To Freedom...

A question about : To Freedom...

Hello folks,

Been lurking around here for a while and wanted to start posting. My OH and I have been paying a morgage since we were 18 and finally paid it off this year. We found it hard going in the early years and would often joke about being in our early 40s with no morgage. However, moved house a few years ago to a much more expensive area and had to take out a further advance which had another 15 years to run. Meaning we would have paid a morgage most of our working life

When I found this site, I learned the benefit of overpaying and have been doing this for a while now. Have managed to cut our eventual date by 2 years and 3 months. With both morgages we were due 120,000, now we only owe 58,300. Our fixed rate finished this year and is now half of what we previously were paying.

We live with our adult son, and our daughter has recently arrived hime from living abroad, so space is tight. My OH has gone from being not very interested to being more moneysaving than me...I have created a monster

I have recently changed jobs for one with more sociable hours, but slightly less pay, OH is self employed and his earnings are very variable, the kids are paying a small amount for rent. Our plan is to throw as much as we can at the morgage whilst rates are low, live frugally and try to get rid of this. Then we might be able to help the kids out with housing...Well a girl can dream!

Best answers:

• Well done so far and welcome to mfw's
• Well done so far and I hope it all goes well for you x
• Thanks for the welcome. Spent the evening selling some old books and Ј15 for them, i need to start ebaying, but have not done it for years, and a bit nervous of starting again after my account was hacked. I sold some CDs to music magpie, some gold to Tesco and some textbooks to Fatbrain, which all got decent amounts, but do need to get back to ebay.
  Working tonight and tomorrow night for my old employers so can look forward to some extra cash in jan. Snow is bad here and more due, so hope i get home safely! Hate the white stuff!
• had a nsd thanks to a free lunch at work today, so managed a Ј15 overpayment. total is now 58,293.
  Got more overtime tomorrow night, then christmas work night out on saturday. Meal already paid for, and can wear last year's outfit as this is a new job, so workmates have not seen this dress before! We were thinking of staying in the hotel, but decided to come home instead to save some more cash.
• another Ј4.19 for the pot today, money credited from TCB. I love free money!
• Welcome and good luck with your journey!
• Hi there. I'm a newbie MFW too - it's very motivating to read other peoples diaries and I'm finding that keeping my own diary is keeping me more focused.
  Well done on your OPs so far.
• thank you lulubelle and skittle. i find keeping the diary is keeping up the motivation. had another nsd, left my job and teatime and drove to my old place of work but forgot to pick up a sandwich for tea. Halfway through my shift, my tummy was rumbling, so an old pal donated a bag of crisps. What a star!
  Oh, but i can hear the shops calling tomorrow...
• Hi Kirsty well done on the nsd. It was a close call. Have a good evening.
• Good luck on your journey to become mortgage free
• thank you, had work christmas night out last night, was pretty bad..although our table won 2 magnums of bubbly for dancing, so only needed a tenner in the kitty for drink after that. Food was terrible - all these christmas party nights are the same, aren't they?
  went shopping yesterday morning and picked up some bargains. got a sweater reduced from Ј140 to Ј20, and some CK boxer shorts that should have been 18 quid reduced to 12.50, had a Ј10 voucher so only 2.50. nice stocking filler for son. Then met up with a couple of freinds who were in town for the weekend and treated them to coffee, I might be penny pinching, but am worried about having no pals left during this period of being a miser.
  DS, who has a language disorder, just came to tell us our neighbour has parked a yacht in our shared drive..it is actually a canoe Thats a relief.
• Hello,
  Good luck to you. Like you, we have adult children and it often seems the wrong way round when they are more extravagant than we are! But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and are racing towards it.
  All the best,
  Squirrel
• Thanks squirrel, your figures are impressive! This is definately more of a sprint than a marathron now, for various reasons.
  I have Ј45 left over from last weeks budget, and bagged up Ј20 in 50p, so off to the bank this morning to pay that into my slush fund. All spare bits of cash end up here to be overpaid at the end of the month.
  Also i bought a bit of equipment for my work and my manager has said she will refund me, although it is not an essential bit of kit. I wasn't going to ask, but got cheeky and another Ј21 coming my way.
• some miserly things i did today to save money
  took DH car to work as his business pays for petrol and he didnt need it today.
  charged my ipad at work- one of my bosses saw it and said he would send me a bill! told him I was thinking of getting my washing machine plumbed in the corner of my room to use even more of his electric...
  2 NSD in a row
  made a Ј6 OP to tidy up my current account.
  made a cheap chilli in slow cooker, added in loads of beans and green lentils, so there is enough for tomorrow night tea and a couple of portions to freeze for another night.
  Off to make some gingerbread from the store cupboard to keep bosses happy and stop them moaning about using their electric to charge phones, satnav, ipads, etc.
• got a cheque from webuybooks for Ј15.75 today for some biographies that i wasnt going to read again, so will OP that tomorrow. And had another NSD, should manage another one tomorrow. Also picked up 5 hours work next sunday morning (at sunday rates) so that should be in the bank at end of jan.
• managed to bag up some Ј2 coins for the bank this morning, and OH just handed a cheque he got for some work he carried out extra last month, another Ј381.50, so hope to OP most of that. A few weeks ago he would have kept most of it, now he wants it all paid to mortgage to see balance come down
  I have managed to keep a tenner in my purse all week, not spent anything. Tomorrow night, however, I have a night out with some old pals for a meal and drink. Booked an apartment in town ( very cheap, only 64 quid for the night and breakfast thrown in too). Looking forward to that, then a bit of shopping on saturday morning, maybe treat hubby to lunch (if I can find a deal)
• night out on friday night was quite expensive, lots spent on drink oh well, was a great night. Bought the last christmas present, and managed to resist the Hotel Choclat shop
  Was supposed to be working this morning, but was called in last night instead for a night shift, cos of staff shortages. It was awful, really busy and did not get a break all night. Finished at 5.30am and had a bit of sleep. Still, it will be another bit to overpay in jan.
  Got 2 lots of rent from the kids, they give me Ј50 a week to cover their share of food and bills. I still feel bad taking cash from them, as they are both on small wages, but it does help and stops us feeling resentful when they eat everything in the fridge! I might keep some of as mad money rather than op, would be nice to have an extra 100 quid in the shopping budget this week. And off to an art exhibition of a freind this afternoon so might treat ourselves if we see something nice.
  OH got his tax bill in, double what he thought He keeps threatening to fold the business as not making much money.
• more overtime today and tomorrow, although i will take some of it back as time back and be off christmas eve. Well, it is not all about money...Did get Ј21.39 today for expenses so overpaid that.
  had a cheap tea tonight, sweetcorn soup and a loaf for 10p. We did talk about going out to eat, but changed our mind as too tired.
  Watching a programme about Claridges, when I pay this morgage i am going to book in there for a night. Maybe for my 50th birthday?
• got another hour overtime at work, then met DD at asd@ where works to buy some booze for xmas. Took all my small change and with her discount got about 20 quid off the total of 70, so am happy with that.
  Last night met my pub quiz team and had a free meal thanks to winning a few weeks ago, the prize is always a food voucher in the pub. We won again, so another meal in january.
  We are feeding about 30 on Sunday, but not going to go mad, just making a chilli, rice and some tortillas, maybe a batch of sausage rolls for those who dont like chilli. got a vegatarian to cater for, so will have to think of something for her. Will need to go to supermarket soon, havent been for about a month! Usually at this time of year my fridge is groaning with goodies, but we are holding out as long as we can and buying the minimum, better for our waistlines too