So what are your best tips towards becoming MF?

Redbedhead

I know there are a few on here that are either MF or close to becoming MF, so would anyone like to share some of their best tips?

I have always accepted becoming MF was a longer term thing for us but sometimes that means I struggle with motivation and can fritter money away, so any tips to stop me doing that (I already budget) would be great.

betti911

I became debt free this year and next step (after paying to get my bathroom done this month after a flood ) is to become mortgage free. Looking forward to hearing hints from the experts!

co123456

I think to think about cutting down a tree... you lop lots of little branches, before attacking the trunk.

Don't think about the trunk. If you think about the trunk, its size will overwhelm you. Go for the branches. Go for the little actions. They all add up. The more little actions you achieve, the greater the sense of achievement and the more motivated you'll feel to carry on. Celebrate each achievement.
Take your time. Set achievable but challenging mid term targets. Revise your targets regularly.

Ask your library if they have this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spend-Less-Handbook-Actually-Spending/dp/1906465142

Good Luck!

Gorgeous_George

I prefer the elephant eating analogy - start with the toes. Little nibbles are less daunting.

I think plotting your progress would be motivating. You could use graph paper and plot a line chart - I suggest you set at target of 10% of the mortgage for one year.

Another way would be to sketch a house and draw in the bricks. Fill in one brick for every £50 overpayment. A house drawn with 200 bricks and placed on your fridge or bedside table would represent £10K. When the house is complete, simply draw another house. You could also treat yourselves to something special when the house is complete or even just when you reach the windows or top of the front door.

Perhaps put a copy of the sketch in your wallet or purse as a reminder.

Finally, the cemetery is full of mortgage free corpses. Remember to live a little and enjoy your healthiest years.

GG

co123456

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Finally, the cemetery is full of mortgage free corpses. Remember to live a little and enjoy your healthiest years.

GG

Agreed! Though, I didn't realy 'get' this until a couple of years in.

Take a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daruma_doll

I don't have a Daruma Doll - That would involve spending money to buy one!
Instead, I have a bottle of £20 wine which I earnt for tiling Mother in Law's kitchen. Every 1K I pay off the mortgage, I cross off a number. When I'm done, I have a nice family dinner planned. When the bottle is empty, I'll climb into the loft and place it there so that whoever buys my house finds it and is perhaps inspired.



oh... and if you eat an Elephant's toes.... he'll not be able to stand and will topple over and CRUSH you ;-)

Only joking!

setmefree2

We set up an extra DD every month and this just became part of our "living" expenses.

Coming on to MSE MF board has helped me a lot as it helps to be able to "talk" to like-minded folk. In "real life" I know not one person who is trying to be MF.

TBH I found our mortgage (was £250k ) a bit scary:eek: I sleep better at night now:D

setmefree2

cheeryoleary wrote: »

Brilliant! Totally inspired......

[Deleted User]

The best way to become mortgage free is to fully commit to it. This means making it the priority as to how you manage your money and throwing extra at it.

But becoming mortgage free is a long road - and you still need to enjoy life and not simply exist.

If you agree an amount each month to have as spending money you will be more likely to stick to your plan to becoming mortgage free and less likely to feel deprived.

nearlyrich

We had a goal to be mortgage free by the time DH had to take retirement from work which was 10 years after we took on our joint mortgage. We were in front of the curve remortgaging regularly to take advantage of a better deal, they used to give you incentives to take out a mortgage a few years ago! We discovered London and Counties before Martin did and they always did a good job for us.

Also the rate was coming down so we either kept the payment at the same level of saved the difference and paid it off as allowed by the ts and cs of the mortgage contract. I work in a sales role and some of my bonuses went in as lump sums. We still had holidays and ate well, children never went without but we spent our money wisely and managed to get rid of the mortgage in just over 8 years, just in time for DS to be off to uni followed the year after by DD so it took until last year for me to really feel the benefit, now I'm on the next big plan, saving for early retirement for me, on track for 55.

george_jetson

As noted above it's important to budget for treats and living well so you don't get disheartened with the whole exercise by being too ambitious.

I did this by having two saving accounts attached to my offset account (as well as my current account). Every month I put £500 into one account set aside to drive down the mortgage, and this I didn't allow myself to touch. Whatever was left over at the end of the month went into the second account which I used for holidays, nights out etc. Keeping my money in separate "pots" like this helped me keep a handle on where I was.

I also found it too scary to focus on the total amount outstanding so instead concentrated on how much mortgage interest I was paying and charted this monthly. The numbers are a lot smaller and it's just as satisfying watching the lines edge towards zero month by month.

Also make BIG plans for when you are mortgage free - give yourself something to look forward to other than a balance of £0 on your mortgage account. I like travel and this year have visited Vegas (3 times!), NY, Miami, Tokyo and Poland. Just shows what you can do when you rid yourself of that millstone!

Keep at it, it really is worth it in the end!

Viper_7

To be MF just have kids, get bored divorce ya fella and rob rob him blind in divorce 'r' us uk an enjoy the steady income that follows.