Not long before I was directed to Mr Money Moustache, I idiotically signed up for finance on a 3 year old car. Interest payments alone, over the five years, totalled £2800!
Once I began reading this site in earnest, it dawned on me (or I managed to admit to myself) that I had a been a complete numpty ever agreeing to this in the first place. Rather than wallowing in the misery of my dumb decision, I began to wonder what, if anything, I could do about it. Looking into the possibility of paying off the finance early, I discovered I could ask the finance company for a settlement figure. I got the figure and then discovered that, as interest rates are very low at the moment, small personal loans from banks were very competitively priced. I visited a few comparison sites, found the best rate I could, did a calculation on borrowing what I needed over 3 and a half years (meaning I pay a bit more per month than I am now, but am fully paid up eighteen months earlier) and found that the total cost in interest would be just over £600, meaning I would save myself a whopping £2000, just sat at my laptop! I applied for the loan and have had it accepted in principle. Just need to sign on the line, hand the cash over and the work is done!
I would never have done this without this blog so I almost feel like I owe MMM a cut of what I've saved! He won't be getting that but I am very thankful indeed that I found the site and have started getting our finances in shape. It means we're going to be one hell of a lot better off for the future, even if we don't quite make early retirement.
I was going to celebrate by paying to stream a film on NOW TV but the one I wanted to watch was too expensive so I watched one on BBC iplayer instead, for free! This mustachian living is addictive!