Frugally paying the mortgage down

save_dog

Thank you @South_coast! Mr SD is going to contact them next year to ask to get out of the lease based on the low mileage but I'm doubtful they'll take us up. My parents suggested trying to buy the car from them early and then selling it ourselves. I hadn't even thought about asking them to reduce the mileage! Thank you - lots to think about!

Got some bits and bobs done off my list but still faced with a few boxes of stuff to either sell or give away. I just need to do it in short bursts I think to make it more manageable but it's one of those dull jobs I never want to do   

We're off out this afternoon to a birthday party. Going to have to take the baby - he won't take a bottle (or at least, wouldn't the last time I tried, which was months ago!) and I haven't left him for longer than a couple of hours yet, and he just hasn't enough milk for while I'm gone! But I'll take it - I feel like we're like ships in the night at the moment so it'll be nice to have some time to have a glass of wine or two even with the baby joining us toddler is staying with his Nan which he'll love! 

In MSE news, Prolific is *so* much more profitable when you have access to a laptop! Made about £20 yesterday and paid straight off the mortgage. Only a small amount but £20 I won't pay interest on again!

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday and stay safe from the blustery conditions out there!

debtfreewannabe321

Congratulations on the bubba and the new home! How exciting! 🎉
I reckon there must be a way out of the lease...I'd be contacting them ASAP to ask. You might lose some money getting out but probably not as much as paying for it sat on your drive at full price for another year and a bit.

LadyWithAPlan

debtfreewannabe321 said:

Congratulations on the bubba and the new home! How exciting! 🎉
I reckon there must be a way out of the lease...I'd be contacting them ASAP to ask. You might lose some money getting out but probably not as much as paying for it sat on your drive at full price for another year and a bit.

Yes I agree - must be a way of getting out the lease at a cost less than paying £350 pm for 18 more months on an rarely used car 

congrats on the new home and the baby - looking forward to you taking that mortgage down and out  
are you tracking daily interest as a motivator - I haven’t bought yet still but it’s looking at at least £32-40 per day in interest as my mortgage will be £300k or £350k max plus I think 

save_dog

Hi @LadyWithAPlan! I am tracking my daily interest - I've finally just got around to updating my spreadsheet to see what the daily/weekly interest is after the move and it's a sickening amount to be honest! It's currently at £36.25 per day, £253.76 a week! The small amounts I'm paying off feel miniscule in comparison to the total balance but you've just got to keep keeping on haven't you.

All plans cancelled today as the littlest boy is full of cold, so I'm staying at home to keep him in the one heat and hopefully help him get over it. We have a busy weekend ahead of us so he needs a bit of a chance to get better!

I have a mountain of laundry to do (as always - it really is impossible to keep on top of!) and I'm going to try and get some things listed for sale/donation too.

Giving myself a bit of a plan so I have some structure:
- Put veggie chilli in the slow cooker
- Spend half an hour listing stuff for sale or donation
- Clean the kitchen
- Spend half an hour sorting through the laundry
- Clean the bathroom
- Clean the bedrooms

I'm going to try and get through some Prolific studies too but there haven't been too many for the last few days. Right, off to make a dent into this list before it's time for the biggest boy to come home! 

save_dog

As I’m not going out for lunch today, I’ve popped another £10 over to the mortgage 😅

LadyWithAPlan

£36.25 per day interest is the kind of amount that I can imagine you are determined to take down asap, I think whilst scary it may be the most motivating  figure to track...

Every £1 you OP  you will never ever  have to pay interest on ever again, so every little really helps.

As I am thinking of borrowing between £300k (£31.13 per day at current rates!) -£350k (£36.318 interest  per day ) I may try to keep mortgage  down as low as possible just to keep that daily interest figure start at something less scary .. 

save_dog

Well, it's been over a year but in typical new-year fashion, I'm logging back on. MSE Mortgage Free Wannabe forums are my favourite corner of the internet, and I read a lot, even if I don't comment. 

The mortgage is now at (just!) sub £350k (but will go back over that threshold once interest is applied later this month). I had to pull back from OPs last year as we just didn't have the spare cash (and honestly, I didn't have the brainpower to do extra surveys, cashback or anything) so I've been paying more or less the minimum since September and kind of lost my groove with tracking daily interest, etc.

I never did get rid of the leased car early, but the lease is up in Feb this year, so Jan 2026 is the last payment! That'll free up just under £400-odd. Our lovely dog passed away over the summer and his insurance bills had become pretty extortionate at about £160pm, so we no longer pay those. It's funny how I don't notice the extra cash though - where does it go?

Anyway, now we're through Christmas I thought I'd try and focus myself a bit more on mortgage OPs. I budget for Christmas and I think managed OK - the kids (aged 2 and almost 4) weren't overrun with presents. I think next year I'll choose my Christmas events a bit more wisely. Spent a fortune on a NT event that the kids just didn't really enjoy (I mean they liked it, but it wasn't worth spending all that money on. And the fairground at the end was their fave bit and it is SO expensive!).

Personally, I've had a bit of a year of understanding who I am. I suspect I might be AuDHD and I need to make it a priority to get myself referred for assessment this month. I've been having regular counselling since August which has been really beneficial and worth the money for me, so I'm going to make that a priority. I'm trying to look at my life through a bit of a softer, slower, kinder lens this year. I really do find being a working mum of 2 small boys very overwhelming and I think part of that overwhelm is the way my brain works, in addition to the mental load. 

I also think exercise really helps my brain so really trying yoga and strength training (and dancing and walking) a priority this year too. Both for my mental health and my physical health as I approach the end of my 30s!

Financially, I'd really like to sort out ethical investments for the kids. I save money for them each month but it's just in the current account, so I'd like to do that. I'll need to figure out other financial goals but for now I'm just saying hello to everyone and easing myself back in.

Happy new year everyone!

save_dog

Just had a quick check of my daily interest - currently £34.93. Feels like it's barely moves since 13 months ago! 

KajiKita

I don’t know if you’ve seen my latest diary? I have deliberately started a new one with a new focus - OPing but not my whole focus. I’m trying to leave room for joy and recovery. Maybe you need to give yourself permission to have a different focus until both boys are in full time school for example? 

KK