Does money stress you out? It stresses me incredibly. There is a lot of emotion involved with money. But it's also just math, just numbers.
When I can focus on the just math, just numbers I tend to do much better. Still, beneath it all, lies the emotion.
The major stressor, for me, is my mortgage. It simply doesn't matter that I could sell my home today and make a profit. The mortgage still seems enormous to me. And when the panic sets in, I try to grab it and shove it into a tiny closet in my brain and lock the door. Well that is what I do during daylight hours. At night I simply don't sleep while panic comes out to pace ;-)
One of my goals for 2017 is to mentally wrestle with my mortgage balance and determine what MY number is. You know the number where you can sleep at night because Pru has a real hard time sleeping these days.
When I do sleep, I dream about taking all my cash (including sofa cushion coins), and all my investments, cashing it all in to repay my mortgage. Of course, then a little Pru comes out of another closet in my brain and knocks some sense into me. Because if I were to do that, I would have a paid-off home but not a penny to my name and I would be even more stressed out.
Equilibrium is what is needed.
Next year, I intend to take most of my mid-year bonus and throw it at my mortgage. I think that will do the trick to get me a little more comfortable. But not 100% comfortable.
I don't want to deny myself things but I do think that 2017 will be a bit more of a buckle down year in terms of spending. I want to put more money aside and put more money towards the mortgage.
I know that it is a journey and with it lots of stops and starts. But if I can go 90 mph at times, then I will. And it is looking like 2017 will be that year (motivation will find me again!).
That isn't to be say that I will leave the savings and investments alone. No, they too will benefit from penny pinching. They have to.
Now we are in the 2 week stretch towards the end of the year. Folks it's time to close out the books and make a plan. I do so love this time of year! But a lot of work still needs to be done.
Onward and upward!
Pru
My personal bank account is at the same bank as our mortgage, so I can see our mortgage when I log in to my account online. I was able to make an extra mortgage payment last year and, when I did, the site told me how much earlier our mortgage would be paid off because of that payment and how much interest we would save. I have those numbers written down somewhere. It was a wonderful feeling and I am determined to make many, many extra payments. For us though, we have higher interest rates to focus on first. But making those extra payments is a primary focus.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have trouble sleeping, no matter what is keeping me up, I repeat 3 positive things over and over in my head. If it was the mortgage keeping me up I might repeat "that extra payment is saving us x in interest", "our interest rate is super low", "paying accelerated and bi-weekly is paying it off even faster". I just find that refocusing on the positives helps me relax.
I would think that a careful look at all the interest you've saved with extra payments here and there would be both motivating and calming for you, Pru. You are one person doing an incredibly good job of preparing for your future. I think we all have reasons to worry, definitely, but be confident in your ability to look after yourself no matter what happens. From what I have learned about you in the blog world you are incredibly hardworking, resourceful, determined and smart. It's not a question of "if" you succeed but only a matter of when. I hope that 2017 is a year of leaps and bounds for you! Jill
I love mortgage calculations! I am so glad that so many sites now help you to calculate the savings in interest/years with extra payments. It's a generic rule but I believe if everyone made one extra monthly payment a year, they shave off something like 7 years - pretty cool if you can swing it.
DeleteI probably have way too many calculations at this point regarding my mortgage. But I do love my spreadsheets. Strangely not much seems to calm me. I think the trick is figuring out exactly how much to pay off and what balance needs to be in my savings accounts to feel okay. That will definitely be the goal.
As for interest, I've already shaved off a ton - very happy about that. But you know me - not good enough :-)
2017 will be good for all of us (2016 was such a bad year it has to be!)
~ Pru