What did you do next after you became mortgage free?

donstermonster

I am really hoping to be MF by April 2008

When i am MF what will i do? Perhaps mortgage again and buy a holiday home or home to rent out but i am hoping to take a less well paid less stressful job and enjoy things more - Like get up in the morning , have a walk, read the newspaper , wander off to the library, go round the park just things i want to do

My mate is very nearly MF and has decided to buy the house him and his wife have wanted for ages and is now on the market and he can "afford" as his mortgage is so low

What would you do ?

Cheers

Don:beer:

Martinslovechild

For me, being mortgage-free is about having choices. For instance, if I want to pack in my stressful job, I can do. If I want to move abroad, I can do. If I want to spend money on an expensive night out with friends, I can do. The vast majority of people don't have these choices available to them because they're tied down with debts. I can't wait to get rid of my mortgage on November 1st.

watcherman

Choices, that's what it comes down to.....I'll be 46, so I don't envisage never working again, but it may be a 3 or 4 day week, maybe cruise a couple of times a year (on the sea not the streets ) and as Tustastic says, know that my bills don't rule me....

nearlyrich

I started saving seriously for the children's uni tuition fees etc I won't really feel the benefit till the end of this academic year but the feeling of security is wonderful, what's the worst case scenario when you need less than £500 to live a decent lifestyle ?

Maz

donstermonster wrote:

I am really hoping to be MF by April 2008

When i am MF what will i do? Perhaps mortgage again and buy a holiday home or home to rent out but i am hoping to take a less well paid less stressful job and enjoy things more - Like get up in the morning , have a walk, read the newspaper , wander off to the library, go round the park just things i want to do

My mate is very nearly MF and has decided to buy the house him and his wife have wanted for ages and is now on the market and he can "afford" as his mortgage is so low

What would you do ?

Cheers

Don:beer:

I am now in the fantastic position of being mortgage and debt free, from December 2006

This meant that I could jack in my crappy, underpaid, over stressed job and have the FREEDOM to do whatever the hell I feel like doing! No alarm clock, (the invention of Satan, surely?), no horrific office and all that goes with it. Have started my own small business, also do home boarding for dogs, catalogue agent and mystery shopping. Am a qualified reflexologist but never had the time or energy to practice so, that's my next project. The fact that I'm now the architect of my own destiny is more than enough reward for me, it's the start of a new life!

Tustastic

Maz wrote:

I am now in the fantastic position of being mortgage and debt free, from December 2006

This meant that I could jack in my crappy, underpaid, over stressed job and have the FREEDOM to do whatever the hell I feel like doing! No alarm clock, (the invention of Satan, surely?), no horrific office and all that goes with it. Have started my own small business, also do home boarding for dogs, catalogue agent and mystery shopping. Am a qualified reflexologist but never had the time or energy to practice so, that's my next project. The fact that I'm now the architect of my own destiny is more than enough reward for me, it's the start of a new life!

Congratulations Maz!

savedup

Hi

I paid off my mortgage in May 2005, after 5Yrs, aged 41.
The feeling of freedom and security it affords is without substitute.

Since clearing this debt, I have had a couple of nice holidays and by continuing to rebuild my savings and investments over the last 20 months, I have made back all the money I spent on repaying the mortgage - Chuffed or what !!

My advice to anyone embarking on this quest is to go for it if you can.

Don't let it ruin the quality of your life whilst doing it - just apply the MSE rules on your regular spends etc - and stay focussed on your goal - You'll get there in the end.

Good Luck.

donstermonster

This is just the boost i need

I have not compromised my or my familys quality of life i have done things differently.

I always ensure i get the best deal , NOT the cheapest goods but the best deal on good quality goods an example i really wanted a Sony LCD tele , i got it 14 months after wanting it because 1) If i still wanted it all that time later then i really did want it and it was not a whim 2) i Managed to pay £899 instead of the £1795 a similar model was 14 months previously , ALSO i waste money on cars and change them regularly - BUT not for the last 3 years and i will not change until after i am MF

I was however losing the motivation to carry on doing it , i am down to £24k now and overpaying by £900 a month with a small endowment due in 7 months that will go straight off my mortagage so i should do it !!!!!

Thanks for the boost everybody - i feel confident i am back on track again

Cheers
DM

Daisies

I think I'll want to cut down my working hours to 3-4 days a week so I can spend more time with family and friends when they're free (instead of rushing round at the weekend trying to fit in chores and seeing people).

I'd also like to be able to make some sort of regular commitment to a charity, maybe a morning a week or something like that - maybe taking the library book trolley round the local hospital wards. I had a great time whilst at uni working with charity fundraisers on big projects and it would be nice to have the time to do something similar again.

And I'd like to do more of the things I enjoy - baking and crafts, without feeling guilty about it!