Get yourself a 'Mortgage Pig'

A question about : Get yourself a 'Mortgage Pig'

I decided a while ago that I really wanted my mortgage paid off. It wasn't very large to start with admittedly, but it wasn't coming down as quickly as I would have liked.

As the mortgage was one of those background constants that just gets paid every month without thinking about it, I figured that if it was in front of us and on our minds more, we might make more of an effort to collect more money to chuck at it.

So......I got a mortgage pig.

It's a large green pig which sits on my kitchen worktop in a very central position with a 'speech bubble' printed on A4 paper and stuck to the wall above it. The mortgage pig explains (in the speech bubble) who he is and why it's a good idea to check whether you really need that bottle of wine or takeaway and if it might be better to give the cash to him instead. It also a bit to remind us why we wanted to pay off our mortgage and lists the things we want to do in the future.

For some reason, (I think probably because the pig has introduced a fun type element psychologically), we tend to have more in there at the end of every month than we ever had to put towards an overpayment before.

Anything gets chucked in the pig. Loose change taken from trouser pockets before they go in the wash / coins that have been found on the ground (yes I DO pick them up ) and sometimes when I'm tempted to get a takeaway instead of cooking, I see the pig and it makes me think twice so I feed him the money and chuck a salad together instead.

Of course, sometimes if I'm in a right old mood and just want a takeaway or bottle of wine no matter what....I'll sling a tea towel over the pig and ignore the little swine.

I have a friend who found this more than a little amusing and laughed at me for being daft, but she admitted the other day that she has recently done the same thing and it's become a family ritual to feed the pig in her house now. Even her eldest offspring stick the odd pound in her pig on the passing sometimes. The pig seems more of a character than her large glass savings bottle ever was and they reckon he's part of the familynow, lol.

Somehow a personalised mortgage pig is more effective than a loose change bottle or whatever else you usually collect your odds and sods in. We've been doing this for a while now and it's been really surprising how much we've collected in the pig over a period of time. If all goes according to plan.......what's left of my mortgage should be paid off in 2 months time.

Maybe you should curb the urge to laugh.........and try it out instead?

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Best answers:

• I will both laugh and try it out.
• What a fantastic idea! As I'm sitting here at work, I just figured it would be great to have something similar here, which is where I fritter away most of my money when I get really bored (like today).
  Although since it's an open plan office I might need to find something more discreet than a large green pig.... Thanks for the tip.
• Hiya aliasogo (again)
  What a brilliant idea! Sooo impressed that I've nominated you for post of the month, hope you don't mind.
  This has inspired me to get my own pig....when I get my house
  Any chance of seeing a photo of you pig?
  MP
• Hi aliasojo
  Great thread thankyou. Will look for a nice one today and get saving.
• What a fantastic idea!!!! I'm off to dig out my piggybank right now and make a start on this
• Oh lol....and there was I thinking everyone would think I was daft.
  My mortgage pig is happy to attend a photoshoot this afternoon and will make a personal appearance here a little later today.
  I think the important factor is the personalisation of the pig and making him a character who wants to help you. Daft as it may be...it's all psychological and tackling mortgage/debt etc from every angle possible can only be a good thing. (Even if you run the risk of being thought of as a numpty )
  Don't forget to type or write out a 'pig statement' to put beside him (sorry for the male stereotyping here ), you need to remind yourself of why it's a good idea to stick in extra cash....seeing the pig by himself wont have the same effect.
  I should also add that he's been on the go in my house for just a little over a year now which is why he's made such a difference to our overpayments. He's staying put once the mortgage is paid off - we're in the habit of feeding him now.
• I just went onto Ebay and bought George the Get-Rich Gorilla, who is coming to live on my desk at work. Pending his arrival in the post later this week, I've made a start on feeding him up: borrowed rather than bought a newspaper (70p saved), forgone chocolate and coke (Ј1.05) and will spend this evening writing out a statement. He'll pay for himself in a week at this rate. And I get someone more intelligent to speak to in the office!
  M
• Meet Herman
• aliasojo Herman is fantastic Very inspiring. I will have to get myself a pig. Thanks for posting the photo.
• Thats a great idea = I've got a big pickle jar with Ј signs on it and about Ј50 in it now. But its boring! By a strange and mysterious coincidence, the little one bought her dear old mum a rather fetching piggy bank recently and as its so cute MR HQ has been chucking change in it like a man possessed. I think I may do a little poster and stick above Miss Piggy (its pink therefore is female according to the rule of the little one!) and see what kicks off. I have been overpaying my mortgage since they dropped the interest rate on my mortgage in November by just over Ј9 a month. Not a lot but I think its working out at knocking of 3 months of my mortgage and saving me about Ј750 in total. I have nearly 14 years left I already knocked off 3 years when I remortgaged and I'd like to pay off in 6 years time but will realistically take 10.
  PS Herman is quite the cutie!! Handsome and solvent!!
• By the way, do you pay it into your mortgage account monthly and put up a record of overpayments?
• I've done some quick sums in preparation for getting the Gorilla working. I'm amazed by what I've calculated. For the purposes of my statement it's written in the first person by the Gorilla but I'll quote directly...
  • "Say there are 20 working days in a month. 5 of those you buy a coffee which costs Ј2; 8 of them you buy a sandwich meal for Ј3.50; 5 of them you buy crisps, coke or chocolate at Ј1. That month you’ve spent Ј43, quite unnecessarily. I would look after if for you, and you could have Ј516 at the end of the year."
  • "Buy the paper once a week not 5 times a week , and read it on the web instead, and save 3 lots of 70p. That’s about Ј10 a month. That’s Ј120 a year!"
  • "Someone going to the pub and spending Ј2.94 per pint on 2 beers most days – say 4 of 5 – is spending Ј23.52 a week, Ј94 a month; Ј1223.04 a year. Put it in me instead, and watch your savings grow."
  • "Do all three of the things above and save Ј1859 a year"
  Just goes to show how money can be frittered away. And also that perhaps I shouldn't leave it hanging around at work of an evening....
  M
• Brilliant idea! Very inspiring. I'm on the hunt for a little piggie at the car boots next weekend
• Hi. I joined the site the other day but left without posting. Plucked up the courage to post today and wanted to say thanks and what a good idea. I want to pay more to my mortgage but my partner finds it hard to get enthusiastic as everything is done online and it's easier to forget about and not think about it even when we spend money on rubbish. Maybe a pig might help us too.
• What an amazing idea!! I think i might have to start a "saving for a deposit" pig!
• What a good idea! I have a wooden wishing well money box that is underused, I shall find a use for it now.
• I love this idea - as the OP said, it makes saving fun and gives a visual reminder. Also, as I love animals, the idea of having my very own house pig and feeding him regularly (I'm in the Ј2 coin club) definitely appeals! In true MSE style, I'll look round car boot sales or on e-bay for a pig.
  Herman the pig is a real cutie! Put a smile on my face