales 2024: £20
  • Amazing progress, keep up the good work ;)

    I noticed that you don't seem to have a signature? I find striking through and updating the previous balance so motivating, you might want to have a go :D
    Mortgage @ May 2014 [STRIKE] £103,347.24[/STRIKE]. Mortgage @ 2%:[STRIKE]£90, 321.99[/STRIKE], £89, 949.44
    CC @ 0%: [STRIKE]£5473.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5419.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5365.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5312.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5259.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5207.72[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]£5155.72[/STRIKE], £5104.72
    Home Improvement Loan @ 0%: £0, settled July 2017
    Emergency Savings: £2050/£5000
    Intending to be mortgage-free by 2022 :j
  • Lippy - I feel like my money is disappearing when I pay off my 0% cards even tho the moment isn't really mine to begin... I've got a few months before my next one goes... I also have to be careful because can only overpay 10% of the beginning balance which is £5775. Which averages £481 per month so not far off my overpayment budget... I'm aiming to stick to my budget and review the amount I've overpaid in October and save the rest to overpay in January.

    Nellis - I was torn between overpaying and investing too but I think overpaying is more motivating as I see the numbers go down and my bank sends me a letter each month of the new reduced term which is a reminder of the advantages of overpaying... purely psychological but I love my letter every month :)

    Tinkerbel - being a single mum has motivated me so much to overpay... I don't know why I never overpaid before when I was working full time... if only I had found you guys ages ago my mortgage would be done and dusted lol

    Design by default - how do I do a signature?? I'm a newbie forum user :rotfl:

    Starting this blog and keeping my mind focused on overpaying has made me rethink my purchase of a new dress last week... I don't really need it so I refunded it today...

    No large spends today and I posted an item that I sold on Ebae and the postage was only £1.85 rather than £3/4 as I packed it so well it went through as a large letter rather than a small parcel :T also purchased two colouring calenders for DD for 10p each :) which has kept her occupied for a while.

    I think the next two months are going to be a little tight on ££ anyone got any ideas for me??
    Balance at start of mortgage Dec 2011 £87500
    1 Jan 2015 = £73,735 Overpayments = £3,360 (average £280 p/m)
    1 Jan 2016 = £66,558 Overpayments = £4,770 (average £397.50 p/m)
    1 Jan 2017 = £57,756 Overpayments so far Jan £0 Feb £550 Mar £3022 April £690 May £1513 total £5775
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