Mortgage Free in Three Yrs

squelchy69

Hello all
I'm new to this site and have to say, its absolutely fab! Loadsa great ideas but after reading quite a few, my head has started to ache with all the numbers....lol.
This mortgage free in 3 years things sounds really good, but I'm not sure I quite grasp the whole idea....(Sorry, got 3 kids and I think I must be losing brain cells in my old age!) It it just a case of saving harder or do you guys have some sort of secret loopholes? Really sorry to sound dumb but I am very interested. I currently have a £170k mortgage. No other debts as such but lots of outgoings. I currently bring home approximately £2k per month (I'm on my own) but never seem to have much left after car, food, fuel, bills, mobile, etc etc..... Do you guys really think that this could work for me? I'd really appreciate any advice you could pass on.
Thanks in advance all.....:beer:
Jo (and the crazy gang!!!!)

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi Squelchy69 welcome to the MFin3 thread. I think the idea is to choose your goal (doesn't have to be pay it all off but whatever works for you) if you look at the first few posts by DD and Tallgirl you'll see that some MSErs have decided to pay off a chunk of their mortgage rather than the whole lot.

I have shaved my outgoings down to the bone and tried to increase my income by working freelance and bagging as many hours as I can do. Have a wander onto the oldstyle board as the guys there are very friendly and will help you with meal planning and getting food costs down as much as poss. I cook from scratch every day and do clickthrough and online surveys which means I get vouchers for Boots and this means I don't pay cash for any of my toiletries. Budgeting is a good one too and spreading the cost for things like xmas and holidays. I have a 'pots' in my account which I pencil into my budget for virtually everything I can think of (kids uniforms, activities, haircuts, xmas, birthdays, car tax, union fees, vet bills etc) and budget every month so there are no nasty shocks. By scraping along like this my goal is to pay off my 41k mortgage in 3 years but even though we don't go out much (prefer to socialise at home) we manage 3 hols a year as we get bargain bucket deals.

Its just a matter of getting organised really and deciding whats best for you. I really want to be mortgage free so thats what I'm working on at the mo. I suppose its getting the balance too between doing this and having a happy, comfortable life too. Some of my friends say, 'oh go on, treat yourself to something new' but you know what? It doesn't make me any happier having new clothes, I get more of a kick knowing I've picked up a nice pair of next jeans in a charity shop for 2 or 3 quid.

If you decide to give it a whirl, everyone seems really nice on this board and its good to have some support from likeminded people. Good luck whatever you decide

TallGirl

Just had a look at how much interest I shall save by paying off my mortgage in 3 years instead of the original 12 I have left.

Over 12 years
Monthly repayments £402
Interest Charged £18013

Over 3 years
Monthly repayments £1227
Interest Charged £4200

Total saved £13,800

I know interest rates can change and that my mortgage is actually offset but gosh that is a lot. Nearly £14k that would buy a nice new car.

Anyway don't forget I plan to publish the new chart in its full glory after the 5th August so get your figures to me before then. Going on holiday on Thursday for a week so will look forward to lots of PM's when I get back.

Take care all - hope none of you are under water at the moment.

LJD1_2

Hiya Tallgirl
Enjoy your holiday. I won't be able to get you mine until the 6th as that's when it comes out. It'll just have to go on the next summary. Looking forward to seeing how everyone's doing xx

minimoocow

squelchy69 wrote: »

Hello all
do you guys have some sort of secret loopholes?

Hi Squelchy69 - I wish we did have some secret loopholes it would make the whole thing much easier!!!

There are no secrets on this site - essentially it's just a case of cutting down your outgoings (as others have said use this site, the OS boards etc) and increasing your income (overtime, ebay, car boots clickthroughs etc)

Don't be put off because some people have bigger income, smaller mortgages, lots of overtime etc. It is all about having a personal challenge and finding a way of getting there.

Good luck!

Dithering_Dad

minimoocow wrote: »

Hi Squelchy69 - I wish we did have some secret loopholes it would make the whole thing much easier!!!

