It won't happen overnight. But if I do nothing it won't happen at all. (MFW diary 5761)

seventh88

Hi @RedLipstick,

It's reassuring to hear others can relate (especially to facing it alone). I don't actually know anyone else IRL who has a solo mortgage. They're all either coupled, or renting solo, or are retired and own solo.

Sharing a SOA would be a good idea - I near enough have it on my spreadsheet, so it wouldn't take much to share it over here. I think I'll do that in February as I know my wages are due to change in January as my hours increase.

Scheduling in events sounds like a good way to treat yourself - you always have that next thing to look forward to and when things are feeling frugal, you can keep that in your sight on the horizon. I love the cards-to-yourself idea, especially keeping them on display so they're a good motivator! Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement

debtfreeoneday

Another thing I used to do was have lots of little achievements noticed. Like I own 10% or the house, 11% of the house… I’ve paid x thousand, I’ve paid x +1 thousand. Xx thousand to go, xx-1 thousand to go. It meant I used to hit one or two of these every month so felt like progress was being made every single month. 

It’s the long game but you will get there even when you feel you won’t. 

RedLipstick

@debtfreeoneday Love the idea of watching the percentage owned! I round up the balance when I can, it can be very motivating to see every 1 thousand down, but also a bit depressing at times!

With regards to overpayments, I also track how the balance will look like at the end of my fix term and how the interest can go down, every little helps!

glass_half_full

seventh88 said:

Hi everyone,

Here's an update this week:

Successes

- I've earmarked a day in the new year to look at my budgeting spreadsheet

- Have done OK with trying to use up food/take care of leftovers, rather than waste things or keep buying food that I don't need

- Was planning on buying some stuff for the house in the sale, and then talked myself out of it, as I still haven't got the blinds put up that I also bought for the house earlier in the year. Put the blinds up first, then you can buy other stuff as and when you need it, I'm telling myself.

Challenges

- Feeling low at facing the mortgage/budgeting alone

- Not quite worked out how I plan to have fun/enjoy myself whilst aiming to be mortgage free, but I'll get there!!

Questions

- To everyone who is a little further on their mortgage free journey... if you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice at the start, what would it be?

Thanks for reading and for all your support

Happy New Diary! In answer to your question, if you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice....

probably it would be to stick with it, you will get there ! I remember thinking it would never end but then we finally achieved mortgage freedom in 2021. 

But as others have said, you do need to balance living today with living for tomorrow.

Lots of wisdom on here and a very supportive community. Good luck!

LadyWithAPlan

Great you have a diary it’s a great place for tracking goals and achievements 

do you have hobbies (or can you start one? ) that’s not too expensive 

I do local college courses - free ones and on a grey January I love going to class, meet new people and learning - I done DIY inc plumbing, sewing, software languages , learnt to play muscal instruments… 

I understand the single person financial pressure as I am there myself - I haven’t bought yet but have saved loads - however I live in london so adding  my large deposit to a house means I also lose my security blanket - I will be taking out at least a £300k mortgage myself so .. 

I have a colour in chart of a potential house so every £500 I save I colour it in - good way to physically see your progress 

seventh88

@debtfreeoneday That's a really good idea to give yourself financial markers each month - thank you for this.

@glass_half_full It's really positive to hear that you've achieved your goal, it is inspiring to see others where I want to be! You're right - if I keep at it, I will get there one day. Fingers crossed! Maybe I can write this down somewhere and put it somewhere I can see...

@LadyWithAPlan Good to meet you and hear you're on a similar journey of a solo mortgage (and well done for going for this in London), it's always helpful to hear from others in a similar boat. I like the colour chart idea, this is a really tangible way of seeing the progress.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your thoughts and comments.
For anyone else reading this, I'm always open to hearing more: if you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice at the start, what would it be?

beanielou

Looking back I would overpay right from the beginning. However little. 

seventh88

Thanks @beanielou that’s encouraging. Start early, even if it’s small amounts.

seventh88

Hello everyone,

Happy new year to you.

Here's an update from this week:

Successes

1. I spent some time going through my budget spreadsheets for the year ahead. I've made a few tweaks on last year, just going through what I did spend, what I didn't, and what's realistic for the year ahead.

2. I realised I'm proud of what I achieved last year. I've rebuilt my emergency fund, which was my goal. And I'm pleased with what I did spend money on (e.g. the fun stuff) - it was things/experiences that I really value. I'm getting better at saying 'no' to the things in life that are mediocre and don't bring me that much joy.

3. This forum is really helping, and the comments from others - particularly other solo MFWs - are encouraging. Thank you all.

Challenges

I actually don't think there have been any this week in relation to my MFW goal, I'm feeling more positive and on track. I've got to be realistic and kind to myself and give myself a bit of wiggle room really.

Questions

I'm curious about the overpaying on mortgage vs adding more to pension conundrum. Pensions, houses, both great investments...but difficult to calculate what would work out better financially?? I'm interested in others thoughts on this.

Idreamofplants

Hi there,
the one thing I would do with hindsight is OP from the start.  This is the 4th house I've owned and have been paying a mortgage for 24 years yet only a couple of these have I've OP for.  I've never bought on my own but I have certainly felt as though the responsibility for the mortgage and working lots of hours has fallen to me - mainly due to my OH not being stressed about debt in the way I am. I few years ago I did a SOA under my old log in to get some advice on paying off some debt we had and it was super helpful.  I also find keeping track of things helps my mood massively.  I keep a bit of an exercise journal and it helps me keep on track with doing something most days. 
Keep remembering to be kind to yourself - we can only do so much in a day, tomorrow is a fresh start