5 Ways Thrifty-Frugal Fun Made Paying Off Our Mortgage a BLAST!

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Today we have a guest post from Lindsey Ralston of Big House in the Woods. She’s sharing her personal story of how she paid off her mortgage early and had fun while doing it. Hope you enjoy it!

We paid off our first and only mortgage in 13 months. That made us debt-free and mortgage-free by 25. Some might say that saving intensely and being frugal must be a drag, but we employed 5 thrifty-frugal fun hacks that made paying off our mortgage a blast!

5 Thrifty-Frugal Fun Hacks to Make Saving Money Fun!

1. Make it a game

We never intended to have a mortgage. Debt is something we take seriously, and we consider a mortgage to be debt. The thought of having a mortgage for 15-30 years sounded suffocating. 

Just thinking about how we could have grandchildren before our house was paid for was just too much. 

So, we made paying it off a game.

I enjoyed looking over our amortization schedule each month. It outlined 15 years of payments and I saw it as a huge challenge.

When it became mortgage payment time each month, I would open our checking account online and mentally subtract $2,000 (our cushion). I wasn’t going to touch that money. Everything else was fair game to apply to our mortgage.

I would pay our monthly mortgage payment then see how many additional principal payments I could make on top of it. Sometimes I would call my husband at work and see if we could possibly just leave $1,800 in the account that month because I needed an extra $200 so I could squeeeeeze out a little more toward the principal.

One month we paid 13 principal payments at once!

Thirteen months later, we were debt-free and mortgage-free. I knew that amortization schedule like the back of my hand and I enjoyed crossing off payments in multi-colored highlighters each month. 

Seeing how much we could pay each month became a game and we had a blast.

We would cut expenses a little more each month so we could apply that money toward our mortgage.

I even created a spreadsheet that I posted on the front of our fridge. I would record every penny we spent that month. At the end of the month, we would look over our expenses and highlight areas where we could make improvement.

Saving money and being frugal (but wise) became a game that was literally paying off.

2. We Found Creative Ways to Have Thrifty-Frugal Fun

Date nights consisted of renting a movie from the library and watching it at home…because it was free…and fun.

We had so much fun going to our public library and search for a movie together. Then, I would cook a nice meal and we would enjoy our movie night! 

Also, each year our local zoo has a “Dollar Day.” Admission is only $1 per person and it’s a great way to have fun and not spend much money. We would enjoy a full day at the zoo then head over to a park for a picnic lunch. 

Sometimes we would smuggle in a granola bar or two just to avoid buying pricey zoo concessions but, you know, that’s probably not recommended. It would be better to eat a big breakfast, spend all day at the zoo, then chow down on your picnic lunch afterward. 😉

Do as I say, not as I do.

One time, we got a coupon in the mail from the hospital downtown. It was for a free slice of pie in their cafeteria. 

I thought it would be a great (and cheap) date night!

However, my husband drew the line. He thought that was just one step too far in the thrifty- frugal fun category!

I guess everyone has their limits. 

3. We Made It a Habit to Save Like a Millionaire

People don’t realize how frugal self-made millionaires are. I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and I’ve learned that if you want to save like a millionaire, then you have to act like a millionaire.

When many people think of millionaires, they think of reality TV celebrities with their expensive cars, endless shopping sprees, and mansions…and manicures…and puffy lips.

But that’s not real life for a lot of millionaires. Self-made millionaires know better.

Many millionaires are intensely frugal people. After all, they work hard for their money.

These millionaires know where their money came from – their hard work. It takes a lot of work to earn a dollar. It takes a lot of work and determination to earn a million dollars (or more).

You won’t often find a self-made millionaire bragging about expensive things they have bought. Many of them clip coupons, live in modest homes and shop at discount stores. They drive used cars and have a limited wardrobe.

They do all these things by choice because their money is valuable to them.

…and probably because they don’t want to be like those professional athletes you hear about sometimes who have blown it all and are now standing on the side of the road holding a cardboard sign.

We have always chosen to live well below our means. 

Our first house was priced well below what the bank said we could “afford.”

We made a $30,000 down payment and paid the balance off in 13 months because we chose to be frugal even though we didn’t have to. 

No one said we had to pay our mortgage off fast. The bank gave us a 15-year mortgage so what was our hurry?

We had a personal drive to beat the odds.

Our mortgage felt weighty on our shoulders even though it was smaller than most people’s. We wanted it gone.

Once we paid it off, we started saving (and investing) for early retirement.

Applying the money habits of self-made millionaires and continuing our fun, frugal life meant we were able to build our dream home with cash before we were 30 (hence my blog name “Big House in the Woods”), and we will be able to retire when we’re 45.

4 .Keep Your Eyes Out for Free Fun

Ok. I like inexpensive stuff. I really like free stuff…especially free experiences or entertainment.

While we were trying to pay our mortgage off as quickly as possible, we were constantly looking for ways to have thrifty frugal fun!

We had a blast and came up with so many ways to have fun on very little money.

Like…

• We went to the zoo on Dollar Day.
• We rented movies from the library.
• We went to museums.
• We visited parks.
• We visited friends.
• We rode our bikes downtown (and almost got run over so I wouldn’t really recommend it).
• We went to see dollar movies.
• We went hiking.
• We went on picnics.
• We planted a garden and enjoyed the vegetables we grew!
• We went to outdoor art festivals.
• We went to city festivals.
• We went to strawberry festivals.

Basically, we went to a lot of festivals…

We had garage sales and made a bundle while we were at it!

By keeping our eyes open for free/cheap experiences, checking local websites, and pretty much keep our ears to the ground, we were able to have amazing experiences for cheap!

Oh, we even went to a festival called “Toad Suck Daze.” Thankfully, it has nothing to do with sucking on toads…

5. We Took Home All the Leftovers

Perhaps I should hang my head in shame for this one, but I don’t.

Nope.

I am proud to say that anytime we had meals with family or friends and they asked, “Does anyone want these leftovers? Otherwise, we’re just going to throw them out.” We proudly raised our hands.

Obviously, we made sure they hadn’t been sitting out too long and that no one had double dipped because, you know, that’s gross.

Thanksgiving: “We have half a turkey left. Does anyone want it?” WE DO!

Church small group: “We have all this cheese and crackers left over. Who wants it?” ME!

Husband’s Work Christmas Party: “We’ve got an entire container of brisket, 3 containers of mashed potatoes, 15 hot rolls and a bucket of green beans that haven’t even been opened. Does anyone want it?” YES! 

By now, you’re probably thinking I’m crazy, but we’ve had some really awesome date nights at home with leftovers from company parties! 

And now that we’re the proud parents of three sweet children, those company leftovers have even fed our entire family for days!

This hits the top of the charts for thrifty-frugal fun! 

I mean, honestly. Who doesn’t love free brisket? Or Thanksgiving turkey? OR HOT ROLLS??

Paying Off Our Mortgage Was a Blast and We Had Tons of Thrifty-Frugal Fun

I want you to know that your journey to financial freedom doesn’t have to be a drag.

There are plenty of ways to have fun if you keep your eyes open and put on your thinking cap.

We had a blast paying off our mortgage while looking for ways to stay entertained. 

Some of our methods might seem crazy (albeit quirky at times) but I look back on those days fondly. We had fun!

Lindsey Ralston is the personal finance guru behind BigHouseintheWoods.com. She and her husband have been debt-free and mortgage-free since they were 25. Currently, they are on a path to retire by the time they are 45. Lindsey is on a mission to teach people How to Save Like Millionaires so they can achieve financial freedom and live their dreams.