Mortgage Free in Three Yrs

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi DD7! Nice to see you working your way through the numbers...

Kaz, in answer to your question I have found life a lot less stressful since being mortgage free. I got laid off last year and got no redundancy as I was an agency worker but luckily have found a nice part time job where I am happy and have settled in. I don't feel under pressure to work more hours as I can manage on what we earn. Hubby has dropped a day too and is a lot less stressed. Kids are happy too as I am home when they get in from school and I don't do night shifts anymore. I still calculate 'rent' money and put it in an ISA as the way I see it, we would still be paying that money on the mortgage so may as well keep putting some away for a rainy day...

I still operate in a thrifty way, clothes from charity shops, whoopsy food, quidco, save on energy etc and grow my own as it is now a way of life and we are happy, 'no point wasting' is the motto at the Desperate's household! Kids are being raised to be thrifty too and have money know how.

I got rid of my car and have been ok without it, miss it sometimes though but even a taxi is cheaper than the costs of keeping a second car.

I second DD in that its the best thing I have done financially too, now the bank pays us interest instead of us paying them.

Good luck everyone with it, we have all done so well and deserve a pat on the back, keep it up and lets have one more big push before the end, I know times are hard but its been great working with you all. Thanks for all the encouragement.

FreedomGirl

Flat completed today

Just realised that we have not been on a holiday for nearly two years so a bit of money is going to get diverted to that.

But it hasn't really sunk in to be honest! I will continue to put away the £500/month into ISAs...

Our lino in the kitchen has got a tear in it which is held together by sellotape, our conservatory has got a leak and there are quite a few more things that need doing in the house. But will save up for them then do them...

FG

angelavdavis

FreedomGirl wrote: »

Now, am I am not counting the chickens here, is there anything special I need to know about closing a Virgin One account down? We plan to keep it as a normal current account as the house bills are going out of it, and have had it since 2001 so shouldn't get redemption charges...

FG

Hi FG! I still use Virgin One account as a current account. They just remove the "overdraft" facility. I have been like this since 2002 when I switched to another mortgage provider when my income patterns changed and I couldn't overpay as much.

chickadee

Well done to Tall Girl on becoming Mortgage Free. It must be very liberating for you. Sorry to hear about your cat, how sad, but 14 years isn't a bad innings for a cat I suppose.

Thanks to you for keeping the chart up to date throughout this challenge. It must have been a headache at times getting all of the updates from hundreds of people.

I've enjoyed the challenge and intend to keep going with my present ways of being frugal and paying money into the mortgage every month. As Desperate Housewife said, it becomes a way of life.

I'm being made redundant in four weeks, but because of the challenge I'm not worried about it. I have got another job, closer to home, but earning much less than I'm presently earning, but having made such a dent in my mortgage means that I don't have to earn as much to sustain my standard of living. It has really taken the pressure off.

Thanks to all who have encouraged as well. It has been good to hear other people's stories and experiences.

Well done everyone - Lets give it a big push for the last 50 days.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

DD7 wrote: »

would really really like to use my Dithering Dad username to do it.

If everyone on the MFi3 challenge (and any cheer-leaders / lurkers) PM'd martin Lewis and sent an email to the Abuse team, maybe they would reinstate my Dithering Dad username? Would any of you mind doing that?

done for u dd!

hughmungas1986

Hi TG,

Is there another MFiT chart coming out this month ???

Couldn't remember if you posted this earlier

hugh

TallGirl

Hi Hugh
Yes I am posting the chart in Feb, March and April so get your update to me by 17th Feb and I will post it then.

Picking up our new kittens today cannot wait so looking forward to having felines in the house again.

ailuro2

TG, remember we need kitty pictures.:D

FreedomGirl

Hi,

A touch over £30K will be hitting our Virgin One bank account on Monday (assuming no hiccups)...

Fingers crossed, we can declare ourselves MF for the Feb update...

Can't quite believe it TBH. Will take a while to sink in for sure...

FG

TallGirl

ailuro2 wrote: »

TG, remember we need kitty pictures.:D

Just a few more on my diary. Jack has just checked Martins latest blog might as well learn young.

Well done Freedom girl look forward to marking you down as MF on the Chart. I have still not had a statment or letter from the mortgage company since I paid it off.