We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
"why i plan NEVER to pay off my mortgage" discussion!
Comments
-
We went through a period of trying to pay off our mortgage as fast as possible .. lasted for about 3 years and was the biggest waste of time and probably the worst 3 years of our lives .. we didn't go out anywhere, we didn't take holidays, we didn't eat things we liked etc. etc. When mortgage rates started coming down I took the view that life was too short to waste several years 'existing' instead of 'living' .. we remortgaged, did some much needed rennovations to the house and started taking fantastic holidays, started going out a lot more, started enjoying ourselves again.
We have a mortgage that we are comfortable with and a lifestyle that keeps us interested ... there is more to life than paying off a mortgage (been there hated it).
IvanPast caring about first world problems.0 -
IvanOpinion wrote:When mortgage rates started coming down I took the view that life was too short to waste several years 'existing' instead of 'living'
Absolutely right. There needs to be a balance, or any over rigorous mortgage overpayments simply won't be sustained. The good thing about flexible mortgages is that you can adjust your overpayments if it's not working for you.
To me it still makes absolute sense though. We are working hard to bring the mortgage down, as we feel that in a few years we will be able to make some decisions that simply would never have been open to us if we hadn't taken this route. It's working well for us at the moment, but if it ever started to affect our family life or happiness/well being, then we'd stop as money does not come as high up on our list of priorities."One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
smartsaver wrote:What's wrong with an offset mortgage? We have our stooze pot offsetting and cancelling almost all interest on or mortgage and are therefore paying off only capital every month
You are one of the people who can handle an offset mortgage, if you read my post I implied that you need discipline and foresight which you obviously have.
If you read the DFW boards, you will find numerous examples of people who have drawn down money from their offset mortgage and don't have the security of a stooze pot to fall back on. They along with interest only mortgages allow a great many people to borrow beyond their means in my opinion.0 -
I agree with mrcow about flexible mortgages. It makes a lot of sense to go for a longer term mortgage with the flexibility to make overpayments at any time. Rather than tie yourself in to a soul destroying repayment schedule that takes away any flexibility to do other things. I can even borrow my overpayments back. I have close to a years interest on the mortgage in overpayments This is a kind of mortgage payment protection insurance.
It makes a lot of sense to make mortgage overpayments from excess savings. This is money that has no better use than for mortgage overpayment or investment in a high rate tax free savings such as NSandI Direct (mini-cash) ISA. This is at BER+0.55% and my mortgage is at BER +0.24% .You need £1K to even open this ISA. Transfers in are not allowed.
J_B.0 -
DebtFree wrote:No financial advisor will advise you to pay off your mortgage early. They earn their money by selling & they don't want to wait years into the future before for you to come back to them. QUOTE]
On the contary- most financial advisers i have worked with, managed, worked for, will advise to pay the mortgage off early. It's the pragmatic, and frankly easiest to justify way. But he has a good point-, and one, as a consumer, i feel has merit.I am a fee charging WoM Mortgage broker.I now no longer give information and opinion within the Mortgage boards, because a number of posters who, having approached me professionally, agreed my fee-which has been been made very clear at the outset, taken my advice (normally cancelling a [home visit] meeting at short notice) have then approached one of the fee-free brokers on here to arrange the very same deal I have advised.Whilst I totally concur with the ethos of "money saving"- abusing the goodwill of a professional who provides a quality service is taking it too far! :mad:0 -
nearlyrich wrote:You are one of the people who can handle an offset mortgage, if you read my post I implied that you need discipline and foresight which you obviously have.
If you read the DFW boards, you will find numerous examples of people who have drawn down money from their offset mortgage and don't have the security of a stooze pot to fall back on. They along with interest only mortgages allow a great many people to borrow beyond their means in my opinion.
I understand what you are saying but don't slate offsets per se. As with most things it is courses for horses....0 -
I can see the logic in what the article is about although I am doing the opposite ie overpaying an offset.
Its a fact that over 50 years,shares have outperformed house prices.Obviously dips here and there but by "drip feeding" the capital and/or overpayments into the likes of a FTSE tracker,this evens out any big swings (up and down) then in the long term it should produce a greater return than simply overpaying.0 -
well. loads of opinions here! thought it would rise to healthy debate on this board, and it certainly has!
i'm of the opinion that for me, paying off my mortgage asap is still the best option. maybe if you have plenty of earning power, you could afford to take the opposite stance, and risk a bit of hard earned cash in other area's. (is that a bit alvin hallish?)
whilst i do agree with ivanopinion, to cripple yourself, and make your life hell for the sake of paying your mortgage is no way to live your life, i think the true mse philosopy prevails here, its a case of being clever with your money whilst still enjoying the lifestyle which is right for you.
i for one am still hell bent on seeing the back of my new mortgage asap.
thanks all for your replies!
xx gp"It is not uncommon for slight acquaintances to get married, but a couple really have to know each other to get divorced." - Anonymous0 -
I'll be going for the 'pay mortgage off early' stance (when I get cc debt free
).
My Dad (wisely) said to us kids...shares is a gamble, only do it if (i) you can afford to lose the money and (ii) you're prepared to leave money in shares for a long, long time to gain on the ups and leave them well alone through the downs.Back on the DFW Wagon:
CC - £3,300 on 0% til 04/2020
CC - £4,500 on 0% til 02/2019
Loan - £12,063.84 as at 4/1/180 -
Here is a couple of other points worth considering if you get a lump sum your way:
Let's say you have a mortgage of £60,000 and a salary of £30,000 a year. Would you be comfortable extending your mortgage to £100,000 to invest in the stockmarket? This is the exact same question turned around. If you have a mortgage of £100,000 and you get a lump-sum of £40,000 investing it in the stockmarket is the same as extending a £60,000 mortgage to £100,000. If you don't have experience of the lows of the stockmarket, then you should use most of the money to pay off your mortgage and get experience with a small part of the balance. They say you should try to get your mortgage down to 2times your annual salary, your pension sorted and an emergency fund of 3 months for singles and 6 months for marrieds and for you to be quite comfortable before you start investing in the stock exchange.Penny xxx
Old age isn't bad when you consider the alternative.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.6K Life & Family
- 254K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards