Cutting it Fine - the challenge is on!

FtbDreaming

ive been reducing my capital by £200/ £300 a month. I’m thinking of doing it so it reduces by £500 a month but with saving for the loft too I’m a bit torn at the minute. My plan was to start smaller and build up momentum as I got closer to my goal. I deffo think this MFW journey is ‘fluid’ and although every month I’m making the overpayments I’m also rethinking goals and strategies. Priorities keep changing too. 

SandyShores

I agree Caeler.  When I was much younger I didn't have a clue about how much I still owed and how much I had left to pay, so to me the payment just 'disappeared'.  But of course a lot of it was going into my equity I just didn't know.

FtbDreaming exactly!  I'd like to pay the mortgage off as quick as poss, but I also want to live a little.  My lender gives 60% mortgages up to the age of 85 for a maximum of £150k.  Hopefully I won't need that option, but its good to know its there.  I'd really like to pay it off asap, but in reality it will probably be somewhere in the middle - and like you say, it is very fluid.  As long as we are going in the right direction.

savingholmes

Remember to enjoy the journey along the way.

SandyShores

Just logged into the mortgage account to note the balance.  Will check again tomorrow to be able to calculate the interest.  I'm finding it really helpful to have the positives in my signature.  Its a good reminder.  Looking forward to pay day soon - building the emergency fund up slowly due to the work we are doing on the house, but it will be about £1200 and growing.  Equity in our home is still 7% but also growing and MrShore's sideline is bringing in extra which we can start to use to make more overpayments..  Pensions also growing and we've increased MrShore's work pension to make sure we get the maximum employer contribution - we need to consider making extras into his private fund around summer time when things should have settled in terms of work on the house etc.  The unexpected refund I mentioned a few days ago should arrive in March as well.

SandyShores

Just popped in to update my signature - another £2 on the Xmas Saver.  Love how we are celebrating paying thousands off our mortgages, but can also celebrate a couple of quid here and there.  Its all going in the right direction isn't it.  

caeler

I think every penny matters, but then I have gone all a bit extreme during lockdown! @SandyShores

savingholmes

Giving each pound a job makes the world of difference to speed of debt / mortgage repayments and savings / pensions growth.

SandyShores

Remembered to log in to compare the mortgage balance, turns out last nights interest was £11.93.  So, it shouldn't be any more than £12 a day interest at the moment, and that's what I'll base my overpayment on this month.  I was feeling really happy earlier that we are beginning to increase the starter emergency fund; DH is putting about 20% of takehome into his pensions now and we have a plan to overpay the mortgage.  Good to feel in control at long last.

SandyShores

So, here I am thinking how good it is to be in control, and then I start thinking 'what if'?  In as much as what if something bad happens to one of us.  I'm not going to lose sleep over it, but its something you have to consider when you have taken out a large mortgage, particularly later in life.  There's no reason anything should go wrong, we have pensions and life insurances for the main events and the good thing (I guess) is that as you get older you get nearer to be able to taking them if something goes wrong.  I've done a few sums, and its essential to keep working towards our emergency fund of 3 months wages, our pensions are definitely on the up and we both have jobs with good sick pay periods and pensions.  We've got it covered as much as we can and that's all we can do.  I might rephrase my earlier comment that we are in control, to we are 'taking control' and it still feels a good place to be.

SandyShores

Must be in a reflective mood today.  Just looking at Fortune's thread and 'striving for balance'.  It reminded me of a course I went on many moons ago in my 20's.  The instructor seemed quite old (!) probably my age  , and was quite regretful of putting everything into work and missing out on his children growing up.  He seemed quite sad about it and it stuck with me over the years.  I remember an image he showed us (this was pre-everything on the net days) and it was a pair of scales with various aspects of life on each side, to create a balance in life and not just focus on one thing.  I found this image on the web, its not the scales but I think its got all of the things on it that you need to balance.  Work seems to envelope my whole life more or less, but it struck me on this diagram how small it is.  I definitely need to strive for more balance - its not just about the time I'm at work, but the time I give over to thinking about it.  (Apologies if the pic is huge - I've not uploaded one here before, so its just a straight copy off the internet).  Something I need to print off and think about regularly.