There are no secrets on this site - essentially it's just a case of cutting down your outgoings (as others have said use this site, the OS boards etc) and increasing your income (overtime, ebay, car boots clickthroughs etc)

Don't be put off because some people have bigger income, smaller mortgages, lots of overtime etc. It is all about having a personal challenge and finding a way of getting there.

Good luck!

Yep! It's a marathon, not a sprint, but even a marathon is better than the "Death March" of a stardard mortgage repayment.

I reckon I'm 5 miles in, with 21 to go! Luckily, with my MFiT colleagues running alongside me, the 21 miles won't seem too long!

firesidemaid

does anyone else find that non-mse friends and colleagues think that you are either mad, to be humoured or boring because of our obsessions and money-saving of one kind or another?

i really hope to shock and/or wipe the smiles off faces when i have paid off/made a dent in my mortgage over the next 3 years.......

although i say i aim to pay off 25k in 3 years, having been squirreling hard and also calculating all pay rises to go to mortgage over next 3 years my secret (not) amount that i am aiming for is 50k! we will have to see how real the figure is in 3 years.....

am looking forward to seeing the charts around the 5th of august.:T


p.s talking of figures going around around in your head and calculations - i got caught up in friday's traffic chaos and spent 11 hours on the road instead of 4! for 3/4 of those we didn't really move, and i spent the time working out various daily interest calculations in my head to pass the time!

jobbingmusician

A frustrating week for me.

FIrstly, my HP book arrived on Saturday, as ordered. Sadly, though, my husband was in A & E for a mystery but very severe ailment (seems now to have been resolved, fingers crossed). I went online and Royal Mail confirmed that they would re-deliver yesterday. They then failed to keep their promise. I have written asking for compensation.......will keep you informed! But I REALLY want this book for next week, as I am going on holiday.........

Secondly, I tried to set up an overpayment of £500. But the terms and conditions of my so called 'flexible mortgage' say I can't do this within 5 working days of my regular payment. Or any other overpayment. This effectively reduces any chance of an overpayment to once a month - twice if I am really lucky. Anyway, I have got round this by increasing the regular payment which will come out of my account on the 1st, and I'm actually going to overpay by an extra £1000.

Thirdly, and most irritatingly, the bank cannot tell me what my balance will be after this overpayment, as it's in the future So I've had to guess, and will PM TG with a pessimistic estimate. I'm on holiday next week so won't be able to check again before 5th.

taka

sazzacat wrote: »

does anyone else find that non-mse friends and colleagues think that you are either mad, to be humoured or boring because of our obsessions and money-saving of one kind or another?

Yep... completely mad!! All my friends thing I am completely obsessed... which I am :rotfl: .
I'm going to have to learn not to voice my obsession quite so much as I've kinda put my foot in it! I mentioned to a friend about the fact I've taken out a loan for my bathroom (which I will overpay on whenever I can) and that I want rid of my mortgage ASAP and she rather icily reminded me that 1)she cannot even afford to buy a flat in the 1st place and 2)she has just had to take on a lower paid job to stay in employment in the field we work in. Ooops :eek:

benbenandme

I spent a couple of hours last night trying to regain control of my finances, I used to know to the penny what money I had where, but due to moving house last month it has all been a bit haywire, with settling gas/electric/phone accounts etc, and trying to set up new direct debits etc, but finally I think I'm almost there.
I finish my old job on the 6th August and don't start my new one till 1st Sept which should work out fine as I am owed overtime and holiday pay so it should be like a normal months pay.
This gives me almost a month to concentrate on getting some more money in!! I have already arranged a date for a car boot sale with my sister and am on the lookout for mystery shopping jobs in the area and am going to try and finally get started on the old matched betting.
However, on the downside I had my tax credits stuff through yesterday and they are reducing my payments by £40 per month even though my income will nearly halve in my new job :mad: .... more phonecalls to them then !!!:rolleyes:

I also need to find some money to pay for some of the huge amount of stuff I ordered in the Next sale , although I need stuff for my new job and it is my birthday next week so if I get some money that will go towards that.