Not your normal mortgage free diary

getmealemon

Hi all, i'm a big lurker on this section of the forum in particular and have always dreamt of my mortgage free moment....thing is i don't have a mortgage yet.

I'm 28, been with my OH for 5 years nearly, we both have stable average earning jobs and live in the surrey area, currently renting as we have for the last 2 years.

I started saving properly about 5 or 6 years ago but was pretty unimpressed with the isa rates and the interest received. I started investing in shares 4 years ago and have enjoyed mixed fortunes.

My shares are however what i'm hoping will ease my mortgage free adventure. I aim to update this diary with overall portfolio worth over the months/years against hypothetical mortgage free amount of £250000 which is roughly the price of a 2 bed semi in our area.

getmealemon

Now i realise shares are extremely risky business. I'm not going to name the shares i am in because i do not want this to turn into a discussion about individual shares.

Every person i have discussed this with has always been surprised and urges me to take some money out to use a deposit on a house - at some stage i will do this to de-risk things slightly. At the moment i few commitments in that i have no children and little debts etc, i understand that i could lose the lot worst case scenario, that would mean starting again in saving for a deposit in the conventional way.

getmealemon

I started out with a £20000 investment and added about £400 a month for a further 2 years. After moving into a rented place with my OH this reduced significantly and i've only really added a few hundred pounds every few months.

My portfolio peaked at just over £100000 and after all the world issues/global financial crisis stuff this year declined to a bottom of £45000. As things stand now it is just over £70000.

So anyway my plan is to update this diary every few months to either the day i hit my target and be "mortgage free" or until such time when it becomes necessary for me to use this money.

Hurdler

If it helps - I had a meagre portfolio of public issue shares, and inherited my father's portfolio (of much the same).
My IFA was astounded I'd held on to such a small and in cases plummeting load and bit by bit I am liquidating these assets and holding them for the time being in Cash and maybe will put some in a couple of Stocks and Shares ISAs once I have my emergency fund.
If you peruse my diary you will see that I am planning a fairly cataclysmic career change, which is why I have to be a bit cash-storey and not as much mortgage-pay-ey as I want to...

Above all - so long as YOU have a plan, and a goal - then you go for it.

And welcome to the thread!

elantan

i dont know much about shares and investing ( i'm trying to learn just now but am finding it a minefield) but i like the fact that you are doing things in the way that is right for you, its good to hear different stories

all the best for your future

dark^knight

This is not a bad idea, as long as markets hold their nerve. The issue is if and when house prices start rising again, you may find you need a lot more than you have planned for.

getmealemon

Thanks for the positive replies, was expecting lots of your mad etc posts as this website is generally about being sensible with money and not taking risks.

My eventual aim is move up north (where OH is from) where house prices are a bit cheaper so the £250k or so will stretch a bit further than down south when the time comes - roughly 10-15 years.

Hurdler, i'll have a look at your diary in the morning - just finished a late turn shift...bed calls.

Elantan - when i first started out i had my finger in many pies and for every share i had that did really well i had another that tanked or folded...yes it is a minefield! Research is key.

Dark Knight, after the year we've just had nothing would surprise me anymore. To be honest i expect the markets to have another wobble or three as it just seems whatever europe tries to do just papers over the cracks for another few weeks until the next thing comes up. I don't really see house prices moving much until the economy is sorted and even then i don't think we'll see the sort of pre 2009 increases.

Sepa74

Shares are a long term investment, precisely because they are so volatile... If you were investing hugely in shares with a deadline to take it out in 2 or 3 years, then I would probably say 'discuss it with an IFA', but you have a long term plan with a clearly defined goal and you have the flexibility the cash when you reach that goal whenever that may happen...

If it works for you, then fab! I'll be really interested to read your diary as you go along... it will be nice to read about someone going about their goal in a different way

elantan

i'm looking forward to reading your diary as i may find a few tips about investing ... i have read books and i get the basics ... but just when i think i know something.. i find out i dont lol ...

Kantankrus_Mare

Another one here who will be following with interest.

We have 13 years left on our mortgage and just in the process of buying our second buy to let property.

Hoping these will be our pensions or at least give us a bit of income as we move closer to our twilight years. (We are 45)

Once everything is sorted on this buy to let and we have a tenant settled in I want to get to grips with stocks and shares.

I only want to invest approx £50 per month but need to do a lot of research first so I know what I am doing.

My theory is that we could maybe earn enough through investing to pay our mortgage off at age 55 rather than nearly 60 or even earlier?

I shall be watching and hopefully learning.

Good luck with your plans.

getmealemon

I don't think you'll pick up many tips from me - theres so many different approaches to investing its a matter of finding what is right for you.

As i said before i started off with my finger in many pies and in the end found i hadn't researched them well enough. Now i stick to a much smaller amount of shares and research the hell out of them to limit any nasty surprises. (Again other people would say diversification is key)

My only tip if there ever was one would be to not pay to much attention to what is posted on the various bulletin boards (iii lse advfn etc) as you just never know if someone has an agenda behind what they post.

Will certainly be interesting to look back over my diary in the coming years and see how it's all gone.