House Mortgage -- Countdown

[Randomsaver]

House Mortgage Debt . . . count it down.

I've a long waaaaaays to go . . 10 years including this year is my target.

Mortgage Principal : $207K

I've a long waaaaays to go . . 8 years starting Jan 1, 2016.

[Jluke]

Mortgage Principal : $153K

Closing the year's books. Everybody give yourselves a pat on the back for another year of payment stricken off the mortgage.

Merry Christmas to y'all!

Great job - looks like 40k reduction to principal in one year!!

Merry Christmas

[Randomsaver]

Great job - looks like 40k reduction to principal in one year!!

Merry Christmas

Thanks. If only it were so. That $207K balance was from 2 years ago post.

[Randomsaver]

Focused Debt : $19K

Happy New Year!!

Kicking it off a bit early.

Focused Debt : $17K

[snafu]

Good job! I think you'll find this will go faster as income will increase allowing for some to be added to principal direct pay down. Just focussing on it has made a huge difference already...don't you think?

[disneysteve]

Since I'm doing my year-end financial stuff, I figured I'd update my number on this thread. As of 12/31/15 we are at $43,324.90.

[Randomsaver]

Good job! I think you'll find this will go faster as income will increase allowing for some to be added to principal direct pay down. Just focussing on it has made a huge difference already...don't you think?

Definitely and hopefully. The partitioning to a smaller amount definitely helped me psychologically. Waking up and thinking I'm only going to pay $17K this year in debt is way better than waking up with hundred thousands of dollars in debt. I feel like I'm beginning to regain my sanity though I'm not there yet.

The good vibes in this thread is what is helping me get through and I want to thank all for your words of encouragement and cheering.

[JoeP]

Since I'm doing my year-end financial stuff, I figured I'd update my number on this thread. As of 12/31/15 we are at $43,324.90.

Great news! We are a little less ($31.5k) on our 15 year, and with the end in sight, we are tempted to pay it off early. But that would not be wise, so we just wait and look forward to payoff day.

[Randomsaver]

Happy New Year!!

Kicking it off a bit early.

Focused Debt : $17K

Focused Debt : $16K

[Nutria]

Focused Debt : $16K

What is "Focused Debt"? (Google wasn't any help.)

[Nutria]

Van: $4,800 (Matures Novem. this year)
House: $16,265 (Matures April 2020)

[Randomsaver]

What is "Focused Debt"? (Google wasn't any help.)

It's my own concoction. It's a portion of my mortgage principal that I wish to focus on to keep me sane as opposed to facing the entire big amount.

[Randomsaver]

Van: $4,800 (Matures Novem. this year)
House: $16,265 (Matures April 2020)

You're almost done! Congrats!

[Jluke]

January 2016: $51,985

I made my February payment; $2000 instead of the planned $1200; so $1100 extra.

February 2016: $50,109

Not sure yet what I'll do for March payment... or beyond. I can't seem to stick to a plan.

[Nutria]

I made my February payment; $2000 instead of the planned $1200; so $1100 extra.

Not sure yet what I'll do for March payment... or beyond. I can't seem to stick to a plan.

Create a spreadsheet with 12 tabs. The columns are what you're saving for: medical expenses, vacation, car repair, "unstructured", semi-annual auto insurance, tuition, property taxes, e-fund, etc. Mine has nineteen columns! The top cell of each row should be carry-over from the previous month.

Then enter additions and deductions to each virtual savings account. (Make sure the sums match your real savings accounts!!! )

At the bottom, sum up the carried forward balance and all monthly changes.

Since you know how much you save every month, know (approximately) when you're going on vacation, how much auto insurance is, etc, you can plug estimated expenses in July for vacation, December for Christmas gifts, etc.

Thus, you'll have a "black and white" forecast of your financial situation on which you can hang a solid plan.

This -- and a similar spreadsheet I use as a forward looking check register -- has been a real boon to our financial stability.