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Getting to MF one step at a time
Hello everyone, I am ready to embrace Mortgage Freedom (when it finally arrives)! I have been lurking on MSE and the MFW forum in particular for years. I love reading the diaries and they have been so helpful in making decisions about our financial future. I finally decided to go ahead and produce a diary of my own in the…
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Lurking MFW finally posting: Mortgage free in 2025
Hi everyone, I have found this forum to be such a pillar of sense and strength since I started using it passively (learning from everyone else) in 2005. I grew up in a fairly frugal household, though have seen mortgages testing marriages, relationships, mental health and careers so often around me that I've wanted to be in…
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Mortgage pay off now or later
Looking for a bit of help or expertise / advice on the best option to pay off the mortgage. Mortgage balance as of today is £52,466.88. I've inherited just enough to pay it off, however my 2-year fix (4.79% interest rate) does not end until 30/06/2025, and I'm keen to find the cheapest option. I think my options are: *…
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Mortgage Over-payments and Early Penalties
Hi, I know all the rules about early redemption penalties but cant find an answer to my specific question. I took out a 5 year fixed rate and have been allowed to overpay by 10% per year and I have kept my contractual mortgage payment the same. Therefore this means my mortgage will end before the 5 year fixed term is up.…
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Mortgage free in two years
What it says on the tin, really! For context, there’s me, Mr Baciamiancora and our 5yo. We earn around £155,000 between us. We have £260,000 left on a very low deal (0.99%) and it’s up for renewal in January 2027. The aim is to save enough in cash to pay it off because when I run it through the current deals, the…
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Overpayment question, please and thankyou.
I may be asking a really silly question that should be obvious to me. If a mortgage has a cap on overpayments at 10% to avoid a penalty, is this 10% of the starting value of the mortgage or 10% of the decreasing value? Also is the 10% inclusive of your normal monthly repayments or is it on top of your usual payments? eg.…
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mortgage free or carry on living near support?
I'd love some advice about my situation. I'm a single mum with 2 school age kids, who I have full time My current yearly salary is 50k, I get child benefit and some hit and miss child maintenance of around £150 a month (he is self-employed, it's impossible to challenge that) After taxes and pension contributions I have…
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Advice
I'm £12k away from being mortgage free, I currently have no boiler and a few debts to pay can anyone suggest any help to get a boiler and some home improvements done as my house is falling apart. Equity release is not an option as I need to be 55 Yr old so feel I've nowhere to turn!
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Beating the interest rates..
It's been a tough year financially, after moving to a bigger house with a bigger (35 year mortgage). We fixed for 5 years, and have just under 4 year left on the fixed term. I doubt we'll see such low interest rates again soon (if ever). So we will be concentrating on overpaying as much as we can to make the most of the…
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Overpay, or invest?
Hi, new to the forums, but this dilemma has been playing on my mind for a few months now. I was lucky enough to get a fix on my mortgage until Feb 29, with an interest rate of 1.8% It's a 30yr mortgage, so I was expecting to overpay to bring the term down if nothing more. Now that interest rates have gone up, I made the…
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Paying through the nose
I'm a decade long lurker on this forum but have never felt the need to contribute...until now. Some background I got interested in personal finance and FIRE in my mid 20s.I learned the power of compounding returns, so knew it was a huge advantage to start investing early. With that knowledge, I pumped everything I had…
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It was a Hobbit Hole, and that means comfort.
I wasn't sure about starting a diary, but on reflection I think it's good to get this written down. At the grand old age of 30-something I picked up the keys to my first property last Friday! It still doesn't seem quite real if I'm honest. I saved for years to get together a big enough deposit (buying on my own and live in…
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Baby Steps to a 10 year plan!
Today is the brand new day of my 10 year mortgage free plan! I love my home but I hate the fact that we will be paying it until my DH is 78 😳 Today I have taken the baby step of setting up a small regular overpayment. My plan is to gradually increase this regular overpayment as well as paying one off overpayments as much…
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Advise on fixed or variable please.
Hi. I owe £22,670 left on mortgage over the next 4yrs 4 months. I am in discussion with my lender ( West Brom ). I have the option on staying with the variable rate which is currently 6.49% or going over to a fixed 5.04% for a 2 yr period. I do have the option to over pay on both if we are able too. At the end of the day I…
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Halifax reducing monthly payments on a mortgage
Hello, Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I regularly overpay every year on my mortgage with Halifax. This year they have decided because I have overpaid they are going to decrease my mortgage payments so that my mortgage will still last the same amount of time. I am on a fixed rate mortgage and I feel like…
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Pay towards mortgage (2.6%) or save (5%)
Hey guys, We've got a mortgage of 18 years, but fixed at 2.6% for the next 5 years (we did a 10 year fixed mortgage in 2019! We know how fortunate we are!!). We'd been overpaying every month (£625 to £850) as we hope to pay it off by 2029 with a lump sum... however when the interest rate rose for savings we stopped…
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A brand new chapter
Hi On Friday I’m hoping to complete on my forever home. Not long out of a 20 year marriage & this is the first home I have ever purchased/lived in by myself. The fact that I was able to choose it myself and it ticked all my boxes was absolutely fantastic. Im 51 & hoping to pay off my 65K mortgage by the time I’m 60. I may…
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Mortgage free by my own merit
I've finally plucked up the courage to start a Mortgage Free thread here after being inspired by so many. I'm hoping that the accountability will help keep me focused and on the straight and narrow to hopefully see my Husband and I mortgage free before I turn 40. (It's my 34th birthday at the end of this month.) Our…
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What is the most efficient way to pay off my mortgage?
Currently if I overpay I'll be subject to early repayment charges. My current mortgage ends at the end of August. Will I still be have fees to pay if I pay when my current mortgage expires? Any suggestions \ links to info would be helpful.
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Dilemma on where best to spend savings
Hi, My dilemma is a privileged one, but one for my family nonetheless, and any comment is appreciated. I have around £95K in savings (from an inheritance), 30k of which is in an ISA and the remaining in a high interest account at 5% which is paid monthly. I get around £350 monthly in interest, which I leave to compound and…
