With many choosing to ditch alcohol this January, Santander’s data shows how putting some – or all – of the money usually spent on booze each month towards mortgage overpayments could save homeowners thousands over the life of their mortgage.
According to statistics from ONS, the average cost of a pint of lager is £4.81[1] – a figure which is only set to increase. Calculations from Santander show that a homeowner putting the monthly price of twelve pints (£57) towards overpaying a 25-year mortgage of £200,000 at 4.5% over the life of the mortgage, would save £12,983 in interest and be mortgage-free two years and one month earlier than planned 2.
For heavier drinkers, the potential savings are even greater. Overpaying £144, the average price of thirty monthly pints, towards the same mortgage would save £28,373 in interest and reduce the term by four years and eight months.
Even committing just part of the savings could make a difference, with Santander accepting overpayments from as little as £10 per month, which, on a £200,000 mortgage, would save more than £2,490 in interest and shave four months off a customer’s mortgage term.
Graham Sellar, Head of Intermediary Channel – Mortgages, at Santander, said: “Whatever the reason for doing Dry January, there’s an undisputable benefit to your bank account. It’s tempting to spend that extra cash, but for those able to put even a small proportion of it aside, starting a habit of overpaying on your mortgage could reap huge benefits in the long run.”
| Pints drunk per month | Cost (rounded down to nearest £) | Interest saved over life of mortgage | Time taken off mortgage |
| 4 | £19 | £4,647 | Nine months |
| 6 | £28 | £6,730 | One year and one month |
| 12 | £57 | £12,983 | Two years and one month |
| 20 | £96 | £20,432 | Three years and four months |
| 30 | £144 | £28,373 | Four years and eight months |
Calculated on the basis of a £200,000, 25-year mortgage at 4.5% interest.
Santander makes it easy for mortgage customers to make a one-off lump sum or regular monthly overpayments through its online banking and mobile app. In 2024, Santander customers overpaid a total of more than £2.2 billion, with 30,000 more customers opting to overpay in 2024, than in 2023.
In the first few days of January 2025, Santander saw £100 million of mortgage overpayments being made by customers3.
