MFW: Next step towards total freedom!

FtbDreaming

Wow you’re doing great! Not long to go at all! 

Ami-Rose

I can't even seem to manage 1 NSD. 😂 Truly impressed with your progress! Have you thought about what you'll do once you reach your goal?

caeler

Thanks! @FtbDreaming
@Ami-Rose I occasionally think about it but the first thing will be to build up an emergency fund.  When I make the payment in July I'll be depleting all of my funds, which is a risk but without the mortgage I'm sure it won't take me long to build it back up.  Then it will be about the pension.  At some point I might even treat myself!

caeler

I enjoy the first of the month.  All the bills go out and I get to make a mortgage over payment.  I stuck very rigidly to my budget last month and excluding bills (so sundry, food and fuel) I only spent £111.95!  This was extremely hard work and whilst I don't feel like I've gone without it is a very hard mindset to maintain.  This month I'm allowing myself a more normal and less extreme monthly budget once the bills are paid but it is still an expensive month with home insurance due and I need to apply for a new passport.  
213 days (7 pay days) to go.

South_coast

My passport expired a couple of months ago and I haven't renewed it yet. The logical part of my brain says "The vast majority of the months go unused, you might as well get it now" and the aggressively MSE part says "Buy it now and you'll be paying for months when you can't use it" - the MSE part is winning at the moment, even though I know it's a rubbish argument!

caeler

That's exactly why I've been putting it off! @South_coast However I am due to travel in May and I don't want to leave it too late and risk it not coming back on time.  That's if May's trip even happens given it was rearranged from May this year due to Covid! 

MrsLovely

caeler said:

I enjoy the first of the month.  All the bills go out and I get to make a mortgage over payment.  I stuck very rigidly to my budget last month and excluding bills (so sundry, food and fuel) I only spent £111.95!  This was extremely hard work and whilst I don't feel like I've gone without it is a very hard mindset to maintain.  This month I'm allowing myself a more normal and less extreme monthly budget once the bills are paid but it is still an expensive month with home insurance due and I need to apply for a new passport.  
213 days (7 pay days) to go.

Hi Caeler, just read your whole thread, good going!! You've done so well,  and like you, love the 1st of the month money shuffle!!

caeler

Thanks @MrsLovely I've been doing a little bit more shuffling between pots this morning so things are looking good.  I was keeping (in my opinion) too much in the holiday fund given the current climate so I've reduced that down a bit and moved it into the mortgage fund.  Yay! 
  
I also reviewed how much interest I'm now paying each day and thanks to this months overpayment it is down to £3.01 per day!  Every penny helps so I've just adjusted all my calculations for repayment day, I'm track for 2 July 2021 but I must stick to my budget each month, that is pretty critical. 

Admittedly I've struggled to understand how the daily interest bit works but I've slowly got my head around it.  Looking back through old mortgage statements I was paying nearer £11 per day at the start!  

couth

@caeler I keep stealing ideas from you, I now need to calculate my daily interest! I'm probably paying 3-4 times yours (London mortgage, lots of years left). I hope I am still here in July 2021 to see you celebrate  

caeler

207 days to go.  I had to do a big shop this weekend plus get fuel and get some other supplies which worked out a little more expensive than I hoped but I think I can still make the budget work.  Home Insurance came out today and I've decided to "refund" myself from other savings which takes the pressure off the rest of the month.  

I received the confirmation letter from this months overpayment at the weekend.  They truly are a delight to receive!  My term is now 10 years and 10 months whereas without all the overpayments it would have been 17 years this month!  Facebook reminded me that I exchanged contracts on this day 8 years ago.  

In other news, I received a bit of a "talking to" yesterday from a close family member.  Explaining to me that I need to have more fun.  It appears my mortgage focus has spilled out a little too much.  I don't talk about it with many people and I'm pretty discreet about it all but when pressed I might talk about overpayments and daily interest!  I think the talking to came from a good place, just concerned that all I do is work and save.  I still think I'm doing the right thing.  I can't go anywhere or do anything right now so it really is the ideal time to stop spending money and save as much as possible!