Paid another chunk off mine as I had accumulated savings and I keep flirting with buying expensive watches
Down to 19k now, so not much further to go before being mortgage free
![[FnG]magnolia](/styles/overclockers/avatars/9.png){kind=avatar}
Paying off our mortgage made zero difference to how I live my life on a day to day basis. It's not like I spend more money on luxuries or whatever. It did make me feel slightly more secure however to the extent I quit my job without another one to go a few years back. Had another kid since then anyway, goodbye mortgage, hello childcare fees
Without kids, it would be a different situation for you, you could e.g. just say stuff it we're going on holiday on some random week outside the school holidays with no constraints, using the extra money to fund that.
Shorter the term the less interest but higher monthly payments. However it’s usually to continue the count down of the years so in your example continue a new fixed term at 20 years. If you needed to reduce the monthly payments then extending it would do that and if you wanted to clear the mortgage faster then shorten it. However changing the term can trigger a review by the bank so they can check finances etc.
I thought paying off my mortgage would change my life massively.Paid another chunk off mine as I had accumulated savings and I keep flirting with buying expensive watches
Down to 19k now, so not much further to go before being mortgage free
You need a balance between living like a pauper and enjoying things while you can.I thought paying off my mortgage would change my life massively.
Instead I'm just stressed about retirement now and saving/investing aggressively and still living like a pauper.
You'd think I'd have sorted that out given I've seen too many friends and work colleagues die in their 50's (I'm mid-40s) but I just absolutely hate spending money. I blame my upbringing and also unexpectedly being made redundant when I was younger which caused the hardest times of my life. I've promised myself some proper holidays this year though, thanks for the nudge.You need a balance between living like a pauper and enjoying things while you can.
You'd think I'd have sorted that out given I've seen too many friends and work colleagues die in their 50's (I'm mid-40s) but I just absolutely hate spending money. I blame my upbringing and also unexpectedly being made redundant when I was younger which caused the hardest times of my life. I've promised myself some proper holidays this year though, thanks for the nudge.
Seriously though, paying off your mortgage is one of the best milestones you can hit because it suddenly gives you some interesting options for passive income, relocating etc. Getting there tends to involve a lot of painful sacrifices and I do wonder if I pushed too hard at times and missed some good opportunities.
Oh, I do remember being advised to invest a pile of cash I'd accrued and using that and the gains to pay the mortgage off several years later - well that advice didn't age well and I'm glad I ignored it!
The pile of cash was used to pay almost all of the remaining mortgage off in direct contradiction to the advice I'd been given - couldn't go anywhere or do anything much during lockdown anyway and I already have an emergency fund.What did you end up spending the money in instead?
My girlfriend reminds me that life is for living, otherwise I'd never go on holiday and would just buy random crap I don't really need and keep chipping away at the mortgage! I'd never even been abroad until we started going out so I was never bothered about holidays. (Still aren't to be honest but I do enjoy myself while I'm there!)
I'd happily just put that holiday cost towards a new gadget or toy or against the mortgage if she'd let me!
I've always bought things on credit cards and paid them off over time, either with or without paying interest and it never really bothered me until I got wiser and now it bugs me paying ANY interest lol. But needs must on a mortgage and it's still better and usually cheaper than renting!
Ah I understand now, I read that sentence as you used the money to do something else! But I see now.The pile of cash was used to pay almost all of the remaining mortgage off in direct contradiction to the advice I'd been given - couldn't go anywhere or do anything much during lockdown anyway and I already have an emergency fund.
See that's something else that disappeared - the need for random crap. I'm the complete opposite now and am always getting rid of stuff - I prefer experiences over things and those don't necessarily have to cost a load of money anyway.
Good work weaning yourself off credit but it does have its place. 0% credit cards are great for doing stuff like a new kitchen which you can pay off over time - as long as you make the payments like clockwork and make sure you don't incur interest. Best of luck getting your financial freedom!
You’ve got it absolutely right.Too many people became fiscally irresponsible because they wanted their “dream home” and over-leveraged themselves.Ah I understand now, I read that sentence as you used the money to do something else! But I see now.
Our house isn't an amazing one by any stretch but it's good enough and I like it. If things had gone well with work shares we could be mortgage free by early 40s but it's looking like mid 40s now. I need a new car too so I'm toying with either something cheap, to stay on track with the mortgage, something reasonable so may be on track with the mortgage or mid life crisis and push back clearing the mortgage to late 40s!
I've got about 10k on credit cards (all interest free) and the same in premium bonds so I'm hoping for a big win but just cashing them in as I need to clear the cards. I'm not bothered about debt I just prefer not to pay interest on it and as you say, 0% cards are great and the balance has been for holidays and a few things for the house.
Yeah the fact we're mortgage free needs to be considered in the context that we still live in the same house we bought over 15 years ago, since then we've both grown as a family (2 kids) and increased earnings (my wage has more than quadrupled) - in those circumstances, I suspect the majority of people would have traded up to a bigger, more expensive home.
We had a 20 year mortgage, 18 month fix. When the fix was up, we changed to a 7 year term lifetime tracker as I predicted interest rates were very likely to drop, I had a small inheritance and I also earned more money. Basically the term length was driven by what was necessary to make monthly payments of £x, this was a value we were comfortable with.
I'm on the cusp of accepting a 5 year mortgage with HSBC on 4.04% and paying the ERC charge of 1.1k (which pains me, as that's a new Ps5 and some games) to switch from a 2 year deal on 5.84%. Right now, this will save us about £66 per month that if I overpay for 5 years, will shave about 6k off the mortgage when we renew. Right now, this sounds like a no brainier.
BUT... are we on the cusp of a crash worse than the banking crisis? Debt is massive, our UK debt (and US) is massive and high interest payments just compound this. Interest rates are high because of inflation but high interest rates can cripple an economy if the debt payments are so high, which they are!
Employment is high (from what I can see) so now should be the time where we are making good progress to reduce our debts but according to the ONS, our debt is just going further up! High interest rates stagnate companies, people lose their jobs and rely on government handouts, people pay less tax and that debt is going to go up even faster!
If we are back to pre banking crisis then 4% is a good rate and I should snap their hand off to accept it! But the banks only offer this because they believe the rates are coming down, potentially below 4%.
My girlfriend is money savvy in the sense she has no debt but talking to her about this stuff just gets her ready to slap me.
I'm not financially educated in the slightest but research and learn myself and I just feel like I'm seeing a good rate right before something massive kicks off!
Did I say I procrastinate too much? (Goes off an orders a Ps5!)
