Are we in a small minority?

pawlala

ernie_3 wrote: »

:jI dont think we are in a minority, i think its down to being focused and seeing the light

maybe we just saw the light earlier than others... sounds like an episode of Lost!

Raini

ernie_3 wrote: »

Just think if Martin was the "chancellor"..that would be interesting;);)

I'd vote for that party! :money:

mummyofonechild

I had never heard of overpaying until I joined this forum and realised how much interest we could save by making even the smallest of overpayments. Hopefully by the end of 2012 we will be mortgage free

wantabetterlife

Not one of my friends and family overpay their mortgage and are definately more concerned about the lower the payment the better as they have more money to spend on holidays, clothes etc...I would be far too embarassed to admit we overpay because they would think that we are loaded. The truth is we have far less disposable income now than we did before the kids came along but we make different choices, sometimes i do find it hard to strike the balance but i think i am getting better at this .

pawlala

wantabetterlife wrote: »

...I would be far too embarassed to admit we overpay because they would think that we are loaded.

I guess we're buying more bricks and mortar than umpteen pairs of new shoes! :rotfl:

Krisp_3

I knew about overpayment in theory, but when we first took out the mortgage we weren't in a position to even consider it. Then I got made redundant and being the sole earner as my OH had just started university - egh, it was awful. This was back in 2002 and I am pleased to say that after a year of grafting at temping jobs, I got my current permanent job, which is great. But then we were in a financial mess (house needed far more work doing to it than we had anticipated and all work had to stop.

Anyhoo, we're finally in a position when soon, we can do something about OPing. With a fair wind, we should be able to make huge dents in our O/S amount, which will make us both really very happy indeed.

I relish the thought of being morgage free in my early 40s, or at worst, with a much smaller amount owing.

I don't know of anyone else amongst my friends who would even consider it, to be honest.

RosieTiger

The issue here is that the mortgage lenders have done a very good job on all of us on the basis that a house loan takes 25 years to pay and is at very low interest compared to everything else. Of course they never want to mention the huge amount that "small" interest rate generates over that period. Most people are conditioned to the fact that paying for the full period is just what we do. Of course, while raising kids etc, this is a very easy option as it leaves more money in your pocket each month to spend on everything else. I understand this so would never criticise their view.
Whem I first heard of overpaying it seemed weird, just paying a small amount each month saves £000's didn't appear to make sense.
This site taught me better and showed me the tools to prove to OH that it was by far the better option. Each to their own though, so if someone else chooses to spend the extra cash from interest reductions on "enjoyment", good luck to them. I also realise that others in that position might have needed the extra cash just to survive. But, rates will go up again and I hope they have not left themselves exposed!
Best thing about this site is seeing people in their 20's and early 30's who have got their heads around the idea of OPing and will get to be MF at a very young age - I wish I had been as switched on as you at that age because I was certainly wasting money then!
That said - life isn't a rehearsal so don't let being MF ruin your life, get the balance right.

poppyoscar_3

I learned about overpaying from this site - and when I came back from France three years ago, I decided that it was difinitely the way forward. I only took out a small mortgage, but even so I overpaid from the start - and should be finished by January 2011.

katsu

We took out a 30yr mortgage so always intended to reduce the term as time went on - as we saw 25 as normal. DH explained to me if we could keep the mortgage as the same proportion of our income it would reduce quicker. When we remortgaged this time our IFA discussed making OPs and the best way to do them. Neither of the previous people we dealt with had even suggested the OP concept.

I don't know anyone outside here who is OPing. I think the poster who said banks have taught us that mortgages last for 25yrs was right.

We can't make huge OPs but I think learning the value of OPs means as long as you don't have consumer debt at higher interest rates, everyone can benefit from OPing

d-seven

RosieTiger wrote: »

Best thing about this site is seeing people in their 20's and early 30's who have got their heads around the idea of OPing and will get to be MF at a very young age - I wish I had been as switched on as you at that age because I was certainly wasting money then!
That said - life isn't a rehearsal so don't let being MF ruin your life, get the balance right.

It is good to see young people wanting to overpay..whats worrying is the amount of young people who have obscenely high mortgages because of the way house prices have shot up in the 12 years since I took out my mortgage. When you consider a job isn't for life any more, its a pretty scary thought having about a mortgage of about £150,000 + to pay off over your lifetime!
I wasn't able to get more that £60,000 on a 100% mortgage in 98 and was warned about 'negative equity' and things like that at the time, and that scared me then. All that changed in the 00's when mortgages were dished out to all and sundry.
After OP'ing an extra £500 a month on my nationwide mortgage, I could see the amount dropping and I set up a spreadsheet that took the current balance and put in the mortgage payment and overpayment which were subtracted from the balance, so i could see it going down. That made it easier to see that doing the overtime at work was worthwhile, even if it was a ballache!