new year no money!!!!

laurajane1

Happy New Year everyone , i've been making overpayments of £499 for about a year now each month. My mortgage is £310 a month so the extra i pay is alot, i find it a struggle to find the money but know its a good thing to do in the long run. I partner and children sometimes tell me to calm down on paying all this money every month, but in a sad way i enjoy paying it off. It's a new year and am pretty skint, the question is should i relax a bit and enjoy life by spending it on other things, and are other people struggling too? I feel that we are always skint whilst others seem to be spend, spend , spend!!!

Meadows

Ah but how do you know if those that Spend, spend, spend are doing it with money they can afford or running up debt?

You are wise to make overpayment if you can afford them as it brings an end to your mortgage all the quicker and ultimately the money you pay back at the end of it all will be greatly reduced (less interest) so better for you in the long run, but I would not over pay by almost £200 if it means you struggle to meet this each month and feel you go without.

Life is for living and you only get one chance!

Why not compromise and pay £100 over retain the £89 and spend it wisely but have a more relaxed time knowing you can afford to live a little better, enjoy life, but still pay more on the mortgage at the same time.

duchy

It depends .......How much is family life impacted by the overpayment.
If you never do anything fun as a family because the over payment always is the priority and it is causing upset or resentment then maybe they have a point. Only you know the "cost" and can decide. The fact you are asking might mean that a part of you feels you perhaps haven't got the balance quite right. If you have a partner and children though surely it's a family decision and not yours alone to make ? I'd certainly expect to make decisions like how much is reasonable to over pay WITH my partner though ! (I notice you call it YOUR mortgage not OUR mortgage yet then talk about it impacting both partner and children though)

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Morning, do you have a savings account containing entertainment/leisure money? If not, I would recommend starting one so that you have some money to do things with the family. It doesn't need to be a large amount, a game of bowls once a month, or money to buy an ice cream when on a long walk or bike ride. This will help you all to build memories whilst the kids are young.

Good luck, it's hard finding a balance.

Tilly

Mortgagefreeby50

Hello!

Have you set a date you'd like to be mortgage free by? Mine is by the time I'm 50, which is now 19 years away. I'm sure we could do it a lot sooner but the goal is realistic and achievable, without impacting too much on our current lifestyle.

You could discuss it with your family, set a date, work out your overpayments and see if it is achievable. How did you pick £499? Was this a figure you could spare after going through your budget? If it is a struggle every month and you find yourselves saying no constantly, perhaps reduce it and think of the extra time it will take to pay it off as money well spent on keeping your family happy.

It's a marathon, not a sprint!

laurajane1

Maybe i do to lessen the amount that we pay every month, but i love making the op's. I dont feel it impacts much on the family as we do lot's of things together that don't cost a fortune. I just feel that some people always seem to have an endless amount of money, probably credit cards i guess!