Thanks Cecily.

At the moment, I am putting money towards the mortgage payoff using the same budget as when I was saving for my deposit. I'm already used to living on that budget and not feeling deprived, so I figure I may as well continue while the mortgage is still fun and new and there are no other goals (ie kids) competing for my attention.

I decided to the move the goalposts because it became obvious that I was going soon going to pass 10k just with my budgeted contributions. 15k will be a slight reach, so it will be exciting and rewarding if I can make it.

My September payment just went through so here is the goal update:
Mortgage principal paid: 9591/15,000 (63%)
Travel fund: 500/2000 (25%)
Reading currently: Alan Kohler's Eureka Report: A Guide to Personal Investing. (Nearly finished!).

I also bought a bike this month and have started riding to work most days. I started this to improve my fitness but I also wonder if this will save me money long-term (train fares, gym membership, health costs?). I have a not-very-serious goal of making the bike pay for itself within a year through reduced public transport costs - we shall see

Posting outside my usual once-a-month update to say:

I MADE MY INITIAL 10k GOAL! Wahoo!

Celebrated with a Vietnamese meal and bought myself some crispy new cotton sheets. Clean sheets are one of life's small pleasures, for sure.

Now onto the next 5k.

Congrats on making the 10k!

October goal update:
Mortgage principal paid: 11,660/15,000 (77%)
Travel fund: 700/2000 (35%)
Reading currently: The ASX (Australian stock exchange) shares course (http://www.asx.com.au/resources/shares-courses.htm)

The happenings:

• Only two more months until I move into my house!
• It looks like interest rates are on the way down again, which means more money going towards the principal. Love it.
• After 6 months I've made 3 years and 9 months worth of progress on the loan... would be excited if I didn't know there was another 26 years or so to go
• Finally got some income protection insurance sorted out.

Thanks again for the encouragement folks. Tracking things here is def. keeping me motivated.

November goal update:
Mortgage principal paid: 14,090/15,000 (93%)
Travel fund: 820/2000 (41%)
Reading currently: Understanding Investments by Charles Beelaerts and Kevin Forde

• The (year) end is in sight. Still thinking about goals and hopes for next year ... renovations ... travel ... paying off massive amounts of principal ...
• Got a government credit I wasn't banking on, put it straight towards the mortgage. Love that.
• I've made 4 years and 5 months worth of payments so far, hoping I will hit the 5 year mark before the end of the year.
• If I was making the minimum payments I would have only paid off $1623.47 by now. That's nothing. Some people spend more than that on a pair of shoes.

DEATH TO ALL MORTGAGES.

$14k paid off. That's awesome!!!

December goal update:
Mortgage principal paid: 16,048/15,000 (106%!!)
Travel fund: 940/2000 (41%)
Reading currently: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (not liking this much)

• 15k goal, demolished. Not quite sure where the extra money came from this month, but I'm not complaining.
• When my next pre-payment goes through next week, I'll be at the 5 year mark for principal payment! Not back for a loan I drew down in April.
• I'm moving into my house next week! There's a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge right now.
• Saving a little bit each fortnight in a 'Christmas' sub-account has made gift buying so much easier. Definitely going to do this again next year.

Merry Christmas all!

Stay tuned for a 2012 wrap-up at the end of December.

Fabulous news on the mortgage! Must feel great to see your term pass by so much faster than calendar time I hope your move goes well. Merry Christmas!

Great job on the mortgage!!

Thanks all.

The move was incredibly stressful and I'm flip-flopping between being excited about this whole home-ownership business to being completely overwhelmed by the responsibility and all the improvements we'd like to do. ONE STEP AT A TIME!

So, I thought I'd take some time out from stressing about paint colours and skirting boards to do a bit of a retrospective on 2012's finances.

What I achieved:

• Bought my first home - the end result of 7 years of saving.
• Paid a grand total of $16,548 off the mortgage, which is where I would be after 5 years and 1 month of minimum payments.
• Took an overseas trip with money I'd saved, (had an amazing time), stayed within budget, and saved $1000 towards the next one.
• Learned a little bit about investing and the share market, something I previously knew nothing about.

What I learned about money and myself:

• Tracking spending, creating a million different sub-accounts and updating my goal spreadsheets has been both soothing and exciting. It hasn't made me obsessed with money or taken up all my spare time. I'm clearly a bit of a control freak, but if it only takes an hour a fortnight and it keeps me on track, I'm going to embrace it.
• I'm blessed to have a partner who understands and shares my attitude to money and financial security.
• I can have (almost) anything, but I can't have everything. Conscious spending on the things that matter most makes me feel rich.

Now to start a new thread with next year's goals....

??? Maybe Im just too much of a redneck. I understand hour, but the rest elludes me

Fortnight is an old term -- it has condensed over many centuries from the original term "fourteen-night," meaning two weeks. (Kinda like "Goodbye" originally was "God be with you.") I've always thought it sounded cool. But I'm geeky that way.

Thanks for the clarification.

Haha, this is funny because I was just reading a comment by chasingthegoodlife in another thread that included the word "fortnight" and I planned to look it up once I finished reading all the new comments in this forum. Now I don't have to -- thanks!

At least Im not the only one he tried to confuse. Now I don't feel so bad