2008 MFW newbies

lifebegins

How many MFW's are you now? Is there room for any more?

It's a great idea to keep everyone motivated. We only took out our mortgage last year (only 20 years to go!!), and it's pretty big, so no chance of paying it off in the next couple of years. But I reckon I still need a target to start making a difference, so I'm going to stick my neck out and say I want to pay an extra £6000 off the mortgage by the end of this year.

I'm starting a new job, so we're planning to put any extra money from that into the pot. I'm also going to try some matched betting and am going to have a good look around the site for other moneysaving/ making ideas.

I haven't yet worked out what difference that'll make if I can keep it going, but "every little helps...."

Best of luck to everyone, it'll be interesting to see how much we've collectively paid off this time next year! Is that what BellBell's planning to do?

I'm looking forward to keeping up with you all.

violetblue

elantan wrote: »

our little family is getting bigger i love it ..welcome kazza

Well summed-up elantan, it does feel like a little family! One thing I love about reading the mortgage free in three thread is that it has a real sense of community and support, and this thread seems to be going the same way which is brilliant.

Welcome to kezza and all other newbies, and good luck on your mortgage free quest!

violetblue

Welcome lifebegins, there is always room for another MFW, the more the merrier!

Best of luck to you with your challenge, having a target figure and seeing it written down in black and white makes all the difference and will keep you focussed.

If you want to see how much of a difference your overpayments will make, there are loads of overpayment calculators around - I like this one here - but if you go to the "Overpayment Calculators" sticky at the top of the MFW board there are loads more to choose from. It's amazing how much interest it will save you in the long run by paying just a little bit more now!

kezza12

Well thanks for all the support guys i've informed the OH of my (our) plans and he agrees that it is an excellent idea, so now whenever he starts a conversation my first question is "is it saving money" i think i'm driving him crazy but if i'm gonna have a hobby this is a good one to have!!

george_jetson

Well it's a coincidence that I discover this site and forum the same week as I realise that 2008 is (hopefully) the year that I become mortgage free. This has turned onto quite a long post, but hopefully there'll be some info in it of use to some of you…!

I bought my place for £85,000 in 1998 (this seemed like a fortune back then!) and was able to put down a fairly hefty deposit of £15,000 thanks to years of living in a crowded houseshare and drinking at Wetherspoons! The good news sort of ends there as I allowed myself to be talked into getting an endowment. Ouch!

About 5 or 6 years ago I got myself an offset mortgage - probably the best thing I've ever done - while still allowing my endowment to run. I have a cheque account and two 'savings accounts' (they're not really, but it helps for me to think of them like this!) linked to my mortgage account - having my money in different 'pots' makes it easier for me to see where I am. I pay a set amount each month into a savings account specifically to drive down my mortgage (I haven't touched the money in this one), and what's left over at the end of the month goes into the second savings account which I'm allowed to dip into for big expenses and 'treats' - holidays, ipods and so on.

I started this with the aim of getting rid of the mortgage early but with no real planning of when this would be. I didn't set the mortgage overpayment too high - I knew if I did that I'd have got frustrated early on and jacked the whole thing in. What I did find useful was to chart the amount of my monthly mortgage interest bill and watch the downward trend of the lines. I started off by charting the amount I owed, but I found the large numbers and my seemingly slow progress just too eye watering. Knocking off a couple of quid from a £300 interest bill is just as satisfying and somehow less daunting.

Anyway the punchline - earlier this month I found that my endowment was worth the princely sum of £40 more than I had paid into it - cheers guys! I looked into selling it on, but not surprisingly no company was interested. So I decided to cut my losses and stop throwing good money after bad and cashed the thing in. This has made quite a dent in the amount I owe, so if I tighten my belt slightly I should be mortgage free by the end of the year.

