I am paying too much off?

se_ren

I'm trying to clear my mortgage off asap so overpaying it, as much as I thought I could. I'm on a decent wage but its decreased by 2-3K in the last 2 years so don't have as much coming in. I've kept the overpayments up though and increased them a little when I ended up getting a council tax discount for living on my own. I really want to get rid of the mortgage to give some financial stability and I do the rounds each year trying to get the best deals on utilities etc... and there are no unnecessary direct debits. I don't go out very much and spend only on essentials when it comes to replacing clothes - most of my stuff is from charity shops. I even sell a little on ebay to increase my income. I bulk cook and try and make all my own food/lunches etc.. I cycle to work so minimise car use.

The problem is, I have very little left after bills, food, savings etc... are paid and I feel like I'm living to work. Should I decrease my mortgage overpayments? I'm not sure what else I can do in terms of cutting back to give me a bit more money.

glasgowm148

You'll need to fill out a SOA and paste it here or we really have no idea what you're spending...

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

theoretica

It is a personal balancing act - the freedom of knowing you are not at the mercy of your mortgage company versus the pleasure of spending money now.

Make sure that you get full enjoyment out of any money you do choose to spend!

On_my_way

You don't say why you are so keen on paying your mortgage off so soon but you don't want to overpay at the expense of feeling stressed over it!

Kodagirl

I totally get where your coming from, I took last year off from my mortgage o/ps, I was really stretching myself, to be fair it wasnt fun.
Wanting to be free from my mortgage shackles, but I needed to enjoy myself a bit, the years go so quick, but because of my overpayments I am about 3 years ahead, and managed to get a remortgaged on a great new fixed rate, and now, again I find myself in a bit of a dilemma, I still have loads to do in the house, I've been here 11 years, do I make mortgage O/Ps, save up and pay loan I have or start getting some work done on the house?

It's hard isnt it, why don't you maybe give yourself a breather for say 6 months, and then re-assess, or halve them for a bit?
Don't feel guilty either, you need some life too, luv. x

Exerbusi2

Is there any way you can increase your income?

I'm a believer in over-payments too, but I think cutting expenses too much is a negative as well. Instead, I try to increase income as a way of paying off debts.

Can you start a side-business? You mentioned eBay - can you expand that?

ReadingTim

Mortgage debt is about the cheapest (long term) and "best" debt to have, so as long as you're meeting the normal repayments, you're fine. Whilst it's a very MSE idea to overpay, doing so at the expense of your wellbeing is a false economy: it's basically knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Finally, you seem to be living on a pretty frugal knife-edge. If some big bills come in, or other unexpected expense you might struggle to pay, especially if you can't borrow those overpayments back. If you want more stability, I'd reduce the overpayments, and concentrate on increasing your income: get a better paying job that you enjoy more than what you're currently doing and enjoy life, rather than pinching every penny you have!

EssexHebridean

We decided from the start of OP'ing ours that we were going to strike a balance between paying off, and fun. Our OP's started in 2008 - 5 years into the mortgage - literally at first just at £10 a month. From that point each time we were able to make a saving on something on our outgoings, we added the amount we'd saved to the OP. As one or other of us got a payrise we allocated some of that money to the OP. Money left in the joint account at the end of a month went the same way. When we reached the point that we were hitting the 10% O/P limit in a hear we started diverting the extra money to savings instead, with a view to building a lump-sum when our fixed rate ended.

Our fixed rate ended last year - on the day it finished - 30th september - I was able to make the call with the one last large "overpayment" and pay it off altogether.

Trust me, the end result is 100% worth it, BUT I do think you have to have some slack in there too - it's a long haul project, and you need to view it as a marathon not a sprint.