Negative attitude to becoming MF by a friend!

Primrose

LittleJane - well done! Your example shows just what can be done if you're determined enough. There is nothing worse than having to continue working on a hard treadmill when you're exhausted because the mortgage has to continue to be paid. When we made our last overpayment and became debt free it was like a big boulder rolling off our back. The country is obviously going to have a long period of financial hardship ahead of most people and nobody knows if redundancy could strike further down the line. Being mortgage free will be a huge advantage. Even those who are overpaying will be protecting themselves and be at an advantage because if redundancy does strike they will have built in some financial leeway for themselves if they have to go back to their mortgage lender to negotiate longer mortgage terms or a change in their repayment terms. Now is not the time to be splashing surplus money out on unnecessary expensive pleasures. Concentrating on the basics should be a priority. I fear that those who have a "spend now & Live for the day" financial mentality have a rude awakening lurking round the next corner.

clearing_out_my_pockets

I haven't told friends about my MF quest as I don't think they'd understand. OH & I aren't exactly well off, but we budget effectively and we manage our money much better than our friends do. None of our friends have mortgages (we're late twenties) and wouldn't understand the principle of overpaying.

My parents understand completely, having recently become mortgage free themselves (at ages 48 / 55). OH's parents are a completely different story. They see things in black & white. You have a mortgage product for x number of years and the bank will take the money they want. Nothing for you to think about.

MarieAAP

I have told folks, when mortgages have been talked about. MF (although I don't think it was called that 12 years ago) is just brilliant. I saw on my initial statement just how much (based on the orig interest rate), just how much the banks would be making off me over 25 years = over x3 the orig loan amount. lets just say how sick I felt.

I have recently been called ambitious! Me and that word, don't normally go hand in hand.

I am happy(ish) with my secretarial post (18k), and I am not after earning big bucks (although they could come in handy), but i am Not wanting a stressful job and all that involves.

But I am socially ambitious about wanting a long-term lifestyle that is secure and comfortable.

I am currently really worried out my pension. Its predicted to be only £5 1/2k / pa ARGGHHHH, which is about the same amount as the state pension (I think).

So the aim will be to rent mine out (which has less than 10% left to pay on the mortgage), and buy a 2nd as a family home, and my old place will be an interest earning pension pot.

Well that is the current aim, fingers crossed :P

drewwa

squirrelchops wrote: »

The attitude I got back was truly astounding. My friends attitude was that 'everyone has to pay a mortgage so just get on with it'.........she couldn't see the benefit of not having to pay say £900 per month to a mortgage and seemed to think I was odd for not wanting this mill stone around my neck for the next 20 odd years anymore.

I was actually very upset following this conversation as felt belittled by a desire to lead a simpler life, less constrained by a mortgage and to have more freedom with money and where we lived. She used the word 'traveller' when I said OH and I had even discussed downsizing to a static home for a year or a barge. I have never felt so stifeld by someone else before but do also see that she likes and needs the security of a mortgage.

Anyone else had any negativity on their path ot MF?????

Hey SquirrelChops,

All friends here. I suspect the attitude from your friend may have its roots in envy or jealousy. Be careful there.

And a mortgage isn't security, quite the reverse really!

You're pursuing a worthwhile goal, so stick with it and come on here for all the encouragement you need.

Once you've paid it off you'll be able to enjoy that carefree life you're looking for.

Cheers,

Drew.

Jock_Tight

We have not had any negative attitude towards us for trying to become mortgage free.

A couple of our friends are going through hard times, redundancy and struggling financially with young kids however they understand the reasons we are doing it and wish they could do the same!.

My folks were mortgage free in their 50's (Dad retired at 52) and they have a great time, several holidays a year etc. From an early age I could see the value in saving..........the last thing I wanted was to pay a bank thousands in interest!

Alion

We only told our parents about our plans (not mortgage free at this stage, but to pay off at least half our £200k mortgage in 5 years to enable us to buy a larger house when we have a family and survive on a single salary)

My parents were thrilled, and when we got to a point where we could afford to pay off more than the £500 a month overpayment allowed by nationwide they loaned us some money to put in when we remortgaged which we then pay them back at £250 a month, upping our overpayments in an affordable manner.

OH's parents were shocked -they couldn't understand it at all and were quite negative about it. They said we should enjoy our money now before children and deal with the rest when it arrives. We DO enjoy our lives, we're away constantly either staying with friends or camping because that's more fun for us than posh trips. We don't scrimp and save, we just live within our means and our overpayments.

Anyway, that was several years ago. We didn't really talk to them about it again, although they were aware we continued to overpay. A few months ago I got a phone call from my brother in law saying he and his girlfriend were planning to buy a house and my father in law had told hiim to call me because I was really good with money and that sort of thing

sassyblue

Going to tell you a little story now about my mum and her 'friend'. Mum and dad had these friends for years used to go everywhere together even on holidays. Mums friend was forever rubbing mums nose in dirt that they earned more money had a better house (just newer not particularly bigger!), she had to have everything new and the best of everything, mum ignored it because the friends hubby had got dad his job working alongside him....

Fast forward many years, dad started up his own business and at times employed friends hubby who had now retired from his job, the friends it turns out had never, ever saved a penny all those years now mum and dad are semi retired, no mortgage, several holidays a year and £££'s in the bank.

The friends are nowhere to be seen.

Anyway this spurs me on, mum and dad have been good with money always worked and saved so if they can do it, when mortgage interest rates were in double figures, so can l.

:T Good luck to all of us

DUTR

Thanks for an interesting thread and read, I became mortgage free yesterday, but could have been so from years back, I too received a lot of negative vibes to being so, I had done some work on the garden and was sitting out and thought what the heck , the savings are not earning anything 0.1% gross ,so just phoned up and paid it off, still gotta do bits n bobs around the house, but will waste the money on a car

sassyblue

DUTR wrote: »

Thanks for an interesting thread and read, I became mortgage free yesterday, but could have been so from years back, I too received a lot of negative vibes to being so, I had done some work on the garden and was sitting out and thought what the heck , the savings are not earning anything 0.1% gross ,so just phoned up and paid it off, still gotta do bits n bobs around the house, but will waste the money on a car

W :j E :jL :j L :T D :j O :j N :j E

datostar

It's great to read the sensible comments on this thread and the prudent outlook of people much younger than me (and I'm not being patronising).
I well remember the crazy 1980's when many people's main topic of conversation was how much the value of their (mortgaged) house had risen in the past week or so and how wealthy they felt. It always surprised me because I couldn't see how you could raise money from the house by selling the occasional brick or eating a wall. Of course, what they were doing was running off to the mortgage company to borrow even more on the strength of the additional so-called equity, or taking out 2nd and even 3rd mortgages. Then the horrible spectre of 'negative equity' struck with a vengeance and many people came badly unstuck because they couldn't borrow any more to fund their improvident and extravagant lifestyles.
Then the same thing happened again. Some people never learn.
I admire you people. Keep up the good work and take no notice of the siren voices boasting of their huge debts!