A question about : New year, new challenge! Only Ј108,454.91 to go!
Hi all
Have decided since it's a new year this would be a great time to start my own MFW diary! Have just signed up to the MFW 2015 challenge with a goal of overpaying Ј2500 in 2015 
A few months ago I discovered MSE's mortgage overpayment calculator, and then this board... Since then I've become obsessed with the idea of overpaying and started lurking around here!
For background:
I'm 27 and live with partner who is 34. We bought our flat in June 2013 with a mortgage of Ј113,500 fixed at 2.94% for 3 years. Current redemption date is June 2038 and we can make overpayments of up to Ј500 per month. Both earn decent salaries (him more than me!) but also both like buying clothes, eating out, nice holidays etc...
Our flat was bought on the basis of being affordable... Fast forward 18 months and I have had a big pay rise since then so seemed sensible to start overpaying. We have started making a regular overpayment of a little over Ј160 a month (just takes the DD to a nice round number every month!) Realising that that wouldn't be a stretch and yet would take about seven and a half years off our mortgage was a bit of a lightbulb moment!
So, this may not be the most interesting/frequently updated diary, as we're planning to do a lot of it by regular overpayment. However, I have already become a bit obsessed with watching the numbers change in my online banking (Nationwide have a handy 'total overpayment' section!) so I'm hoping to also pump in as much spare cash as possible whenever I can... We do currently spend more than necessary so I know it can be done, both by cutting back and also by putting in any extra pennies from surveys, comping, etc...
My target for the year however is quite low, with the aim of being achievable for my first go at this! But also as I want to save at the same time - ideally we are looking to start trying for a baby by the end of 2015
Ambitious?! I guess we shall see!
Best answers:
- Very good luck on your mission
- Welcome and good luck with your journey
x - Good luck on your journey
- Well, didn't get my ebaying done last weekend but I put some items up this afternoon and two of them have bids already
Also, by doing absolutely SFA this weekend I have had two NSDs...
No more mortgage overpayments yet, but I did take something I didn't really need back to the shops on Thursday and stuck the Ј55 refund straight into savings. Baby steps! - Cannot quite believe payday is the day after tomorrow, and after transferring Ј50 to savings, I still have about Ј70 in my current account I thought this month would never end so pleased about that! I do still have about Ј500 on a credit card too but it's 0% for another couple of months and it's being dealt with so not too concerned about that.
Haven't made any more OPs this month but hopefully will be able to do an extra one over and above the regular one on payday! - Ergh, financials not looking so good as I had hoped for February. Spent a fortune on my sister's hen do at the weekend and my ebay sales have pretty much all gone on things I hadn't really budgeted for like shoes and underwear for the wedding.
Regular OP of Ј165.31 has come off for the month but otherwise don't think there will be too much MFW progress this month after all.
In more positive money saving news, I have finally transferred my savings from a cr*ppy ISA into a high interest current account and have earned Ј4.34 net in interest already. Baby steps!
To be honest I am feeling very up in the air about all my money plans at the moment as my partner has found a job he would love abroad and interviewed for it last week. Still waiting to hear whether he's got it just now and no idea how I feel about the whole thing. On the one hand I would love to move out there and it would be an amazing adventure (we both LOVE this place and have visited many times). On the other, I'd have to leave a well paid job here which I only started in 6 months ago. I don't speak the language and my job is not easily transferable to another country so I'd struggle for work and would have to start all over again career wise. And it would mean going back to far less disposable income, no ability to overpay mortgage, having to live in rented accommodation again, etc...
All of which is of course academic, as he may not get it in any event!! But doesn't stop me running through every possible scenario in my head! - Well, my partner didn't get the job abroad (or in fact, they have decided not to hire anyone at all until later in the year... They did say he was a preferred candidate and invited him to reapply if/when they re advertise). Feeling a little disappointed and a little relieved about that!
Think we are both reassessing our priorities as a result. On the one hand we did some mortgage overpayment calculations and realised if we made the max OPs allowed every month, our mortgage would be paid off in 10 years I.e. Mortgage free at 37 and 44!
Then my partner started talking about moving to a bigger place with 3 bedrooms however for when we have a baby Ahhhh. Basically I don't think we know what we want! - Good luck with your plans. It's a really supportive forum and you'll get lots of advice and support.
Best wishes, Tilly - Balls. Applied for a Tesco Bank current account (3% up to Ј3k) now I've maxed out the interest-earning amount with TSB. At the end it just said they'd have to do further checks and would be back in touch. Never had anything other than an automatic accept for any financial product before!
I did apply for both the TSB account and a new 0% credit card to replace deal that's ending soon within the last month or so. Hope I haven't damaged my credit rating with too many applications! I asked for no overdraft though as just going to use it for savings. Either that or it was too obvious I wasn't going to use the account as it was intended? They ask how much you'll credit it with each month and I said the minimum, Ј750.
That and I already have 3 other current accounts...! (Two are 'genuine' though, a personal one my wages get paid into and a joint one we each top up and pay all bills/household expenses out of) - Third NSD in a row!!
Don't think I've done that in YEARS Hopefully will keep it up tomorrow as have soup in the fridge at work for lunch and if I cave and buy a coffee (my weakness), I have enough Costa points to get it for free!
Would be great to have a whole work week of NSDs but I'm going for post work drinks on Friday and I care more about that than frugality so - Hi Velocity, you have already been on my diary and seen what happened to our plans to be mortgage free - but i still echo the overpaying method, we really would not have been where we are now without it. just wish we had started when we were your age.
My gran used to say "Man plans and God laughs" Life is meant to get in the way of our plans. Just don't buy any VW campervans! - Oh dear, not a great MFW week...
Only one NSD and we, errrr... might have booked a weekend in Stockholm on something of a whim... Definitely put paid to the hope of OPing any more this month. Payday in a week, thank god!
So, currently:
Mortgage balance: -Ј107,445.08
TSB Classic Plus: Ј2000
First Direct Regular Saver: Ј280
Credit card: -Ј800 (at 0%! Though still not great my CC balance has gone up rather than down since starting this diary...)
Good moneysaving things I have done this month...
Put up employee pension contributions to 10% salary sacrifice (employer will only match up to 4% sadly )
Upped my new First Direct Regular Saver direct debit from Ј100 to Ј180 a month - Still need to enjoy life as well as save pay off stuff so good work :]
The regular saver will build up nicely at that rate :]
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