Quest To Pay Off My 150K Mortgage in 3 Yrs!

Dithering_Dad

Yes, the youngest of the Ditherettes.

cupid_s

Just a general question this. What have you all done so far to save money/earn more etc to pay off the mortgage?

I'm wondering what else I can do and a checklist would be good.

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

cupid_stunt wrote: »

Just a general question this. What have you all done so far to save money/earn more etc to pay off the mortgage?

I'm wondering what else I can do and a checklist would be good.

ohhh. good idea

Ok

1 - OverTime
2 - Sell unwanted items - Ebay
3 - Buy family products in bulk (toiletries) - (good old economies of scale)
4 - Use credit card to purchase everday items, ensuring all monies remain in Bank Account accumulating interest (ensuring credit card paid in full each month) - upto 59 days interest on your money to be earnt here!!

wisewoman

cupid_stunt wrote: »

Just a general question this. What have you all done so far to save money/earn more etc to pay off the mortgage?

I'm wondering what else I can do and a checklist would be good.

We didn't pay off early, but for 25 years we scrimped, saved and did without. That sounds really dismal. If we had read about the Questees in the eighties, things might have been different. We have run old bangers and luckily my dear hubby is never happier than when he has an oily rag in his hand, and oil smeared across his forehead. Our first holiday, in fact our honeymoon 27 years late, was in Oct 2006!!!
I'm getting quite depressed thinking about it all (ie the struggle to pay the mortgage, not the holiday), but we really did have fun too.

wisewoman

cupid_stunt wrote: »

Just a general question this. What have you all done so far to save money/earn more etc to pay off the mortgage?

I'm wondering what else I can do and a checklist would be good.

We both had full-time jobs, and both worked part-time in the evenings. Then when the babies arrived, we tightened our belts, and survived on one salary.

cupid_s

This is all sutff I have started doing since becoming a MFW. I already did stuff like get my mom to bulk buy me toiletries etc from makro
1) started doing lots of online surveys etc
2) started getting the train instead of bus to work. This saves me and DH £312 a year (most of which is probably spent in KFC - opposite the train station oops)
3) increased my direct debits by the maximum allowed - knocking years off the mortgage already
4) Use my credit card for everything and pay off the balance in full but keep the money in an account earning interest (but I forgot to pay it on time this month and i will be charged 2 days interest - luckily the bill was teeny tiny as I was away a bit last month)
5) Changed my current account for one that pays around 5% credit interest
6) Swap and change where my money is kept regularly to ensure I'm getting the most interest I can

And completely by chance this, but I started phoning my nan at least once a fortnight as I felt like I'd been neglecting her a bit because she doesn't have much family and it's really helping because she keeps forcing money on us (even though I tell her I don't really need it)! She has bought us a new computer, completely paid for us to go to amsterdam, paid the excess on our insurance claim, gave me £200 to go to salzburg and has given us a further £500. Since september.

wisewoman

Lovely granny!

cupid_s

I know! She also paid my rent every year when I was at Uni. She just keeps going on about how DH and I are poor students and no matter how many times you explain it she doesn't get the concept of being paid to study bless her.

But when we graduate we're taking her on a cruise around the scandinavian cities to say thank you (we haven't told her this yet). Though I know this doesn't fit well with my mortgage free wannabeeness

AnW'sMum

make sure you are using cashback credit cards so you get the double whammy of interest on the moeny while it is sat in your bank account and then cash back at the end of the year just for using it for your day to day purposes

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

Dithering Dad - Thank you for the welcome. I must have felt like a setback taking the £2k off but £3k is still a great achievement in such a short time! TBH I keep rechecking my figures as I'm convinced that I must have overestimated savings. Have updated figures - hope you like it. Will update it on 28th April

TYAE - Thank you - It's down to being tight and a miserly penny pincher Currently we each have ISAs in both our names opened last year and am in process of opening Barclays ISAs in both our names too - going to use a regular saver that has ended (Halifax) and another one which is about to end (A&L) to fill those two ISAs.

That made me laugh about setting MSE as homepage - it already is my homepage - oh my is that really bad??

Tallgirl - Sorry I know nothing about investments so I think best not to suggest a view because worried may give you totally wrong advice.

AnW's Mum - I like your suggestion - will help keep us focussed on our targets

Wanted to wish you good luck wisewoman - sounds like they aren't too keen on you being mortgage free!