My thoughts on the whole process

-I tried to resist making this goal the be all and end all, and made sure I didn't stop doing the things I enjoy. I'm going to enjoy travelling frequently when I'm mortgage free, but I'm glad I never turned down the opportunity of a trip away in my youth. Travelling in my 40s is fun, but I'm glad I didn't miss out on the trips I had in my 20s and 30s…
-the single biggest thing that has made my goal possible it the fact that I've never owned a car. I'll admit this isn't for everyone, and it's far easier to be carless in London, but my hair curls when I hear friends and colleagues talk about how much their car costs them. Up until a couple of years ago I coped using public transport and cycling around. A couple of years ago I bought a scooter and am also a member of a car share club (Streetcar) - I have a brand new VW when I need it for £5/hour!
-This is a bit off the wall, but I'm serious. One of the best things I've bought recently is my breadmaker (a Panasonic, not a cheapo one). This thing is idiot proof and consistently turns out perfect, delicious loaves. It's a lot easier to motivate yourself to make sandwiches for work every day with one of these things - an easy saving of £40 - 50/month.

bellsbells

lifebegins wrote: »

How many MFW's are you now? Is there room for any more?

It's a great idea to keep everyone motivated. We only took out our mortgage last year (only 20 years to go!!), and it's pretty big, so no chance of paying it off in the next couple of years. But I reckon I still need a target to start making a difference, so I'm going to stick my neck out and say I want to pay an extra £6000 off the mortgage by the end of this year.

I'm starting a new job, so we're planning to put any extra money from that into the pot. I'm also going to try some matched betting and am going to have a good look around the site for other moneysaving/ making ideas.

I haven't yet worked out what difference that'll make if I can keep it going, but "every little helps...."

Best of luck to everyone, it'll be interesting to see how much we've collectively paid off this time next year! Is that what BellBell's planning to do?

I'm looking forward to keeping up with you all.

There is always room for one more! Welcome to the family lifebegins:j
That is also a really good idea to do a total paid off in 2008 at the end of December - I could also do one half way through the year as well:T You have been added to the first post

bellsbells

Thanks George for your post - I love reading about how other people do things! You make some really good points and I agree about the bread maker. Have you been over to the old style money saving board yet? There is a whole thread dedicated to the joys of breadmaking and it is a topic that comes up time and time again. In fact the whole board is a treasure trove of useful information on eating well and saving money amongst other things! Would you like me to add you to the first post with your target for the year to be mortgage free? (How fantastic does that sound:D )

Let me know.....

BB

sheslookinhot

Hello Folks,

I am also hoping to be mortgage free in three years. Seems like a coincidence since I saw this thread.

Briefly took out a £40K Interest only mortgage in 1991 due to complete on Jan-2015. ( I built my house at cost of £80K)

4 years ago I switched to 20K repayment and 20K I/O. Primarily to compensate for a reduction in expected endowment payout. Anyway, now at 5K I/O and I owe only 16K on the repayment. I have shortened the term to complete in 2009 by virtually doubling my payment from £450 to £790 in November 2007.

In 2007 reduced the capital from £26K to 21K. At the end of 2009 I recognise I will still have the £5K I/O part left. ( I want to keep an account with Nationwide just in case.

My goal is to think about paying this off, either from salary or from savings.

My main motivation was to clear the mortgage and think about buying an apartment on the Algarve.

In summary
Original Mortgage 40K in Dec 1990, due completion Jan-2015

Mortgage now 21K (Jan 2008) target completion Dec-2009

SALTY69

You have to love this forum so many people giving their accounts of the way they are going about being MF, It is truly wonderful that so many are helping each other just by putting on this forum what they are doing, no matter how trivial. The forum is a magic place and in about 4 years i hope to have done an amazing think and will have become MF. Oh one thing it has nothing to do with Mortgages but a film i have just seen when you get the Chance please sit down with the one you love and watch it, it is a truly great film and makes you think it is called "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freedman and Jack Nicholson. Must admit it made me think how lucky i am! ( I loaned it off a friend it is a new film so it might be hard to get old of for a while anyway)

Daft_Pegasus

A lot of new people joining up which is great and a nice lot of stories about how you've come to this point and how you plan to overpay in 2008. A big welcome to you all.

It's coming to that exciting time at the end of the first month. I've just calculated my overpayments for this month and am about to send the PM to bellsbells.

Personally I think a copy of these details should also be posted here (over view in post 1 and details in a new post) so that people can keep up with how we're all doing, be inspired by others (I'm off to dig out my bread-maker after I finish typing) and generally support everyone involved in this thread (and anyone lurking who might want to join in).

What do you think?