Had a mortgage too long - it's going, going, gone!

AlexLK

My MFW strategy consists of a regular monthly overpayment and saving. My only record of the savings total is in my MSE signature (apart from account balances).

Still don't get spreadsheets, perhaps you'd care to explain how record keeping can drive MFW? All they "drive" when I make an attempt to try one is me crazy.

gallygirl

AlexLK wrote: »

My MFW strategy consists of a regular monthly overpayment and saving. My only record of the savings total is in my MSE signature (apart from account balances).

Still don't get spreadsheets, perhaps you'd care to explain how record keeping can drive MFW? All they "drive" when I make an attempt to try one is me crazy.

OK, answer me the following:
- How much is your mortgage interest a day?
- How long before it drops below the next £ per day?
- When is your mortgage currently due to end?
- With the overpayments you've made, how much time have you knocked off your end date?
- If you carry on making the same overpayments, how much time would that knock off?
- And how much interest would it save?
- What impact would upping payments by x, y, z etc have?
- How much do you need to pay to knock a month off the end date?
- Does the interest take your balance back over the next thousand during the month?
- If so, how much do you need to pay to stop it doing so?
Etc etc .

Above also works if you are unofficially offsetting (i.e. adding to savings to get mortgage neutral). There is always another target to aim for :T.

ourcornercottage

gallygirl wrote: »

OK, answer me the following:
- How much is your mortgage interest a day?
- How long before it drops below the next £ per day?
- When is your mortgage currently due to end?
- With the overpayments you've made, how much time have you knocked off your end date?
- If you carry on making the same overpayments, how much time would that knock off?
- And how much interest would it save?
- What impact would upping payments by x, y, z etc have?
- How much do you need to pay to knock a month off the end date?
- Does the interest take your balance back over the next thousand during the month?
- If so, how much do you need to pay to stop it doing so?
Etc etc .

Above also works if you are unofficially offsetting (i.e. adding to savings to get mortgage neutral). There is always another target to aim for :T.

These are the sort of targets that really motivate and it's fairly easy to have regular hitting of targets. The problem for mfw's is the timescales are so long that the motivation can wane and be easy to miss so these type of targets can be very positive for the motivation.

In terms of iPads I'm away on business, I have I device that I can easily power up and check my emails, message or call my staff free of charge, pay bills, check on the office via the cctv, while away a few hours of a longhaul flight playing a game, I can have hundreds of books at my fingertips. I can get directions via my satalite navigation system I could go on and on, these things used to take up hours every day whilst I was away to find places that I could do all of these now take 2 minutes and cost nothing. My phone bills when travelling are zero and used to be £200-£500 a trip touching base with the office.

Al this time saved I can lounge on a bed, read books and type posts on MSE!

AlexLK

Gally: I don't have any of that information, unlike the majority I don't suppose I want to know how much longer I must live in my current property for. Let alone know how much interest we're paying to the bank, just because my wife wants us to be "independent". Will all be irrelevant in the end.

Ali-OK

gallygirl wrote: »

OK, answer me the following:
- How much is your mortgage interest a day?
- How long before it drops below the next £ per day?
- When is your mortgage currently due to end?
- With the overpayments you've made, how much time have you knocked off your end date?
- If you carry on making the same overpayments, how much time would that knock off?
- And how much interest would it save?
- What impact would upping payments by x, y, z etc have?
- How much do you need to pay to knock a month off the end date?
- Does the interest take your balance back over the next thousand during the month?
- If so, how much do you need to pay to stop it doing so?
Etc etc .

Above also works if you are unofficially offsetting (i.e. adding to savings to get mortgage neutral). There is always another target to aim for :T.

Thanks GG - that's given me an extra row or 2 to add to my spreadsheet :T

Alex - Understanding why a living working spreadsheet is motivational is different to whether it's relevant to you or not - perhaps Mrs K would like to set one up? She's sounding more the MFWer than you now

Financially here, I'm expecting the Architect's invoice to land tomorrow, so whilst I was starting to whoop with joy that income is back on the up after the summer break, being off next week and savings looked to be added to at end of this month, it's now one step forward, two back. However, we're at stage 5 of 9 in the planning process and Stage 2 in the overall.

