Fighting the mortgage interest

Numbercruncher_mfw

Wow September went fast, I can't believe we are in the last part of the year. We are on track to be under £140k by 31st December. I'm really excited to break through into the £139s....

The aim is to get below £100k as soon as we can as I think having a mortgage under £100k seems a lot less scary than a mortgage over £100k. 

longway2go

Hi, 
We seem to be in similar positions, 5kEF but looking to build this and mortgage in the same region (143,600) so completely understand how nice it will be to get to the 139,000s and even better under 100k. Be a nice Christmas gift to yourself if you can achieve it, I think we will just miss it.
Lots of luck to you. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

longway2go said:

Hi, 
We seem to be in similar positions, 5kEF but looking to build this and mortgage in the same region (143,600) so completely understand how nice it will be to get to the 139,000s and even better under 100k. Be a nice Christmas gift to yourself if you can achieve it, I think we will just miss it.
Lots of luck to you. 

Thank you, I'm actually thinking that if I'm just over  over £140k  by Christmas  (say by £100) then I'll pay that as a present to myself  I haven't caught up with your thread for a couple of weeks, it's one of the threads I have bookmarked so will read it shortly - hope the journey is still going well. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

November update. We are within touching distance of the £139s,  current balance is £140,300. If we get to under £140k by 1st Jan it means we will have knocked £7.5k off the balance this year 

Emergency fund is now £6k and savings in total are £8k. As I’ve mentioned before my aim is to get this to £12k so I know I have a year of expenses in the bank if I lose my job. I’m so glad I decided to take action with my finances this year. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

Just checking in to say we are under £140k.  the mortgage payment this month has taken me under £140k. I'm so pleased and proud of progress we've made this year. I'll check in at the end of the year to do a breakdown of 2020. 

Numbercruncher_mfw

Happy New Year everyone . Here's my stats for 2020:

Opening Mortgage Balance: £147,444

Interest Accrued over year: £2,926

Standard Mortgage Payments: £7,056

Overpayments: £3,494
Total mortgage payments: £10,550

Closing Mortgage Balance: £139,820
I'm very proud to have chipped away at the mortgage this year. By regularly doing it each month you don't notice it too much but looking at the end of year stats it has a massive impact. I also now have £8.4k in savings which gives me peace of mind thinking of the year we have had and having savings to rely on incase of emergency. Thats 700 a month I can live off for a year if I lose my job which is enough to pay my share of the bills and food. I've realised this year that I have two aims on this journey, pay down my mortgage at the same time as building up my savings. I feel a lot better about my job when I know that I could survive for a period of time without working. 

So what are my aims for 2021? Well I'd love to continue chipping away at the mortgage and beat the £10,550 I paid towards the mortgage this year, even if it's just by a pound. I'd also like to up my savings to £12k as that would represent a year of comfortable expenses for me in the event I did lose my job. If you're reading this, I wish you well and hope 2021 is better for all of us  

SuperSecretSquirrel

Great update and great progress numbercruncher!

The one year of minimal expenses emergency fund is excellent, and I absolutely know where you're coming from regards the sense of security a cash buffer provides. I also feel much the same in that the less I feel like I have to work, the less I mind actually going to work 😃

Best of luck with the 2021 plan! 👍

Numbercruncher_mfw

Thanks SSS, hope you're well. 
February update: My journey is still going well - I have £9k in savings and the mortgage balance is now below £139k. 
Every day feels a bit like Groundhog Day at the moment but I have been managing to read more, I've read three books so far this year. I've just finished 'This is going to hurt' which is about a junior doctor in the NHS. I'm so in awe of the doctors working in our hospitals who show huge levels of resilience. I must admit, I think I would crumble on the first day with all that pressure on me. Well worth a read. 

I'm looking forward to the days continuing to get longer and have my fingers crossed that we might start returning to some normality in the next few months. I can't wait to see my family properly. 

caeler

Great progress! @Numbercruncher_mfw
I totally agree with it being Groundhog Day. I’ve found that hardest this week for some reason. 

Kittenkirst

Same here with the Groundhog Day feelings, although we have snow here today which has provided a little excitement upon waking at least

Great work with paying down your mortgage- its so addictive isn’t it!!