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

diadeb

Captain_Pie wrote: »

I've just found the "Get yourself a mortgage pig" thread and it's an amazing idea!

Can you post the link please? I did a search and couldn't find it.

I will be going into the yellow for the first time unless I really up the ante, so I need all the help I can get. I don't want to fail this challenge.

I had to stop a big direct overpayment in order to boost our savings. We need a new kitchen amongst other things so need a large amount of cash for that.

I have started ebaying a few things, but I struggle to find the timewhen it is for such a relatively small sum. I have some cashback to withdraw so that will help, but the mortgage pig sounds like it might help!

Hurdler

Captain_Pie wrote: »

I've just found the "Get yourself a mortgage pig" thread and it's an amazing idea!

Starting tomorrow, Mrs Captain Pie and I are away on holiday (only in the UK). It'll be a brilliant opportunity to find a suitable money box, so hopefully we can start feeding our friend as soon as we get back home.

gallygirl wrote: »

Sure is - little Peefer (as in P for Pig ) just coughed up £30 and that was enough to tip the balance and knock a month off the mortgage :T

Mortgage pig is conjuring up all kinds of images??? :rotfl:
Must go look for this thread. Intrigued now!!!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

RosieTiger wrote: »

Let's have some more positive stories, we all need it.

Hi guys, just popped on your thread to see how everyone was doing and didnt want to go without offering some moral support.

From the posts I read it seems that some of you are a bit fed up and frustrated with the whole MFW thing and I totally relate to that.

I remember feeling it at this point, time drags and every penny is going down huge hole.

Don't despair, it will happen, take each day as it comes and try to enjoy the challenge. Take a break have some fun, you dont have to spend a fortune.

I drew a piccie of a house with bricks that represented £1k and when I paid off £1k I coloured it in for encouragement.

Mortgage pigs are a good idea. I had a 'virtual' pig and still do for savings! Basically, what I do at the start of the month, I do my budget but instead of water being £61.50 say, I budget £65 and when the statement comes, I put the extra into the pig. Same goes for quidco money and any unexpecred money that comes along. It doesnt seem much but it does mount up.

'The Tightwad gazete' by Amy dacycyn was a good book to read and saved me a fortune, it changed my way of thinking, worth a look.

Good luck everyone, you will get there, its an itch that you cant scratch but one day you will have that massive weight lifted off your shoulders and be able to live rent free. Then you can charge yourself rent and put it in an isa!
All the best

Hurdler

I think that idea of having a house and bricks to colour in is great!!!
The IT Architect in me is contemplating Visio diagrams already

wynnvegas

Morning All,

Just caught up with the last few weeks of posts. What an amazing job everyone is doing. I too can understand a lot of the frustrations that are being shared at the halfway point of the challenge but it seems like the first 19 months has really flown by. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were all desperately waiting for 12/12/09 for the thing to start. A special thank you again to FB for his continued efforts on this and other challenges. The amount of admin a fairly straightforward idea takes must be phenomenal. Keep up the magnificent work one and all!

Cheers,

Billy

Trying_to_be_good

Just checking in before we're off for a week in France with the kids - so many expenses, with extra for continental car insurance and breakdown cover plus all the bits they want us to have, but we'd be kicking ourselves really hard if we did't do it then needed it.

Hope everyone has a great week here, weather's looking good!

black_taxi_2

£149 paid this month after interest

lower o/payment due to building up emergency fund to 7k----need security in this economic climate

but my mortgage is still lowering--back on track with high o/p sometime 2012

gerbiljo

Yay our balance now starts with a 4....its a long journey! Nice to see the old guys popping back thanks for the wisdom dhw. Keep up the good work everyone

diadeb

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

I drew a piccie of a house with bricks that represented £1k and when I paid off £1k I coloured it in for encouragement.

Yep I have done this on an Excel spreadsheet. I have a range of sums from £50 up to £800, which I colour according to which overpayment amount I have made. Perhaps my downfall is that I have put the whole, very large mortgage on it, rather than just this chunk that I have challenged myself to pay down during this challenge, so there are rather a lot of empty bricks at the moment.:(

I wanted to visualise the big picture though because I don't want to carry this monster past hubby's retirement. That alone should be encouragement for a lot of you as so many of you are very young by comparison! However this is my second marriage, and the first big family home that we have bought together, so it is (or will be when we get kitchens and bathrooms done etc!) the dream home that many of you talk about. I hope to stay here well into old age until it and the garden are simply too big to manage.

I also have another spreadsheet that I update every six months. This contains all our savings and investments, so the bigger picture is actually a good one as it's a very healthy spreadsheet. The only thing is certain monies are destined for our old age, so can't be used for the mortgage. I have earmarked particular monies that will pay off the mortgage, and despite the ups and downs of the stockmarket, in the main it looks like it will pay off what it needs to when the time comes. The reason for joining the challenge here was to speed up that process so that maybe we'll be a bit wealthier when his retirement comes in 2020.

curlygirl1971

aprilshower wrote: »

Hi Everybody,

Thank you all for your comments. Curlygirl mentioned a mortgage calculator /spreadsheet has anybody got a link to a good one that I could use?

Sorry for delay - here it is. If link doesn't work the just search the forum for his username (Locoblade) and the thread is called 'My Mortgage Spreadsheet'...or something like that

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1157173

It can be a bit scary at first, esp if you don't use spreadsheets much, so just have a play around with it and get used to it