Not a spring chicken!!! 28 April 2011 at 7:15PM in Mortgage-free wannabe 45 replies 4.4K views

stedwell

Hi :j
I read this forum most days and sometimes get very despondant that there are very few 'older' posters trying to finish their mortgage. Is this because they are all paid up already?:( I am 3 years away from 50 and hubby a bit older. We have 98,000 left and I hope to finish in 6 years. Anybody out there willing to give me a bit of moral support? I overpay by £500 each month but this may stop when eldest daughter goes to uni in 2 years.

clyndu

Hi, I'm an oldie as well (54). We have about 90,000 left to pay. Had to take out a 15yr term as first timers, just so it would be paid off by the time I'm 65. DH is 3 yrs younger than me. We also overpay by £500 a month, the max we are allowed to. Unknown to hubby, I'm stashing away the odd pound or two, from surveys etc. Then when we come off our term in 4 years hopefully I will have a thousand or two to throw at it. It is tight as we have DS2 at uni and DD wanting to go in 2 years. I lurk on the "all the small things" thread and that does help to keep me positive. looking forward to all that spare cash when we have finally cleared the mortgage, Paris here I come.

stedwell

Thanks for your reply. I feel better already just knowing other people are dealing with similar issues! :)The uni thing is really hard especially now the fees are going up too! I do sometimes wonder whether just to pay off the interest only so we can afford things now and then downsize and pay it off when the children have left home.

Pennypincher2

Hello Stedwell,

I am 42 and have been overpaying one mortgage or another for over 10 years but still here.
My husband is 10 years older than me and we have little children who will go to uni when he has retired and twins so they could go at the same time. I would like to pay my mortgage off 2 years early to have just a moment where we are both working before they off to uni. So my financial situation is not uncomplicated. Also I intend to retire at 60 but don't get my old age pension until 66 and one month. This year has been a wash out for overpaying because of DH health but hopefully back up and running - it is a marathon not a sprint and things do come along.

Both of you are doing fantastic, I dont know how you are overpaying £500 per month what a lot of money.

Anyway well done Miss Penny

julliff

Hi Stedwell

I am the same age as you, and last year I got divorced. The upshot of this was that I ended up with a mortgage of £120,000 which I am trying to pay down as quickly as I can. I work full time as a contractor, so I only have 6 months work guaranteed, and I do not get any maintenance from my X towards my two teenage daughters, so I want to clear as much as I can, when I can.

clyndu - I also lurk of the "all the things" because I rarely get much time to post, and I feel somewhat in awe of all the people who can find time to do surveys etc.

I am going to try to post to my diary more often - I keep telling myself!

Good luck with your journey, I have subscribed to your thread!

stedwell

Hi PP2 I read your thread often as I had realised that we were in a similar situation although my children are older. We manage to just about overpay £500 because we are suddenly at a point where we are are both earning the maximum wage and are trying to make the most of it. It won't last for long as my hubbie will not be able to maintain his job until retirement and will probably have to retrain at some point. However we chose to put ourselves in this situation by moving house about a year ago. We wanted a little more space as our house was full of teenagers and wanted to be closer to the seondary school and college for the children. I leave early in the morning for work and rerurn late so it made life less stressful. We are homebirds and I do not worry about holidays so it seemed to suit us. However,,,,,,,weeks after we moved everthing changed. Hubby is now a higher rax payer by about £20 :mad: so we will lose our child benefit. We are both teachers so our pensions are going to go up by about £200 a month and the student fees are now £27,000. I am intent on trying to pay a good amount off the mortgage before DD needs it for rent. The house is lovely but I have many sleepness nights over it all!

