MFW: Next step towards total freedom!

caeler

Where has 6 months gone? 

I’m now 6 months post mortgage. I’ve done some of the things I wanted to do, once I’d finished the mortgage. I certainly haven’t been frivolously spending by any means though. 

Most importantly I’ve restored my savings so I have a nice buffer. I try not to think about how much is enough, as who knows how long I’ll be able to save like I can right now.  I still feel negative if I feel I haven’t saved as much as possible like I did for the mortgage overpayments so I do need to find the balance. 

I’ve not sorted out my pension yet. I really must increase my contributions. I do intend to. New deadline, January 2022! 

Otherwise I’m just enjoying the cash flow! 

eat_that_frog

It's great to read an update @caeler! I can't believe it's been 6 months for you, feels like yesterday I read your mortgage free post.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your cash flow. Yes I think there's a balance when it comes to having a buffer, I always found the '3-6 months' guidance quite vague because there's a lot of difference between 3 and 6 months 

killerpeaty

Well done on your savings. Once you start tracking your investments it gets super addictive!

L9XSS

Great update for those of us that are in touching distance of becoming MF and those that are just starting or progressing with the journey. Now is your opportunity to set up Private pension alongside your work pension. I have invested in both the MF journey and building my SIPP to compliment my very good work pensions. 

caeler

Big step taken on the pension front. I’ve increased my pension contribution to my work pension. I’m quite excited now I’ve done it but it’s big for me. I’ve spent so long trying to accumulate cash to overpay the mortgage it feels odd to reduce my monthly income! Obviously I understand the concept of a pension but changing my ways isn’t easy.  

killerpeaty

It's never easy, it's like when you save up for something big and suddenly you pay for it and you're like... Where's the money?

Very pleased for you though, it feels really good to be able to watch your pension grow.

Ami-Rose

Just caught up on your post-mortgage updates. Sounds like you're slowly embracing the mortgage free life!

I know what you mean about the pension - we usually use OH's annual bonus to top up our savings, pay some annual bills etc. This year they're offering salary sacrifice into the pension and running some numbers we'd get an extra £800 in pocket doing that, plus the obvious boost to the pension. We're only 30 so all that juicy compound interest makes my mouth water. 😂 But at the same time, its very weird to not have that prop up money coming into the bank account. We're having to be a bit more careful with our money to balance the bills it normally would have covered.

Looking forward to seeing your next update. What's left on the bucket list?

caeler

It has been 1 year today since I paid off my mortgage so I wanted to share some reflections. 

I’m happy in my home with no plans to move or upgrade which hopefully means another mortgage isn’t in my future. I don’t miss it! 

I now save 78% of my salary which is totally boring but great to have the security of the buffer I’ve now built back up in savings.  I’ve managed to save almost a 3rd of what my mortgage was originally worth! I recently purchased some premium bonds for a bit of fun so we’ll see how that works out. I used to have lots of savings pots for different expenditure but I don’t see the point anymore so I have a long term account where most of what I’ve got goes, then a short term easy access saver which has a small fund which is for insurances, maintenance bills, anything I might need, frivolity(!!), etc.  I of course have kept the holiday pot, in the hope I get away this year! 

I increased the contribution I make into my workplace pension, I think I’ll increase it again when I know where the cost of living increases settle at. It feels good to be in a position to do it. 

It’s been a bit of a strange few months. I’ve felt rudderless since I’ve had no mortgage. I’ve spent the last 20 years with the mindset of working as hard as possible and with a bit of luck being able to afford a home and pay a mortgage. My family all paid their mortgages into their 60s so it hadn’t occurred to me that I’d be able to finish it sooner and despite the major focus on being mortgage free in recent years I didn’t give any thought to afterwards. It has made me question why I work the way I do, previously it was all about needing to earn as much as I could so I could afford the mortgage but the pressure is off a bit now. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. 

I’m not sure what’s next. Maybe some home improvements, a holiday would be nice, continuing to see my savings and pension grow, maybe try investments. I’d like to have fun but honestly, I realised I don’t actually know how so I’m working on that too. I can’t see me suddenly becoming frivolous, you can’t change frugal living after over a decade and actually I wouldn’t want to. 

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy reading about my journey. 

badmemory

Give your pension an early boost & think about early retirement at some future date.  There's nothing quite like knowing you can go tomorrow to make a stressful job seem less stressful!  I enjoyed my last 3 years more than the 3 before certainly.

killerpeaty

@caeler !! It's so good to hear from you! Incredible savings percentage but I agree you should also have some fun. I quite like going on the activities section of Groupon and seeing what is there, I really want to see the alpacas, they have such cute faces!

Where would you like to go on holiday?