That's hilarious -- well, not Jobs' death, or the nonprofit aspect of the shirt sale, but it's funny that you thought of me! I am well, thanks; just crazy crazy busy. (And you?)

I'm not too busy to keep chipping away at the mortgage, though. I just scheduled the second October prepayment of $253. As of Monday, this should bring my balance below 66K, to $65,998.63. Yippee! Another thousand-dollar milestone!

P.S. For the record, yes, I did pay less than $175.

Another palindrome! Lots of those to be had this month -- eleven, to be exact!

Amazing to think that 2011 is nearing its end. The November regular principal payment has lowered the balance to $65,799.96, and the month's first prepayment will lower that still further to $65,599. As of now, I'm on track to break into the sixty-four thousandses by the end of December, which was my goal. Huzzah!

Raking season. The front yard is officially done, but the tree over the driveway at the side of the house is still finishing up, and the giant maple in the backyard is only just getting started. *Sigh.* Maybe I should buy stock in a company that makes leaf bags.

Meanwhile, my mortgage balance continues to flutter gently downwards. Made the second extra payment for a new balance of $65,349. The bank now thinks I'll be done in December of 2029. Little do they know!! Mwah-hah-hah-ha!!!!

I'm still amazed that this year is almost over. Where did it all go? Seems like just last week it was February, and a mortgage balance of 65K seemed far, far, in the future...

I don't know why I think we are twins birthed from different mothers. Right before I signed in today, I was looking at all the leaves in my backyard thinking, I really should rake before the rain comes, and then I thought 'nah, I'll sign in to GRS.' HA!!HA!!

Keep up the good work.

Well, here we are with four weeks left of 2011. The regular payment went through yesterday, and I've just scheduled the first prepayment for the month. As of Monday, my balance should be:

64,948.02

So I broke one last thousand-dollar mark before the end of the year!

Meanwhile I have been tweaking numbers for next year and wondering whether to really pump up the volume and push that number drastically downwards, or just stay the course and aim for 2018. I have to think about short-term big expense planning, and decide what I want to prioritize. Thinkety think think, thinkety think think...

The end is approaching! The end is nigh! The end of the year, that is.

I made the second extra payment this morning, and decided to add another 50 bucks so that I could end 2011 with a palindrome: $64,646.46. Hee hee.

The bank now lists the payoff date as October 2029, exactly five years sooner than the original finishing date of October 2034. At the start of this year, the bank listed the payoff date as December 2031, so I took 26 months off the length of my mortgage this year.

Finally made the leap and joined a gym, which will factor into my financial plans for the next six months, but to get myself back on track, I think it's worth the investment. I've been making all sorts of other ambitious financial plans, too...but you'll have to wait till New Year's to hear what they are.

Hope everyone has a great holiday, and see you in 2012!!!

This is great, we paid off an extra $5000 in principal this year and plan to do the same, or more (we've not finished our annual spending or savings plan for 2012 yet) next year.

Great job. I too am having difficulty deciding between various goals and trying to find the balance between enjoying some things now and saving enough for the future.

I'll be watching for your new goals.

Happy New Year! Here's hoping the Mayan calendar was wrong....

I'm going to bump up the prepayments this year to accelerate the mortgage paydown. Today's payment of $220 is a bit higher than last year's, and on the 17th, the second prepayment will no longer be $250 but rather $320. This year I'm aiming to get the mortgage balance down to: $55,818.

I've also decided to change up the way I try to reach various savings goals this year. Instead of putting lots of little sums in different pots every paycheck, so as to reach goals by the end of the year, I am going to aim all of my savings each month at one goal until I've reached it, then move on to the next. So, my first goal is another hobby purchase, and I'm going to point all my possible savings at it from now through April.

Today's prepayment will lower the balance to: $64,222. And we're off!

Alas, this month's savings plans were all thrown off kilter this week thanks to unforeseen canine medical issues. I love my dog dearly, and want to keep her well for as long as possible (she's thirteen and a half), but this means most of my savings plans need to be delayed by a month. Ah, well. That's life.

The mortgage plan marches on, however. We got paid early thanks to the MLK holiday, so I went ahead and scheduled the second prepayment for January 17. So, next week, my balance should drop to $63,902. Another thousand-mark down! I'll come back and update the amortization after the payment goes through.

Edit to update: the bank now thinks I will pay it all off in July 2029.

"Wake up, wood-chuck chuckers!"

Best movie ever. I watch it every year.

Speaking of doing the same thing over and over: I just made the first prepayment of the month. Combined with the regular payment, that will push down the balance to: $63,475.90.

I love watching the steady downward progress of your mortgage. I really look forward to the day where mine's similarly low.

(And thanks to you, I went home and watched Groundhog Day yesterday. )

This is one of my favorite threads on GRS. Congratulations on your progress so far!

I really hope I can make similar magic happen when I take out my mortgage this year.

Thanks! It's very gratifying that people actually read my little thread. It really helps that you're all keeping me honest and cheering me on!

You can do it, you know, chasingthegoodlife. In retrospect, I wish I had had the courage of my convictions and started doubling the principal right away, as soon as I made the first payment. I'd have paid it all off by almost exactly the same date, but without having to throw big chunks of extra cash at it, the way I am doing now. It would have made my budget that first year rather lean, but once you get used to the money being dedicated to something else, you get used to it being not there.

Funny the way you get into a habit. It felt weird at first, making the extra payments. But it would feel really weird now, not to make extra payments and not to watch the number drop so quickly.

I always read your blog - it helps me focus on getting the bank off my back quicker too!

Keep going amigo.