DH keeps making mortgage overpyamentd ton reduce the term

[Redratefree]

We have a take home of £4k and a £1.9k mortgage. DH keeps making overpayments to the term of the mortgage, it was 27 years but it's been reduced to 25.25 years due to overpayments. However, I want him to reduce our monthly payments as this will give us more breathing space. He disagrees and wants to continue to reduce the term because it offers more flexibility when remortgaging. I received 2 emails from the bank this weekend for 2 overpayments of £500 and then one for £50, as soon as he gets paid he'll make an overpayment.

When I first had a mortgage I used to round up the standing order to the nearest £5

BUT it seems to me that with half your income going on the mortgage making significant extra repayments now for jam in 20 years isnt sensible UNLESS you are on a very low rate and you need to be ready for when you remortgage

Yeah & give your DC only the basics in childhood so you can leave them a fortune when you die!

I am actually a saver but there’s got to be balance! We went very few holidays as dc whereas my dc have had loads of holidays, days out & experiences. They have great memories now & my DH & I will still have a decent retirement without saving every last penny.

Do you both work?

Surely the issue is not necessarily whether overpaying is the right thing - which it may or may not be, principally based on things like what your pensions look like, what your interest rates etc are on savings as well as your mortgage - but the fact that DH is making this decision without respecting OP's opinion at all.

That's a completely dick move, even if done with the best of intentions.

We did not overpay because we wanted to enjoy life whilst we could and have active hobbies which included some competitions. Later we did overpay, by then our careers were generating higher salaries.
From those early years we have wonderful memories. Paying to own a few more bricks of our modest house would have added very little to the lives of our family.
btw we are both investment managers.

You get one life. One youth. One chance to enjoy the luxury’s in life. Why do people want to wait until their later years to reap the rewards of their hard work…when that bad hip means you can’t paddle board down the Wekiwa river?
I don’t get it. I couldn’t care less whether I’m rich or poor at the age of 83. Even the government is telling us to spend our money and enjoy life whilst we can, or they’ll tax our savings anyway. (As long as you aren’t using credit cards or loans.)

what good are clothes and nice things without a roof over your head you need to get a new perspective and grow up a bit it not hurting you it helping you poor man cant do right for doing wrong he should run

She said things were very tight.

Have you looked at the calculator of just how much more you pay by reducing the monthly amount rather than the term?

The MSE mortgage overpayment calculator is excellent.

It will save you thousands in the long run. You just need to agree how much fun money you need and then stick to it.

There is an argument that says the 8.5k saved is in "future money" and so the Net Present Value of that is roughly halved.

Some people think that you may as well let a debt like that be whittled down by inflation, meantime buying something better with the money (in an extreme example a BTL)

But for me, the most important fact would be when the term of your mortgage would naturally expire. If that's after the date you can retire (or want to retire) then it makes good sense to pay it down now and avoid that headache when you transition to life on a pension.

If it’s impacting your life then yes agree he’s being unreasonable if not then I’d definitely overpay. We did this and to be mortgage free is fantastic so much less stress

Also a mortgage payment of £1900 out of a £4000 salary is a lot.

What's the betting there is still cash for his 'serious' hobby but not for your haircut.

I'm confused why your battle ground is between reducing the term or reducing the monthly payment.

Does it not make more sense to continue to reduce the term, but, as you say you are struggling and want some more monthly cash for hobbies and clothes, just overpay less each month, and ring fence that.

Do you have have budgets to track all your monthly expenditure and income?

The other thing to consider is what is your current mortgage rate? As you may even be better investing the money rather than overpaying. I always quote it but Rebel Finance School is brilliant, lots of couples come on the course together.

We did this and paid off our mortgage in eight and a half years. I agree with your husband and think he’s being sensible.

While it makes sense to overpay when you can, overpaying by £1k when you earn £4k and mortgage is £1900 is a lot, that’s £2900 going to mortgage alone out of £4k and will make things tight. It’s a balance of living now and also making financial decisions for the future.

@Redratefree I also have a bigger issue with the fact that you’re not on the same page on your finances and he makes unilateral decisions on what to pay. Both if you should be having the discussion and reaching a compromise on what to pay not DH making the decision and doing what he wants.

Are you a SAHM or is he the higher earner? This comes across as the dynamic where he earns more so feels he can do what he wants without your input.

I get the kids clubs cost but what tuition do you think you will need? and is it that you want louboutins or do you knickers have holes in?

How much do you earn, how much does he earn?

You’ll get a different answer from me depending on your LTV. If it’s over 70% I would be team overpayment, otherwise I’d want a better balance.

Reducing the capital is wiser than reducing the monthly income, you save thousands on interest this way. Your husband is right as this makes the most financial sense.

I think next month write what you needed the money for that he has over paid each month , especially if he is causing you to struggle.
It's good if you can over pay but maybe it's too much.Maybe he could over pay a little less.

Not when that means £2900 out of £4000 a month with 2 kids.

What about car insurance or other expenses around the car like servicing etc? Also, this assumes you own your car. Don't you use other transport? No activities for the kids? A yearly holiday money of £1200 for the whole family?

This is a very modest budget you have presented that is missing a few bits many people pay for as mentioned cars, childcare, holidays.

I over pay by a small amount each month approx £150. Each year when we get our mortgage statement they reduce the monthly payments and then I keep overpaying the next year.
I do it whilst I can incase for some reason I can’t make the full payments or have to take a 3 month payment break (haven’t needed to so far because thankfully we’ve alway been able to make the payments) a financial advisor years ago advised us to do this years ago with our first property and it’s just a habit now.
Whilst I agree to some extent for living for now, I do have very inexpensive tastes, drive an older car and wear clothes to death before purchasing new.
We don’t go on foreign holidays, but holiday in this country and the house we live in now will be our forever house or at least until the children have grown.
Id rather overpay whilst still young enough to work and have good health, I work with many older people who are still having to work more hours then they would like to in their mid 60’s onwards due to financial pressures.