Mortgage free by 2028

bethjames5681 · 8 November 2020 at 2:45PM

I have been lurking on this forum for a while now and since I have just remortgaged, I have decided that I will start a mortgage free diary. We have been overpaying here and there for a while, helped by being blessed with decent mortgage rates for the last 12 years or so.

Ever since we got a mortgage 14 years ago, we have been with HSBC but I have just remortgaged with TSB for 5 years at 1.34% fixed rate. At the same time, I reduced the mortgage term by 3 years. We have 13 years remaining but I'd love to get that down to 8.

Types of ways we usually overpay

Even if elements of our spending vary (e.g. childcare cost reduction, no council tax due that month) we each keep our monthly standing into our joint account the same. In particular, our childcare costs have dropped dramatically in the last couple of months now that our daughter has started school.
I learnt the term Tilly Tidy on this forum, so have been doing that once a month after the mortgage payments come out
I do Prolific surveys
I use Quidco cashback
Cashback from our Santander 123 Lite Current Account

We both have fairly decent emergency funds and we still contribute to savings regularly. We want to balance out having good holidays and house renovations with reducing our mortgage - so not every penny we save goes towards the mortgage.

Types of savings we make

We both have regular savers (at 2.75%) and contribute the maximum
Sweep leftover money at the end of the month into a S&S ISA
I've just started matched betting, so all profits from that go into my S&S ISA weekly. I've made over £250 in two weeks - so that's my current obsession!

I live in spreadsheets, I'm constantly fiddling around to see how to make more savings or "what if" projections. I have just plotted a mortgage ammortisation schedule, so I can see the expected reduction in the mortgage for the duration of this deal, month-month, so I can plot where we "actually" get to with overpayments.

I'm going to keep posting here (at least monthly) so I can have a good record of where we get to and for continued inspiration from all of you.