34 months countdown - MF before 40!

MFdreamer

Thanks! Aww how lovely to have a large family but yes I can imagine that’s a financial challenge!

Interesting points you raise actually about OP not being optimum 🤔 I had been thinking about that myself. I should have said that £200 a month of my overpayments are actually going into a share fund and premium bonds (£100 each) to diversify slightly. I am really risk averse so didn’t want to invest more than £100 a month! I’ll definitely need to think about retirement planning properly soon though as my employer pension is rubbish.......

mark55man

Yes - they're definitely worth it.

Definitely you have to invest for the long term future, I was just a little surprised how little difference it made over the 3 years which is out Mortgage OP/Neutral timeframe.  That said, in your, younger shoes, you would be leaving it in a pot for much longer - but given your story, I can see why you want to get that mortgage nailed!.  That is a common viewpoint on the MFW board.

Only advice is don't be too cautious with your long term money - as the risk of downwards volatility in the markets is sometimes less than the risk of not ever exposing yourself to the upside.  eg a guaranteed 1% a year may sound preferable to a risky 4%, but at 1% your pot would need to be so much larger + over 25 years inflation is a guaranteed remover of purchasing value if you are not keeping up

but you have a great income and your spending is well within, so the problem is not unsolveable.  While you are OPing your mortgage I would be looking to read and get a bit more comfortable  with the options available to you in terms of vehicles (pensions / ISA etc) and in terms of investment strategies (asset classes and above all your objectives/requirements for the long term).  I like the escape artist blogs and he links out to many more

MFdreamer

mark55man said:

Yes - they're definitely worth it.

Definitely you have to invest for the long term future, I was just a little surprised how little difference it made over the 3 years which is out Mortgage OP/Neutral timeframe.  That said, in your, younger shoes, you would be leaving it in a pot for much longer - but given your story, I can see why you want to get that mortgage nailed!.  That is a common viewpoint on the MFW board.

Only advice is don't be too cautious with your long term money - as the risk of downwards volatility in the markets is sometimes less than the risk of not ever exposing yourself to the upside.  eg a guaranteed 1% a year may sound preferable to a risky 4%, but at 1% your pot would need to be so much larger + over 25 years inflation is a guaranteed remover of purchasing value if you are not keeping up

but you have a great income and your spending is well within, so the problem is not unsolveable.  While you are OPing your mortgage I would be looking to read and get a bit more comfortable  with the options available to you in terms of vehicles (pensions / ISA etc) and in terms of investment strategies (asset classes and above all your objectives/requirements for the long term).  I like the escape artist blogs and he links out to many more

Thanks this is good advice and definitely food for thought. I do think I need to read up on investing and take away my fear! I’m just so cautious and scared of losing money! I’ll check out that blog you recommend and maybe head on over to the retirement planning boards.....

Thanks!

MFdreamer

Made my first two overpayments today after deciding to focus on becoming mortgage free!

£85.93 leftover from my November budget and £70 that a friend owed me and repaid. Normally I’d have kept both of these as “bonus” money that I frittered away so I’m dead chuffed with myself! 😄

rugbymadfamily

Hi there! Sounds like you have a great plan in place and the intention to stick to it (which is key!). I'm relatively new here and have found this board really helpful at keeping me accountable and making me think twice before spending. 

Agree with other posters, you have a great sounding job and it's not just luck, there is lots of skill and knowledge also needed. But I know that feeling of thinking I'm just lucky.

Anyway, best of luck with it all 😊

MFdreamer

rugbymadfamily said:

Hi there! Sounds like you have a great plan in place and the intention to stick to it (which is key!). I'm relatively new here and have found this board really helpful at keeping me accountable and making me think twice before spending. 

Agree with other posters, you have a great sounding job and it's not just luck, there is lots of skill and knowledge also needed. But I know that feeling of thinking I'm just lucky.

Anyway, best of luck with it all 😊

Thank you! I’m loving reading all the diaries and picking up lots of tips! It’s not something I can really talk about with my real life friends so it’s fab to have this board!

Best of luck with your journey too! 😁

rugbymadfamily

I agree, great to talk on here. Most of my friends rent so don't want to talk mortgages lol. I love reading diaries and cheering people on as well as picking up tips!

caeler

First OP breaks the seal. Now there is no stopping you!! 

MFdreamer

Pretty proud of myself for having a major eBay listing session yesterday. 20 listings are live and I’ve registered for Royal Mail online to make posting easier.

Any profit I make will be chucked at the mortgage. I’m not expecting a huge amount as it’s all low value clothing bundles but if I can get £50 I’ll be over the moon!

I used to sell on eBay all the time but got lazy when I started to earn well and just shoved stuff in the attic or gave it away instead.....

caeler

Well done! I hope you get some interest!