TSB activation code and debit card arrived today, S/O set up from that current account to the Reg Saver. Impressed with the turnaround from application to up and running.

Another P!necone prelim survey in and done, fingers crossed for another paid one soon. Also £20 in coins to bank again - DS seems to be a typical man in the sense of leaving money in various places - told him cleaner will have it all (that's me by the way :rotfl:) if he didn't put it in one place...cue a swap for a note.

Summer house painting is coming on nicely - just left with one window frame to do and Saturday to do it in.

Usual financial checks done, plodding along nicely to the weekend

pennystretcher

AlexLK wrote: »

My MFW strategy consists of a regular monthly overpayment and saving. My only record of the savings total is in my MSE signature (apart from account balances).

Still don't get spreadsheets, perhaps you'd care to explain how record keeping can drive MFW? All they "drive" when I make an attempt to try one is me crazy.

I have my mortgage, interest per month, minimum payment and potential OPs all blotted out in a spreadsheet on monthly basis (basic calculations not 100% accurate I must admit). I update the current balance couple of times per month and add in what I think I can OP for the remaining term. I set myself a 3-yr target to pay off mortgage when I bought this place (thankfully after selling previous place, balance wasn't too bad) and must admit after all DIY etc am now looking at being three months over my initial plan... But for me it's encouraging to see if you only add £10 into the OPs how much quicker you can pay off mortgage and this is what makes me try harder and think about what I buy..

Brogden

I think it has to be said that it is not the spreadsheet itself which is motivational but keeping 'on it.' Having precise information of where we are up to and rejoicing in each positive step along the way should be helpful and motivational although some people may not be sufficiently motivated to really get 'on it.'....

Excel spreadsheets are a bit of a new fangled thing I always think. I prefer to use an abacus to calculate my liabilites and update the figures by candlelight on a piece of parchment with one of my favourite quill pens. It makes no difference though........I'm on the job, moving forward, receiving motivation and to quote Ali.......'it's a free hobby !!'

That was a cracking list of KPI's there Gallygirl . Food for thought for many I'm sure although the lady proprietor of this thread has all of that well under control...........on some new fangled spreadsheet thingies I'm sure !!

debtfreeoneday

I don't use spreadsheets either to be honest. But i do get why the are motivating especially if you want to play around with scenarios.. My plan is just fling all I have at the debt and the mortgage until it's gone!

Hope you are ok Ali - great the PP app has gone in.. sorry not been in, life took over!

Ali-OK

Great comments and love hearing how each is doing it as I can be a bit single minded sometimes

Broggers, the soothing voice of reason as always, but please be careful with your candle and parchment

Lovely to see you back posting DFOD and hopefully you'll get a bit of a break with half term here.

TSB pin number arrived today, so now to find out where I can use contactless payments to earn some cashback. First £250 is in the Reg Saver as well :T I should have done this months ago really.

Have paid myself today too - architect's bill not in yet though.

Started on the usual routine housey stuff and filled up with fuel - £29.50 spent at 107.9 per litre at Sbugs and 243 bonus points with their October offer. Rare for them to be cheapest and they usually put it up by 1p a litre on Fridays for the weekend, then reduce again Monday evening.

Financials then:
- bank accounts checked - bit worried about the TT attack, but not alot can be done other than keep a daily eye on my account
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox £s - up at £9.93
- Qmee - still 6p

3 new To Do lists written in the hope I can get lots done over half term, though a billable client day has sneaked in. First up is finish summer house tomorrow, DIYer build on Sunday and fill it

Happy weekend everyone

Ali-OK

T@lk T@lk actions update:

- they've paid for Noddle Alerts for 12 months (worth £20) and have advertised the code on their site, so I've just logged in and set that up

- I'm going into the bank in the morning, so will ask them to cancel and issue a new debit card - I'd used it for the Speedy Discount so those details are at risk

Moving providers is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted (even though I am looking around and not stuck in contract with them), already was receiving several scam phone calls per week as it was...though I'd blocked the maximum numbers I could from them, the ones that got through I blew the dog whistle down the phone and they seem to have reduced dramatically .

Wonder if they'll all kick off again from other scammers getting details :mad:

I might have checked my bank account 3 times today because of this too