Are you one of those people who just wants to clear the mortgage off quicker than the term you've borrowed over?
If that's a yes, then welcome to my new blog where each month I'll be listing my progress on my target of overpaying my mortgage by £1000 this year, and feel free to add your progress too!
I've set up a Standing Order from my bank account for £20 per week which will hopefully achieve the aim of clearing the decks quicker than expected.
For the record, I've got 14 years left on my mortgage, but I'm intending on reducing that to 12 right now so that I can be mortgage free by the time I'm 50 - and as my 38th birthday arrives later this year - it's a great time to start overpaying.
Some of you may of course have been overpaying for years on end, but I've just made my first overpayment this month - finances have dictated that I couldn't do so before, but 2011 was time for a change, and that is why I've committed myself to doing this, this year.
So, if you've read this and are in the same boat - a mortgage to pay off - then why not consider putting a little extra away each week, for instance say you've got a £100,000 mortgage, and you have a mortgage rate of 4%, that probably costs you about £530 a month, but just another £5 per week means you'll knock 18 months off your mortgage - yes 18 months for just a fiver a week.
That fiver probably gets wasted on booze, fags, a dvd, or on the mobile phone bill. In my life a bottle of wine probably costs me around a fiver, and I know I have more than one a week, so I decided to stick a tenner a week away to my mortgage, than having those 2 bottles of wine in the middle of the week.
Now some may of course say, why bother, you could be dead in a month, so use it whilst you have it. Well yes, I could be dead next month, hopefully I won't be, and if it doesn't happen then in just 12 years time I can enjoy not having to pay a mortgage off, and life will be that little bit more easier to get through, so that's my motivation.
The end is in sight, and even if you have just started out on the mortgage, see what things you can do to save just a little bit each week...
There are plenty of films on the PC that you can get hold of, hook it up to your tv and watch those instead, it'll save you spending about £4 on the film in the shop which you'll probably spend a quid or so of petrol to get to, and chances are you'll grab hold of some popcorn too - and maybe that bottle of wine!
So, that would maybe cost about £10, well check the internet, find that film for free, have a look in the fridge or the cupboard and you'll find something as a substitute, and that money can be put away as part of your mortgage reduction plan.
It's easy really when you think about it, the challenge is of course putting it into action - so if any of you reading this have any ideas on how you can throw little amounts in to help, then please leave your comments below.
Let the fun begin!
