The Journey Begins...

michelle09

I'm with KK, it's good to help out with people and to be aware of how easily even people here can slip into hard times, but don't feel guilty about your own money saving. Part of the reason we OP our mortgage is that it drops the monthy minimum payment which should help if we fall hard times.

You have really helped someone though, so good on you.

Thriftmaster1973

Thank you Michelle, it was the kids plight in a lot of this that gets to me, especially at this time of year.

Anyway, back to the mfw journey, does anyone think they know what the interest rate will be in say 2 - 3 years?

I was having this conversation with a friend yesterday, he said the rate won't go up by a drastic amount as the economy is still very fragile and too much of a jump in rates could plunge us back into reccesion. I generally thought the same, I'm currently on fixed rate 2.54% for another 2.5 years. I wouldn't want this to change much when the fix ends, mind u , with the overpayments I am making I should only have about £20k mortgage debt in 2.5 years.

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Hello,

Nobody can predict interest rates for sure, but a very slow upward movement seems to be the consensus. However, I remember the eighties and early nineties when we were paying 14% and the bill was shooting up every month. It is one of the reasons why I went for overpayment rather than pension payment, as I really didn't trust mortgage lenders! I just wanted rid of the debt and the feeling of security now that it is paid off is worth a lot more to me than the extra amount on a pension at some point in the future, especially when pension rules seem to be quite elastic too.

Very good luck on your journey and I admire your thoroughness! Don't be despondent when some months are less successful than others as this is inevitable and you are still moving in the right direction.

Thriftmaster1973

Well, 2 overpayments of £1000 done so far.
My mortgage debt now £47,717, due to drop even further on 1st March as that's when my normal mortgage payment goes out.
It was just over 50k before Christmas so the 'dent' is finally happening.
It still feels like a marathon to accomplish but I'm focussed on watching my spending and constantly looking at ways in which to fine tune my spending.
I'm treating it like I game, some family members have started taking the mick at how tight I've become but it's a means to an end. Here was some of my methods....
1. Went without heating for one 24 hour period as the amount being used would have forced me over budget of £9.50 per week gas.
2. Went to the local supermarket at 21:00 Saturday night, got loads of 10p whoopes and put them in freezer.
3. Walked to my sister's and mates houses instead of using car, did this around 4 times over the month.
4. Refused to go for takeaway to my sister's which saved me some ££££'s.
5. Have begun to mealplan, this seems to be a big, big money saver and I have no plans to stop doing this.

Anyway, there's the update, bye for now

Thriftmaster1973

I meant to say that I didn't find it easy at all scrimping and scraping to make the overpayments, does anyone here who's well into the sport of becoming mortgage free feel the same?
Does it get any easier or rather a task of habit?

Escapar2020

Good going thriftmaster!

I think it does get easier in the sense that it becomes more normal, and seeing the impact on your balance is a great motivator. It can be tempting to push yourself really hard, but it can be worth thinking about how much difference extra little overpayments can make. For me, I don't over do it because it would make little difference in the long term and makes me worry too much about money in the short term. I think they key is to find a level of op you're comfortable with and maintain it.

Escapar2020

Thriftmaster1973

Yes, your right Escaper, its funny, I feel like a CEO sat at the dining room table going through all the figures, I even went round to my sister's yesterday and saved her
near £800 per year she was paying on stuff she didn't use. Sky and EE lost out big time as she was paying a whopping £22 per month sim only!!!!! I got her on giffgaff £10 per month unlimited calls and texts + 3gb.
She was paying £40 for sky TV, she only watches normal freeview channels so I got her a freeview plus box for £96 (humax direct).
She was paying 12.99 sky protect to cover her sky system.
A good day for her as I cut £780 from her annual outgoings.
Obviously I've already cut my outgoings down to the bone long ago and all I can now do is fine tune the expenditures.

Escapar2020

I hope she paid you some commission!

newgirly

Hi, just spotted your diary and wanted to say welcome

You are doing really well making ops, I know it's not easy but try and give yourself a bit of breathing space sometimes too, not easy as it can become quite addictive! But it's a long period of time to be ultra frugal for.

Is there any way to up your income to help with the op's? Online surveys, eBay selling, matched betting etc. May be of interest, apologies if this is stating the obvious

All the best

selloptape

Fab diary! Maybe your family will cut you some slack now that you’ve saved your sister so much money