2015 mfw

anna42hmr

Also don't forget the larger ops may be one off or for this year only, who knows what they can do in the long run.

For instance i set mine to 7k for this year, no way will i be able to meet that in future years, however i know this year that i will be getting extra money that i dont normally get.

i.e my bonus from work made a large bulk this month and the company i work for is being sold off and i will be receiving a payment as a result of this due to abolishing some share plans the company i work for has, so will be using some of this to overpay the mortgage when it gets converted into cash. so for me this years higher amount will be an anomaly and will be lower from next year onwards.

pledging this money towards paying my mortgage in a thread such as this and reading other peoples experiences gives me the inspiration to do it and not be frivolous with it by spending on things i don't need.

another reason i want to try and be strict this year as its the first year of my mortgage ever and want to start as i mean to go on (no matter how little it is eventually).

in addition to saving interest and reducing the time the mortgage has overall there are some other benefits that you may want to factor in - that little payment each month could also take you down a bracket for LTV when you come to re-mortgage for example at the end of a deal, or give you some breathing space in harder times (as some mortgages allow repayment holidays if you're ahead of schedule).

As for ways to increasing money that you can use for overpayments i am a huge fan of cash back sites such as topcashback and quidco, so if i get cashback for something i now intend to put that aside for overpayments as well (obviously only on items i would be buying any way i will just look to see if the company is listed).

my mortgage co also allows an increase of the direct debit so i have increased mine with TSB so that my mortgage payments are a set amount above and it tricks me psychologically into knowing that is a mortgage payment and therefore budget for everything else after that - even though i can cancel the increased element with a few days notice.

Also have you got savings set aside as clearly its recommended that you have at least an emergency fund, but another way to find money you can over pay with is by making the savings work as hard as they can (which is mainly via current accounts at the moment) and then putting the interest earned aside for overpayments (i.e you dont eat into the savings capital but if you get £5 interest a month for example take that out of the account and set aside to use to overpay when it increased - i.e i intend to set aside my halifax £5 rewards etc from next year for it when i know i can't pay as much from normal income)

mortgage_girl

Like yourself and greent, my initial monthly overpayments were around £35 a month and it's only through pay increases, paying off my car and some tough budgeting that I'm able to make larger ones now, so please don't get disheartened wombatchops (love the name btw;)). Depending on your interest rate, those £35 overpayments could be saving you double, quadruple or even more times that amount in interest over the life of your mortgage so it's certainly worth it. So keep going, you're doing great! :T

MGx

utopiah

hi all
#43 paid another £565 in March. Total op to £1190

PiggyBankShaker

#27 here: Cheeky little payment of £35 squeezed in before the end of March thanks to some money from WeBuyBooks.

Total for March is now £1134

Newme2014

#48 March overpayment £60.89
Would have preferred more but hey ho, it's my first but certainly not last one

purplevamp

Hi Lomcevak ~ is it ok if I join in, please? I've just got my mortgage and want to get rid of it asap. As I'm new to this whole MFW thing can I start off with £5,000 for this year? Hopefully it'll be more but best to start with something I feel is achievable. It won't be every month as my OPs need to be at least £500.

MortgageFreeMimi

#28 please with a March OP of £2000.

I am able to make sporadically large overpayments as I work in sales and earn commission - it's quite feast or famine (in the recession that was largely famine...) - so I just quickly shove it at the mortgage before I get tempted to spend it. I'm not a great saver though that will be my next project. Also am married no children which is cheap!

pinkteapot

#36 reporting in with £1,000 for March

theyorkbrood

York Brood - no 20 .... an overpayment of £300 for April..... many thanks

Deadbeat

Hi all

Wish I'd found this thread earlier!

Estimated mortgage balance at the end of April = £8,205
Target for final payoff = October

I just sent another lump sum of £10,000 yesterday afternoon, still waiting for the lender to process it...