Juliff - I have noticed your diary too and thought how strong you are to deal with such a mortgage on your own. Please post back more often and let us know how you are getting on. Although I have a lovely hubbie, he is very laid back and does not worry a single bit about out finances. Hence I am the one with the grey hair. I am going out shopping for wedding clothes today and sadly instead of being excited about the occasion I can only think of the expense of all the clothes and present etc. Hubbie only has one suit and I think he got married in it 22 years ago!:rotfl:

teapot2

Hi Stedwell, you are a spring chicken! :rotfl:. OH and I took out our first mortgage when I was 49 and he 50, its for £100,000. That was in mid 2004 so nearly seven years ago, and there's no way we're going to be paying it when we're pensioners. Mind you, the govt keeps shifting the goalposts on that too :eek:.

We took out a 15 year mortgage and at the moment with overpaying as we can, are down to £43821 with another payment due [technically today].

We are both part-time workers and I'm self employed so we've had to be quite inventive with overpayments and don't make them regularly but as and when really but that seems to work for us.

Good luck with your mortgage free quest and I look forward to reading about how its going.

stedwell

Thanks Teapot 2
I think I was having a 'down' day when I lasted posted. Feeling a bit more positive today!

You are correct that our situations are very similar. We took out 110,000 and were 50 and 46 at the time and over 12 years. We plan to clear it in 7 years but that will take some doing! :rotfl:

My youngest child is 12 so no part time work for us for a long time I'm afraid. never mind we enjoy what we do and get the long holidays to relax.

It really does help to know that others are still battling with mortgages well into their 50's. I am hitting the mid life thingy looking backwards over my shoulder and doing the 'if only' thing. Meanwhile hubby seems to have a new lease of life and being really positive. I think I just need to hit 50 and I'll be fine!

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Hello Stedwell,

We have conversed before, and like you I am very envious of the foresight of the younger posters on here. I got my first mortgage in 1979 at the age of 18. My husband (yes really) and I bought a fixer upper for £9000 and put down a £200 deposit! It seems like another world....

Two years later we sold it for £15,ooo and bought a bigger house for £25,ooo. Four years later, sold it for £44,000 and bought another fixer upper for £48,000, later borrowing another £20,ooo to extend it. 16 years later we divorced and sold it for £285,000. We split the procedds 50/50. I bought a little house with no mortgage for £120,000 and was mortgage free. Then two years later I remarried and we bought a forever home together, selling the little house for £150,000. We had to take out a small mortgage and have £56,000 still to pay.

If I think that I have made mortgage payments of a rough average of £500 per month for 32 years (I am 50 now), that comes to just under £200,000. If you add to that about £10,000 in moving and legal costs plus the £40,000 OH contributed less first OH's half of the big house... and consider that our house is worth about £300,000, we have made approximately £20,000 in a thirty year investment in property!!!!!! As we have certainly spent much more than that on home improvements and renovation over the years, I can safely say that buying houses is a mugs game! We have never added to the mortgage to consolidate loans or buy cars or holidays. A large proportion of my life has been focused on making ends meet which just would not have happened without a mortgage.

But of course, that leaves out the big upside.... In a few years we will have no rent or mortgage to pay and we can choose where we live and how to decorate. I still don't think I would advise a young person to buy though.


I seem to have ranted on. sorry about that!

Squirrel:j

Spiggle

Hi stedwell,

I'm an oldie too having turned 50 last August. Our challenge is to be mortgage free by my 55th birthday. You are putting a goodly amount away each month and should be congratulating yourself for what you achieve. Well done and I look forward to reading your updates.

All the very best,
Spigs

stedwell

Hello SSS.

I agree with your sentiments and therefore get a bit cross with myself that we came very close to being mortgage free and then moved again! :mad: Still, hubby and the girls love the house and I suppose we can always downsize later. (Although it's not that big!:o)

With regard to young people today - what alternative do they have? If they do not buy a house of their own then they will need to rent. Surely it is better to eventually own your own house than forever pay a landlord?

Thanks for your comments Spiggle, although I am not sure how long we can maintain our overpayments. I had no idea how expensive teenage daughters can be!!!!:eek: I read you post today on your diary and hope things are sorted speedily for you on the health front.