Has Covid 19 been a wake-up call?

Thriftmaster1973

I'd just like to ask the other MFW's, has Covid 19 made you more aware that you need to keep on track with the overpayments and general thriftyness?

Around summer 2019 I started getting a bit laxed with the overpayments and general money management, when we first went into lockdown and the news broke about the worldwide economic shock - that was my wake-up call. I decided I'm going to put the overpayments into overdrive and rid myself of this mortgage debt as fast as possible.

Kittenkirst

For our household its definitely galvanised us to think more about what we want and putting things in motion to get it.
We were overpaying steadily on our mortgage already and being good with savings, but the pandemic has meant we are working from home and have more disposable income to really put plans in place.
I start a new, better-paid and better prospects job on Monday and we have now sold our house this weekend and are looking to buy our forever home now as the time is good to get it, rather than procrastinate a bit more!

Thriftmaster1973

Nice to hear it's worked out for you kitten, it's been good for me too - less spending, less outgoings meaning the overpayments are very doable now.
I feel thankful, there's a lot of people having a bad time - income reductions because if being furloughed, job losses, spiralling costs etc

Kittenkirst

Yes definitely, the pandemic has really shown that what you may think is a secure job may in fact not be; I went through another round of redundancies last year (had been in one the year before that too) which was unnerving and worrying at times. Can’t imagine how difficult life has been for others who have struggled due to the pandemic. 
Definitely shows us not to take anything for granted and to ensure we have good backup plans in place if we can

shangaijimmy

Ours hasn't so much been a wake up call but more of a confirmation that the course we are on is right for us. I've been furloughed for 10-11 months now and I'm so thankful that our finances were in order. So thankful that we've avoided 'lifestyle creep' with expensive cars and so on. In reality the overpayments that we'd made over the 4 years before Covid had pretty much reduced our mortgage payments by the amount of pay reduction I've been on. It has also 'encouraged' Mrs SJ to take more notice of our finances with me, which is a good thing.

What next...? Well I suppose we'll keep on this path and keep chipping away at the iceberg. The chips are starting to grow with the compound effects.

jennystarpepper

It's made me 'sit up and think'.

  I paid off a large chunk of debt (about 10.5k in 11 months), then realised with 50th birthdays on the horizon, retirement, very low savings and how long we still had to pay on our mortgage made me have a, long hard think.   My aims are, increasing pensions (another 1% this month), emergency fund and new car / house repair fund, but the main target is the mortgage as it is the only debt we have.  

As others have said, I just keep constantly paying off a few pounds and pence and it really does add up.  

Good luck with yours.

FtbDreaming

Not really covid no. Being off work for 10 weeks with no pay made me rethink though. I’m now saving a small emergency fund which will get bigger when the target is reached. 

During covid my wages have become sufficient with no new clothes/ days out parties fun or living expenses then holidays etc... I’ve been able to save some money each week. When it all comes back I’ll be stretched again however if I’m honest I miss life and living and although it’s not a truly MSE way of thinking I can’t wait to be having fun again even if it does mean less savings and just getting by. 

I don’t really do credit anyway so everything is still within my means either way. 

caeler

Yes very much so. I was already making modest regular overpayments but I wasn’t particularly focused on a time period to finish the mortgage by, maybe a notion of before 40 which seemed totally out of reach. I was just trying to reduce the term as much as I could.  Last April I started to tighten to tighten my belt, my company had to furlough a lot of people and I didn’t know what the future would hold. Tightening and frugal living went especially well and by September my main focus became mortgage overpayment and redemption. 

Thriftmaster1973

Yes Caeler, I can see how you were "awoken" by watching people being ferloughed and not being sure about the future.
I'm looking at a two year countdown now, I don't think it will be finished by December 2022 - I forecast somewhere around £3000 owing which in the grand scheme of things isn't worth worrying about.

LeighofMar

It was a confirmation that we're doing the right thing. We built in a buffer of 2 to 3 months before having to pay the mortgage payment and we continuously OP as much as we can. We definitely want the peace of mind that comes with, whatever is happening in the world, our house is paid for. 

Thriftmaster1973

Yes your 100% correct Leigh, what we are all doing and striving for is the right thing, people have laughed and sniggered at me in the past - ie my sister "How the hell are you going to pay your mortgage off in 5-6 years?"
Now the light is at the end of the tunnel she says "I didn't think you'de be able to do it".

It's not for everyone as some people won't "make do and do without", but it's right for me.
I would be in gutted now if I still had mortgage debt until 2031 (as was forcast when I started this journey).