Mortgage free by my own merit

OhtobeMortgageFree · 10 April 2019 at 7:17AM

LeighofMar wrote: »

You're doing great. Oftentimes, some have to make a choice between doing up a house or paying it off. You're managing both. That's something to be proud of.

Ah thank you! We bought our first house very cheaply at £84,000. It was a repossession that needed a lot of work but we turned it around in a couple of years and sold for £125,000 so we're no strangers to a bit of hard work, budgeting well and living through the mess! It would be nice to live in a complete house one day though!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 10 April 2019 at 7:25AM

Some of my lovely Mum friends have realised how stressed out and meh I've been feeling lately and have organised a meal out for everybody. The thought of having to pay for a meal out at the moment when I'm trying my hardest to save every penny is actually quite stressful but I know they mean well. I'll try and take on some extra work that week perhaps to balance the cost out.

kaycastle · 10 April 2019 at 8:34AM

I super enjoyed reading your diary

you are doing amazing.
I'm sorry to hear you are feeling stressed. It does sound like you balance so much, it's truly amazing. I dont know of course but It doesn't sound like you would get much me time amongst all of that! Is there anyway you can introduce something special and peaceful just for you that is free. Even if it's just once a week. Like just going on a walk or having a long bath.
Also wih my friends I've steered us to having wine and cheese nights about once a month. Everyone brings a cheese. It works out super cheap, fun and there is always tons left. And no prep for whoever is hosting really

OhtobeMortgageFree · 11 April 2019 at 7:46AM

kaycastle wrote: »

I super enjoyed reading your diary you are doing amazing.
I'm sorry to hear you are feeling stressed. It does sound like you balance so much, it's truly amazing. I dont know of course but It doesn't sound like you would get much me time amongst all of that! Is there anyway you can introduce something special and peaceful just for you that is free. Even if it's just once a week. Like just going on a walk or having a long bath.
Also wih my friends I've steered us to having wine and cheese nights about once a month. Everyone brings a cheese. It works out super cheap, fun and there is always tons left. And no prep for whoever is hosting really

Yep, very very little Me time in the week! Running is usually my Me time but as I'm marathon training at the moment it's more prescribed what and when I need to run and I'm finding it much less relaxing.
I like the idea of a wine and cheese night! It might be a little harder to organise as the majority of my friends have 1-2 year olds at the moment, myself included. But that's definitely something to add into the month in the future!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 11 April 2019 at 8:10AM

My husband and I sat down for a few hours last night and worked out our current finances. He really wants to keep his football season ticket for another year but the price has gone up to £500. Not only has the price gone up but the football ground is 100 miles away so this adds to our petrol bill as well. I don't want to be the type of wife who tells him he can't do things so we worked out a new plan going forward.
At present, I would like to be putting away a minimum of £500 per month into savings. This is so that we are prepared for the point we inevitably need a new car, or get hit with an unexpected bill, or have to pay lots for an MOT, etc...
After paying our monthly 'basic' outgoings (this doesn't include things that are paid yearly like TV licence, car and house insurance, AA cover, etc) we are left with about £950. £500 for the emergency savings pot and £450 to spend. It's doable. But again, my husband doesn't realise quite how much still needs to come out of the £450 each month. Birthday presents, Christmas presents, ANYTHING that we do! We've been living on such a tight budget the last few months that the numbers only include the real basics. No biscuits for the biscuit tin and absolutely no days out! Anything that's left from the £450 pot will go into overpayments. I've said that he can use the emergency savings pot to pay for his season ticket next month but it does leave us tight. We'll make it work though!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 13 April 2019 at 12:43PM

My husband and I had a further money-related chat this morning and we've decided to turn any earnings we make from matched betting into overpayments on the mortgage. We've only casually been working through offers so far but have still been making an average of £100+ each month. With a little more time and thought spent working through the offers we could easily double that figure for sure.

OhtobeMortgageFree · 23 April 2019 at 9:55PM

We've just hit the £300 mark through Matched Betting earnings having placed 1-2 bets each night for the last few days. I'm looking forward to working towards overpaying this month!!!

OhtobeMortgageFree · 17 May 2019 at 10:26AM

First actual overpayment made! I've been talking and talking about it for so long, - it was really great to pick up the phone and make an overpayment of £100! Starting small, as we're still re-building our savings after converting the garage. But, the overpayment calculator tells me that not only have I paid off £100 more of my mortgage early, but I've saved us an extra £81 in interest! Buzzing! Now to find another £100 by next week...