Debt Free? Now what?

reformedspender

Well I am debt free now too but am desperately saving for a deposit for a house. I'm collecting the two pound coins for me though: for when I feel like a pick-me-up.

lynzpower

Saving for our wedding which will be very MSE style I feel. So it will be big, but cheap. Apart from my dress that is...

then time for saving for a second property which will be BTL.

amosworks

When my debts are all paid I'd like to take a couple of months out to enjoy life without worry. I don't think I'll go abroad for a holiday or anything, probably disappear to the smoke for a week and come back slight worse for wear (if it all goes to plan) :D:D

I think the month after I'd like to splurge a bit on a few things that I really want (a new mountain bike, a XBox 360 and one of those keyrings that bleeps when you whistle for your keys).

Then after that it'll be straight back to making Scrooge look like a money waster as I continue a frugal lifestyle and pump most of my money in to savings. I'm renting with my best friend now and all the bills are split, so my total living expenses for a really nice house with everything I want are £400pcm, so I think I could save a grand a month and not even miss it.

I would however like to start giving more to charity as I'm a sucker for good causes involving small furry animals lol.

dinkylou

When I am debt free I'll be saving up enough for a good few months holiday whilst renting my house out.

I already have a mortgage and a house so thats one thing I dont have to worry about saving up for but I would like to travel more and see more places.

Then I can start either trying to be mortgage free aswell or saving up for when I want a family. (I'll be in my thirties when I've done all of the above!)

ms_london

Well I am newly-ish debt free & am saving hard for my trip to Australia..

After that I will see how I feel/where I want to live & then probably buy my own place, so will need to save for a deposit. Then I will aim to be mortgage free as soon as I can.

I do feel as though I am wishing my life away & will probably always be "sensible" with my £££ from now on (even when travelling!!) - but I would also like to be able to spend a chunk of my wage on "Now" rather than it all being saved. So basically save some for long term projects, and some for shorter term things (weekends away etc)..

If I dont come home from Australia (here's hoping!!) then my life will take a different route..

xx

Avogirly

As I mentioned I've fallen off the MSE wagon recently. However, I'm scraping my way off the floor and back on it. Therefore I've been thinking about what I will do once I am debt free. Firstly I will stop my second job and possible reduce hours on my main job. I will then save for a holiday somewhere different with my boyf.
One thing I will do though, is never ever ever ever get into debt again!
Perhaps after all that I might catch up on some of that sleep I keep missing out on....!

Lucifer

when I am totally debt free in 2010. I am going to save really hard so when I need one. I can just buy one - whether it be a new car, replacement windows, new roof or whatever. I never want to have to borrow again. My mortgage is gone when I am 47 (the best thing I did was to by a house at just 22!). Then I want to buy a small house (or half of two), so that my two children can have a house (they will be 18 and 20 then). There is no way they will be able to afford to buy a house of their own, but rather than rent they can buy half with us, and no dead money will be wasted.

MORPH3US

OP, when you said you paid off the mortgage 3 years ago, I imagined you must be late 40's now. Then later in your post when I read that you were saving for when you have kids, I realised I must be wrong.

Do you mind if I ask how old you are and how you managed to pay your mortgage off early (i suspect buying a long time ago when houses were cheaper + overpaying lots)? How early you managed to pay it off etc!

Thanks

M

Montymoo_2

Save for a deposit for a house ahout worrying and start to enjoy myself without worrying about money

Scully's_Girl

Hi Morph3us, in answer to your question, my husband is 37, I just turned 30. I'd be happy to share how we paid it off so early. It was a number of things. Before I moved to the UK in 2003, I was living at home saving diligently while working in the city, to save for a house for myself one day. Meanwhile, my boyfriend (at the time) bought his first flat when he was 18 & worked, at times, 3 jobs to pay off the mortgage on that. Then, as he upgraded to new flats over the years, he just kept plowing his cash in. In 2001, we found the house we wanted to live in in Kent (its so adorable), & you might remember this was JUST before the current housing boom. He received a great deal on the sale of his flat, & put it as a down payment onto the house. I must admit he received a small amount from the untimely death of his father, but that was a small part of the big picture.
So by the time I moved here at 27, I had amassed (through all the methods we learn here on MSE) quite a tidy sum for my first house, but the truth was, we only needed a little of it to pay off the balance of the mortgage. Good thing too, because I found out that neither of my parents had saved a red cent for my wedding, so I had to pay for that myself, which I did, & it was great.
We do not earn a great deal, & we work very long hours. But saving money, & investing in our future is as much a passion for us as Football seems to be to some people. Last year I was able to buy my dad (whos made so many sacrifices for me over the years) a brand new car. He never had a new car before. I did this the day after my 30th birthday, & what a feeling it was.