2019 Mortgage-Free Wannabes

Welcome to the Mortgage Free Wannabe 2019 thread! :j

First of all, huge thanks to hiddenshadow for setting up and running the last few challenges, and also for pawlala for updating the spreadsheet last year. Without you, I doubt we would have been able to overpay anywhere near as much as we did.

Because I don't think it can be said any better, here is the intro text from the previous years:

Mortgages can seem so huge and long-lived that it often feels pointless to make over-payments - what's the point in paying £50 off a £100k mortgage? But even small overpayments have a dramatic effect; that £50 extra a month would cut almost four years and £10k of interest off the mortgage. And £200 a month? Without any overpayments you'd still owe more than half the original balance after 15 years, with the £200 ... you'd owe nothing and be mortgage free ten years early. Big difference, and that's why chipping away at the mortgage with whatever extra cash we can muster is (for most of us, at least) one of the best long-term steps to improve our finances we can make.

Still, even when you 'do the math' the long road to getting rid of your mortgage still feels hard on your own, so we have this thread to set targets and report progress during 2019. Whether you're a brand new mortgage free wannabe, a veteran on the final stretch of the long slog, or someone who has cleared the mortgage and wants to provide some help and encouragement for others, this is for you. The challenge runs from January 1st-December 31st 2019, and you can join or change your target at any time up until December 31st. And if you're expecting to be mortgage-free before then, you're still very welcome. Likewise if you're saving towards something house-related (extension, new OP allowance, etc.).

SPREADSHEET
See how we are all doing on the big MFW 2019 spreadsheet HERE

Links to previous challenges are here:

• 2018 mfw
  
• 2017 mfw
  
• 2016 mfw
  
• 2015 mfw
  
• 2014 mfw
  
• 2013 mfw

TO JOIN

If you've participated in the last few years, please let me know by the end of January whether you want to take part again and what your goal is for this year. Please also let me know whether you would like to keep your number or whether you don't mind - I want to re-allocate some of the 'lower' numbers, so now is your chance to snap up one that isn't triple digits.

For all the new participants, please post on the thread and I'll allocate you a number - numbers will be first come, first served.

Bear in mind that the challenge runs for the 2019 calendar year when setting your target. You're welcome to track total payments, overpayments, savings, etc. - whatever motivates you!

UPDATES
To provide progress updates and/or change your target, just post on the thread - I'll 'thank' posts when I pick up the update. I do make mistakes from time to time, so if I miss an update or get it wrong then please let me know.

A few requests from me to make keeping track easier:

• When providing updates, please include your MFW2019 number and the month(s) you are updating
  
• Multiple overpayments in a month are fine and most certainly encouraged, but it will really (really, really) help me if you keep a running total when reporting updates (e.g. ...another OP of £200, which makes £600 in total for April...)
  
• It's fine to miss a month or two and then provide updates for several months if you prefer, but please make it clear what you want allocating where.
  
• It is helpful for me if you keep a running total for the year in your update post and/or your signature as I can cross-check the spreadsheet against your overall total, but this isn't required.

Updates also don't have to be limited to just your stats - a bit of chat and encouragement can be hugely motivating.

Finally: It's a new spreadsheet, and (as much as I hope not!) it may have the odd teething problem to start with. If you spot any mistakes, let me know, and I'll try and fix them ASAP. Similarly, if you have any requests for additional stats/features, let me know, and I'll see what can be done.