Sunday 8 February 2009

Snowballs and handbags

Bit of background. I wrote a few months back about the efforts we were making to repay our mortgage, loan etc early (with a view to retiring early, but I may not have mentioned that). Also it was one of my plans for the year to repay at least £20,000. I have a snowball calculator which I keep updated and everyone I make a change which will effect the end date then I record it. So I know, for example, that the reduction in interest rates knocked 6 months of my end date (yay).

Today I downloaded my bank statments for December and January. I analysed all the income, expenditure and transfers. I spent too much at Christmas but not so much too much! More importantly I discovered I spend £5276 on debt/mortgage repayment. That was more that I realised. This was mostly because I accidently both the old man and I set up standing orders on a couple of things. However we managed and so I am sticking with it going forward. So I have reapid over 1/4 of my planned amount in just two months. If I calculate the average repayment amount per month and run it through the snowball it actually bring the DMFD (debt/mortgage free day) forward to April 2019! Wow. Amazing. I could retire at 56. The only fly in my ointment is that naughty blogger over a Early Retirment-The Middle Way who is leading me astray with talk of property purchase.

SO on that happy note I am off to clean out my handbag with Laura.

7 comments:

  1. 2019, so close and yet so far away. I know what you mean about wanting to buy something now. It is a constant temptation for me too. It would be so much more fun to spend some money right now but that would extend my mortgage payoff. Do I really want to keep a job that long? Not really.

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  2. I see I'm still in trouble... :)

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  3. We paid our mortgage off about 3 years ago and because we were used to living on less, we continued to put the mortgage money into a savings account and now have a very tidy sum indeed!If only savings rates were higher!
    Still, at this rate we could buy another house...the start of a property empire?

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  4. Daizy, our mortgage has 25 years to run without overpayments so ten years is a walk in the park, relatively.
    Middle Way, yep!
    Chris, I am not really intending to work full time pm(post mortgage) but I might get a little savings built up from my pension or from other things. I do like my job, just dont want to do it forever!
    Lizzie

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  5. Wow you're doing so well, I should aim for retiring at 55, it's got a good ring to it :) oh and you're a very good girl for doing your handbag lol you did do it didn't you?

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  6. Where did you find your snowball calculator?

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