MFW - Do you tell other people what you are aiming for?

cupid_s

We are lucky that when we bought our house 2 years ago not much needed doing. We did everything soonish, but tried to do it all on a strict budget and managed quite well. Now my house is, to me, perfect and everyone says how lovely it is when they come round (it has to be nice inside to make up for the area it's in!). And the good thing is by the time anything else needs doing we should have paid off the mortgage.

We are lucky in that although we are both on low wages we appear to everyone else to have almost everything (apart from a car which we would never need anyway), yet we save/overpay so much. I tell people we are overpaying but I don't think they realise how much and that we will pay off our mortgage so soon, most people think it's not worth bothering for the couple of years it will save us.

My parents know everything though as I get so excited by my extra £87 a month knocking a further 6 years off the mortgage that I have to tell them and they think it's great. They are so impressed with our MSE ways that they have said that when our mortgage becomes unfixed next year and we have saved 20k to pay off, they'll give us another 10k to help with our mortgage free plans!

So it definately does pay to tell some people

phizzimum

DH is a born again mortgage bore! If anyone even mentions mortgages he tells them about our plans to pay off early...but I wish he wouldn't because people's reactions are usually negative.

Then I feel I have to justify why we're doing it rather than just spending money on...whatever else it is people spend it on...clothes, diy, cars I guess?

Most people know it's foolish just to pay minimum payment on a credit card and rack up the interest...why can't they see the same principle applies to any form of debt, even mortgages?

Sick of all the "its alright for you" comments too!

Annie021063

Hey guys
Thanks for your posts on this thread you have really inspired me. I am currently becoming a DFW - working hard to pay off cc debts and I am soooooo looking forward to the time when I can become a MFW and get a mortgage pig!!!
Some may say I am sad but this site does something to you. I have saved so much money on various things I believe Martin deserves a knighthood for his services to becoming debt free.
Keep going and I can't wait to join you next year sometime

tr3mor

I reckon being mortgage free is a much better aim than having the latest car, flashy flat TV or a house that looks like a magazine!

I'm fed up of people whinging on about how they have to work so hard to make ends meet when they're driving around in new cars or dressing up their kids in Nike clothes or whatever.

Haven't they heard "If you want less then you work less!"?

When I get my first house I'll aim to have the mortgage paid off ASAP.

Annie021063

tr3mor wrote:

I reckon being mortgage free is a much better aim than having the latest car, flashy flat TV or a house that looks like a magazine!

I'm fed up of people whinging on about how they have to work so hard to make ends meet when they're driving around in new cars or dressing up their kids in Nike clothes or whatever.

Haven't they heard "If you want less then you work less!"?

When I get my first house I'll aim to have the mortgage paid off ASAP.

Totally agree
Nice sig by the way!!

aiwah

My OH and I see the satisfaction and enjoyment from being mortgage-free will be much longer lasting that that you would get from having a new car every year or the latest flashy gadgets or clothes. So we're happy to make savings on our everyday life by shopping at Primark and buying in bulk from Home Bargain if it means we get there more quickly...

We're quite happy to talk to people about our plans and if we can inspire some of our friends to do something similar then it's benefits all round. Most people tend to be quite supportive, but there is an element that we were 'lucky' to have bought our house at the right time (just before the prices ballooned) etc ... making excuses for themselves, but hey that's up to them.

jue

I love this thread, have mentioned to one person at work about overpaying on the mortgage and she couldn't get the concept, so I haven't bothered telling anyone else! Will be mortgage free in 2010 (all being well). Will be 43 by then and DS will just be starting uni so it will be at a nice time to be able to help him more and also be able to save more for my retirement ( although I have had a good pension since I was 17 that is still ongoing). Owning my own home is important to me and my family, i just don't understand why people don't get it.
I enjoy shopping clothes in charity shops and on e-bay, in fact since I started watching my pennies in this way I've never had as many clothes in the wardrobe ... A great way to save money in the budget. I like to haggle over the price of car insurance and saved my DD over £300 on her renewal this year, by playing one company against another. I also cook as much as I can and we rarely eat out so that saves alot of money which can be used on the mortgage without comprimising your lifestyle :0