Jan 2015 / 14yrs left on mortgage. MFW, time to make a serious dent and be MF

PopcootMFW

Household Information
Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 1
Number of cars owned 1

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset
Income..............................Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax.....2500.00 - £124 deduction for childcare vouchers (basic salary conservative figure, more depending upon on-call / overtime)
Partners monthly income.....700

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(£243 deduction for childcare vouchers, although 12mths maternity leave to start March 2015)
Benefits............................8
Total monthly income..........3282

Expenses Amount. (£)
Mortgage..........................885.6
Council tax .......................137
Electricity..........................71 (dual electricity and gas)
Gas..................................^
Water Rates......................26.37
Telephone (land line)..........0 (sky package)
Mobile phone.....................27 (for me, husband has free company phone)
TV Licence........................12
Satellite/Cable TV...............58 (sky basic package, includes line rental and WIFI plus additional £10pcm for HD sky box)
Internet services................0 (sky package)
Groceries etc.....................300 (having gone thru last 6mths of bank statements this is what the average seems to be)
Clothing............................25
Petrol/diesel......................100 (just a rough guess, husband cycles to work everyday and car used only for shopping / travelling to see friends & family)
Road tax...........................23
Car Insurance....................30
Car maintenance (MOT)......14.50
Other travel.......................55 (purchased a new caravan last year, this covers annual insurance, annual service and annual storage)
Childcare/nursery...............100
Other child related expense 100
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 10
Buildings Insurance............15.98
Contents Insurance............13.05
Life Assurance...................25.04
Other Insurance................12.50 (legal & general £6.44pcm plus husband; British Cycling membership, local cycling club membership and cycling insurance to cover racing bikes)
Presents(birthday,xmas).....50
Haircuts...........................20
Entertainment...................0
Holiday............................75
Emergency Fund...............50
Total monthly expenses......2,235.04

Secured & HP Debt Description.....Debt(£).. Monthly(£) .. APR(%)
Mortgage..................................£126,220 .. £885.66 ..... 2.24
Secured & HP Debt totals............126,220 - -

Asset Description Value (£)
Cash.........................7,500
House Value (Gross)...225,000
Car...........................17,000
Total Assets...............249,500

Unsecured Debts - NIL

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income................................ 3,288
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). .. 2,247.48
Amount left.............................................. 1,040.52

PopcootMFW

Bit of background....

Husband is 39 and I am 33. We bought our house 6yrs ago, new build, 4-bed detached house, £217,000 on a 20yr mortgage. We have 14yrs left and £126,220 outstanding.

Looking to clear mortgage 2025 for when husband turns 50, me however, would love to live the dream and be mortgage free in 7yrs time! Very ambitious!! That would mean £700pcm overpayment as opposed to £300pcm. Taking it one year at a time. Have made overpayments over last couple of years....between £50-£100pcm.

We have a nearly 3yr old and second baby due March 2015. Husband main breadwinner and I work part-time since having first child and will return to work part-time again after 12mths maternity leave. So things will be more tight financially towards the end of the year when I have £0.00 maternity pay.

Our spending habits are using a joint credit card and clear the balance outstanding at the end of every month. This gives us around 1% / 0.5% cashback annually. However, going to go old school and get jam jar pots out and put physical cash in each one for grocery shopping and petrol so we can get a real feel of doing some proper budgeting and really rein our spending. Think we'll also have our own personal spend of £150pcm and any surplus left in the pot can go to mortgage overpayment.

Cream_Tea

I think you bring hope for everyone planning kids in the future with OPing and mat leave coming up soon! Good luck with the March baby!

Pocket9s

Good luck with the overpayments - my wife and I have just started our own mortgage free journey - looking at your SOA we are in a very similar situation to you with 2 kids (oldest nearly 3, youngest 6 months) and similar income and mortgage remaining. Have posted full details in my MFW thread

I'm also hoping we can pay it off in 7 years with a bit of effort and luck - will have a race if you want!

Good luck with the new arrival in March - from experience the second is a lot more work than the first!

PopcootMFW

Cream_Tea wrote: »

I think you bring hope for everyone planning kids in the future with OPing and mat leave coming up soon! Good luck with the March baby!

Thank you...which, is why I think I am maybe living the dream too lol.

I believe that if I make good intentions then surely it's a start. I am feeling very determined, I have been lurking in the background reading threads of MFW intentions but never had the guts to make a proper start myself. With March baby coming, I think more about 1yr / 5yr / 10yr life plans and where I see our family. Love the idea of being mortgage free by the time they are 13 & 10 and the freedom it brings. I also think it's a bit of a no brainier to take advantage of Op whilst interest rates are so low.

PopcootMFW

Pocket9s wrote: »

Good luck with the overpayments - my wife and I have just started our own mortgage free journey - looking at your SOA we are in a very similar situation to you with 2 kids (oldest nearly 3, youngest 6 months) and similar income and mortgage remaining. Have posted full details in my MFW thread

I'm also hoping we can pay it off in 7 years with a bit of effort and luck - will have a race if you want!

Good luck with the new arrival in March - from experience the second is a lot more work than the first!

Ah, yes...very similar situation indeed! I love your additional income top up. I am not a poker player but like the idea of making extra money from playing a game of cards.

I think my 7yr plan is ambitious, my husband is game on for 10yr plan and think I need to work on him a little more.

From looking at your SOA and ours, I cannot believe how similar they are. Especially the 'amounts left after dept repayments'. The SOA has made me question where on earth does £1,000 a month go??? For me I can't quite get my head around the fact we can throw a good grand a month for OP. Yet, our target in our minds is a £350 OP?!? We really can OP more, think I need to take that leap of faith.

I will certainly follow your thread with fervent enthusiasm and eager to learn how you get on month-to-month. I see you OP as a challenge for me to possibly up my game from £350

Starting to feel slightly nervous for new arrival. Our first baby is such a lovely little bundle of joy. No colic, slept well, sleeping thru the night after a few months. I am totally preparing myself for the opposite lol

CathT

Just wanted to pop in and wish you luck.

clarew

Another one here with similar aim...13 years and some months left to go but want in done in 10 so 2025 is the aim. Our maternity leave days are done but they seem to get more expensive as they grow especially the food bill...God help us if any of them want to go to uni..!

Will watch with interest how we all do

sleepygirl126

good luck...will be plodding along with you!

Debtfreefreedom

Just wanted to pop in and wish you luck.
I`m another one with just over 14 years left.

helmetbetty

Sounds like you have it all worked out in your head - Good luck with it all! We went for a 10 year MF journey (just over 9 years left now - time flies!)

We've found cost cutting to be easier than we thought it would be - its just about getting into that routine. Once your used to it, it comes as second nature to look for cheaper alternatives or question the purchase of a non-essential item. Just make sure to treat yourselves occasionally too - and not feel guilty about it!

Good luck with it all, and your march baby too.

HB x