I'm paying how much interest a year??!!

here_for_the_tips

Unbelievable how little bills just sneak up on you and drain your reserves. Camp was an extra £20 then expected from last year, driving license renewed for another 10 years at £21. Number 2 has a birthday party invite in their bag for the 12th that's going to need the services of Amazon for a suitable gift as well.  Begrudge £25 public transport costs so far this month for in person meetings that could have been an email or 2. Made a few smaller OP's with account interest, some surplus from last month and just waiting on all the direct debits coming off before looking at a bigger payment. The potential sight of £59k is keeping me going, I see this and I have shaved 2 years and 9 months of my remaining mortgage term from Jan this year already!

here_for_the_tips

Big psychological moment earlier this month, seen a £59k plus change on the app for the amount owed. Good feeling, great motivation to keep on going with this for the rest of the year at least and hopefully beyond.

here_for_the_tips

3 months in and it is difficult, cutting back on I'd say around 80% of non essential expenditure to do this. Last Saturday the ice cream van comes round and I grabbed a cone for our youngest (oldest was out) came back in and Mrs Tips asked where hers was. Mindset is on all the time, just did not even register to buy a couple of non essential dairy products = one unhappy Mrs Tips. Need to think about a few more treats now and again and think about the positive impact of a little gesture / purchase rather then view things as that could have been half a days interest paid instead.

Starting to realise Prolific will not be the revenue raiser I thought it would be, can't devote the time to keep on looking for studies and the mythical £15-£30 AI paying ones seem to be bypassing me. Had hoped to make £100 a month from it but readjusted my expectations based on my availability and what I seem to be getting selected for to £500 for the year.

Shaved just over 3 years off the mortgage end date so far though so that's good, brings it down to paid by sometime in 2044 and I'll be 63/64 - that's going to be another motivator for as well as the a amount owed. How quick will the paid by age drop to below 60.

Looking forward to 1 April total already.

carboot_karaoke

Your making great progress and that takes commitment, focus and an awareness of all the little as well as big spends.

But balance is needed yes I've made the same mistake in the past. 

Putting literally every penny in the overpayment bucket and forgetting to treat ourselves every now and again. I'm definitely older and maybe a little wiser (this is our 3rd MF journey) from those experiences.

I know your focusing all surplus funds plus surveys onto the overpayments but are they ways you could raise a little money for treats only?

For example, l save up our Tesco Clubcard points towards a meal or last time it paid for a spa day. I've sold things on Ebay or Vinted to spend on treats and l currently have a small collection of unwanted or broken gold jewellery I'm going to swap for cash. 

Lots of great things don't cost much, a two dine in meal done properly, with candles etc makes a great date night in. Maybe even, a bunch of daffodils for Mrs Tips shouldn't be more than a few pounds 🌻.

here_for_the_tips

@carboot_karaoke Still looking to have a "miserable year" to really make a dent in this but took on your advice, even found an old M&S gift card from years back with a few quid still on it and that was afternoon tea sorted for Mothers Day in the garden last Sunday on a couple of 3 for £8 deals. Girls gifted Mrs Tips the sun lounger she's been after for a while, not a cheap option for me but they threw in some pocket money so how could I say no? 

Hadn't really though about vouchers, Asda shopper mainly so tend to convert into money off the shops 3-6 times a year and at Christmas. Tend to do groceries online though for the convenience so reckon will be sticking with them for the year at least.

I say miserable but I really want to do this, idea of working another 20 years has become less appealing this week. Lost a colleague who had been battling with depression and really got me reflecting that its not a path I want to continue down myself for another 2 decades. Really want to have the freedom to chose my path to an extent.

carboot_karaoke

Hi @here_for_the_tips

l totally understand what your saying. Short term restrictions are worth the long term benefits  and you can survive a year l mean, your a quarter of the way already!!

When we saved up enough to clear the mortgage the first time l had one seriously hardcore year. The kid's were younger so probably oblivious to it all. 

There was no takeaways, meals out, not even on our 1 week away in a friends caravan. I only brought essential clothing and shoes, where ever possible from car boots etc. (Vinted didn't exist) I would use cash only to shop and take a calculator to ensure l stuck in budget. 

It was hard, but Mr CK was supportive and I felt the sacrifice was worth it. As it happened a short while after that Mr CK was made redundant so l was relieved we had done what we did. 

That said, by about month 10 on was on the edge 🤪 😂

Mrs Tips mothers day treat sounded lovely. 

Also your comment got me thinking about raising money have you tried switching bank accounts ? Some are paying you for it.  

Have you looked at cashback websites, or credit-cards. You have to spend the money anyway you may as well get a bit back. 

here_for_the_tips

Switching accounts not really an option at the moment sadly but something I need to look at for sure. Got Natwest as my main bank, 30 plus years with them and all that plus Nationwide and waiting on the £50 thank you payment plus announcement of the Fairer Share payment as well. Might be time to open up a third and use it purely for switching though. Will have a look at the options.

LadyWithAPlan

So sorry to hear about your colleague 
I think balancing the OP focus with little treats is something people constantly have to regulate  especially in a hardcore pay down focus 

here_for_the_tips

So with initial April OP a whisker off £4k overpaid this year so far, really tempted for the visual boost of topping up just now but the car is in for it's MOT on Friday so will hold on any more payments until I know what the damage is for that. Few extra things to pick up this weeks for the kids Easter as well plus my birthday coming up as well. I've asked people to reel it in, explained I don't need anything and happy with a card and a cold beer or 2 next time we're out but we'll see what happens. Decluttering definitely going to have to happen before the summer!

here_for_the_tips

So that was actually a pain free MOT, clean bill of health for a change. Happy days. Just need to get through the school holidays and see what I have left in the bank.