How do you stay motivated to pay off the mortgage???

**nuisance26** · 05-07-2011, 05:11 PM

~I'm blogging about it. It may not be terribly interested for someone else but it's helping me stay excited.

~

**mndtrp** · 05-12-2011, 05:18 AM

Originally Posted by morrisjlm3

Although I rent, from my perspective I think staying motivated to pay a mortgage is much easier! I feel like I'm throwing my money away every month. With a mortgage you're building equity and putting your money into a lifelong investment.

If it makes it better, feel like you are throwing your money into all of the "free" services you get by renting: landscapers, electricians, roofers, plumbers, appliance repairmen, general contractors. Maybe even carpet cleaners, pool cleaners, and people to maintain gym equipment.

Bi-weekly payments may only be applied once a month, you'll have to verify with your bank how they handle these types of payments.

I stay motivated by watching the amount going to principal increase each month.

**TheRootedNomad** · 05-12-2011, 10:00 AM

Wow!!! An old thread bumped. I needed to see this about now so a big Thank-You for bumping it.

Originally Posted by TheRootedNomad

This is too funny ladies....I don't have a graph but I have numbers from 1 to 610 written on a poster board with each number representing $100 that I just put up last week. I figure DH and I could cross a number out randomly for each hundred we turn in.

So Nov. 1st, 2007 we still owed $61,000 in principal. So in 3 and a half years, or 42 months, we've about halved that. I'm actually hoping it's more than half down. Inspired by this thread I will probably call for an updated amortorization schedule later today. I haven't looked at the mortgage numbers since the end of last year. Toward the end of 2010 things started getting a little crazy in the money department. As it stands now DH just went back to work a few days ago. He hasn't been "employed" or collected for not working, since before the end of the year so there hasn't been any extra to put anywhere.

Our above stated chart was effective until I got a supervisor that made me completely stressed all the time. Then it didn't matter how many numbers I got to cross off it wasn't fast enough. The chart went away in a private hissy fit/pity party I had from which I felt much better and emerged with a new plan of attack. The mortgage was no longer the goal. Funding in place for telling my supervisor to shove it, at a time frame where I could spend some time with the kids before getting a new job was. I had a new chart going for that. Then low and behold, bye-bye

supervisor, hello to staying put again.

It was shortly after this point that our finances started going haywire though.

I'm just starting to put everything back in line with what extra goes where. Obviously, hitting it really hard and paying it off in the 3 years from when I started this thread didn't happen. I'd REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, like to hit that 5 to 6 year goal though. That gives me between 18 and 30 months left. It might be doable if there aren't anymore large monkey wrenches. I guess it's time to refocus.

A new motivation.....this thread. Thank-you all!