The Mortgage Free in Three - Take 2 challenge (MFiT-T2)

diadeb

Thanks for the welcome. We have just completed our remortgage and are now on a lifetime tracker at 0.99% above base - so that's a good start currently. I have also just moved some savings around once I'd updated myself on just how badly paying some of the accounts were and have just gained £1500 for the year! (Sadly much of this will be paying for this years holiday - as the kids are growing up fast and we haven't taken them abroad for four years!)

The question is, if you were me, would you therefore start the challenge by simply saving into a designated savings account rather than pay off the mortgage? Obviously with the mortgage rate currently 1.49% we can earn more in savings interest, although OH is really keen to start getting the numbers down on the mortgage balance sheet!

maz123_2

its' a personal opinion but i like to see the balance coming down off my mortgage. I've got a savings pot to one side and i'm just re-mortgaging to an offset account but i'll still keep some money in a savings account, one of them that i can just walk into town and withdraw from. (about 3 months wages) At the moment and even once i've re-mortgaged its better for me to put the money on the mortgage. If you can get better interest with the savings then that's got to be an option. You could always go half and half!
i'm sure that wiser people than me will be along soon
maz

bec54

Hello everyone

I would love to join as well please. I've been lurking on here for what feels like ages now but would love to set myself a target to work towards.

My sig below shows our current outstanding balance :eek: !

I've got 6 weeks to go until I finish my masters degree and professional quals (that's if I pass lol) but then have the intention that all my efforts & energies I've used on this for the last 3 years can be redirected towards paying a chunk off the mortgage.

I'm at the library now so would it be ok to check my figures & send my target over in the next few days when I'm at home?

x

financialbliss

bec54 wrote: »

Hello everyone

I would love to join as well please. I've been lurking on here for what feels like ages now but would love to set myself a target to work towards.

Hi bec54 - you're welcome to join. I'll check and allocate a number and PM you back.

FB.

jnielow

Please add me to the challenge

Thanks

Jason

Kaz2904

You need a few more details than that Jason, amount predicted to owe 12/09 desired amount to pay off in 3 years.

financialbliss

Kaz2904 wrote: »

You need a few more details than that Jason, amount predicted to owe 12/09 desired amount to pay off in 3 years.

Thanks for the gentle reminder Kaz. I'll PM Jason too.

Everyone else - please do remember this is a three year challenge. There is hopefully some good background info in the first few posts of this thread. If anyone wants anything clarifying / adding, please get in touch with us, ie me or Maz123.

FB.

gingernutbizkit

hmmm..... I was just thinking that my challenge to pay off everything in 3 years was difficult and then my lovely wife announces that she's thinking about leaving her job to become a student again

RosieTiger

No chance to negotiate on when she would go back to being a student ?

18 months or 2 years could make all the difference !

Jonbvn

diadeb wrote: »

The question is, if you were me, would you therefore start the challenge by simply saving into a designated savings account rather than pay off the mortgage? Obviously with the mortgage rate currently 1.49% we can earn more in savings interest, although OH is really keen to start getting the numbers down on the mortgage balance sheet!

You're in a similar situation to us, since our mortgage rate is currently 1.29%(BR +0.79%). Given that we can get much better interest on savings, we have decided to save most of our disposable income. We do overpay a small amount on the mortgage every month, since we have kept our monthly repayments at the same amount as when the interest rate was much higher.

Personally, I like this approach since it offers flexibility similar to an offset mortgage. Remember that with most mortgages (except offsets) once you make an overpayment it is impossible to recover the money. Should circumstances change, we can easily pay the savings accumulated into the mortgage. The key is that you must not touch the savings!