What was your turning point to become a real MFW?

moneysavingotter

Hi All,

I would love to know what prompted people into becoming real MFWs. I definitely credit this board, although I couldn't say exactly when I first started to seriously consider it. I signed up a year or two ago to Martin's MS emails, and over the past 6 months to a year (I think, hard to remember accurately) discovered the forum.

I'd always tried to cut a year or two off the mortgage when switching to a new deal, even before that, but I don't think I'd ever actually formalised the thought of paying off the whole thing significantly early.

Switched to offset about a year ago and set up to pay off a little bit more automatically each month, and then in the last couple of months finally persuaded OH (with the help of spreadsheets from the forum, so thanks all) that it was worth significantly OPing, as we could potentially pay off in the forseeable future.

So it took a while, but now fully in the swing of it and enjoying the forum challenges

What about other MFWs?

MS Otter.

happilass

Hi moneysavingotter,
I decided to pay off the mortgage when i realised that what I had been thinking to myself wasn't "weird" but that lots of other people also thought of doing so. Everyone I knew was talking about holidays, clothes, cars etc. and I was sitting there thinking that I would like to pay off my mortgage and be free. I thought that it must not be possible, or as simple as I planned, since no-one else seemed to be talking about it. However, I found this site and Eureka! there you all were. I was vindicated, it was possible and people were doing it all the time.
Now, I still hear all my friends and collegues talking about aquiring trifles but I now know that it is possible to get rid and it is sooooo much more exciting to pay off the mortgage than compete with their endless buying. So that was my turning point and very glad I am for it. Great thread by the way.
Happi

firesidemaid

i just happened to find the (at that time) new MFi3 thread just as we were changing to our new mortgage.

we paid off approx 5k and reduced the term from 28 to 17 years - plus we could overpay by 10%.

2 years down the line and the mortgage picture had changed again entirely - now have an offset and a rate 4.5% less than we were paying at the start.

hope to get as much paid off as possible before the rates go back up again.

wantabetterlife

Hi, for me i think it was the start of the recession. Was really worried about OHs job and knew that there was no way we would be able to manage on my wage as 75% of it would be gone on the mortgage alone:eek:. Then house prices started to fall rapidly and i found the whole thing really worrying as we were in negative equity and at had no savings at all :eek:. Fortunately for us OHs job has been fine so far, but it gave us the kick start we needed to stop buying useless "things" and to start paying of the debt. Thinking about the mortgage as a debt and not just another bill has also helped focus me, aswell as realising how much interest the banks make out of us!!

WABL

black_taxi_2

everyone says having a mortgage isnt a really debt--but finding this site and reading the threads i changed my mind.being mortgage free means no huge payment at the end of each month. your not pressured taking on more debt.bank loans ect.

my first ever over-payment will be 1st dec 2009.

cake21

Definitely this board for me. I understood the concept of overpaying and reducing the interest paid and the loan period, but before I discovered the board - for some reason I thought that was only for people with lots of spare money to overpay

gallygirl

I knew it was a good idea to pay off early & had started to do so in a little way. Then a few years ago I sat down & worked out 'if I pay xxx extra what will happen'. Then I checked my figures, then checked again, then checked again (that was before I learnt to trust my spreadsheets :rotfl:). I was stunned at how quickly it could be paid off & have been at it ever since :beer:.

As happilass says, you can feel strange listening to other's priorities. No doubt when we're mortgage free we'll be told 'you're so lucky' .

golfiematt

for me the turning point was the amount of stress i feel having the mortgage and the amount i owe coupled with the threat of losing everything if i lose my job.I thought theres got to be be a way of getting it down faster and since being inspired by this board, what ive achieved is beyond my wild expectations, thanks for the support everyone as it really makes a difference

clarew

Mine was seeing that mortgage free in 2 years programme....was unachievable in such terms for me, (sahm now) but in inspired me to frequent this board. That led to the discovery of the egg money mortgage calculator and seeing that even paying the small amount i overpay each month (approx £40-50) can save me thousands in the long run.
Its become a habit now, i OP by the above, and then any extras i make i transfer into the mortgage account and pay off too. I can't wait till my little ones get to school and i can start earning again and up our OP's significantly!!

I love this board!

linni

I have always been 'good' with money but due to 'health problems' it became more important. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow and don't want to get in a mess.

setmefree2

When we moved to our current house and took out a mortgage of £250k I was totally terrified:eek:( Luckily so was Mr SMF2) Owing quarter of a million quid sort of focuses the mind. As others said on this the thread the threat of potentially losing everything with the loss of your job hangs over you too. 6 years on I no longer live in fear.

Finding MSE was a bonus. We had already paid off quite a lot of money when I joined the first MF challenge. It's great to come on here and share our journey with others and I have learned so much from MSE.

Well done on all your progress so far :T:T