We did it - We're mortgage free!

alanobrien

Well done, good luck to you, now go enjoy life even more in the knowledge you own nowt to anyone.

Jimble

Congratulations! Still got 8 years to go with overpayments instead of 13 years...chipping away though.

seven-day-weekend

Hey! Well done!

Good feeling isn't it?

Gringot

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for not posting back sooner, we were enjoying not having a mortgage, and spent most of the day making silly jokes about it!

For those who wanted to know how we did it... well...

We moved to this house in June 2002 with a 120k mortgage, repayment with Nationwide. It was a discounted variable rate. Strangely we paid it off exactly 5 years to the day we moved in, we didn't plan it that way, it was just coincidence.

We decided about 2 years ago that we wanted to pay off the mortgage as soon as we could as we work in an industry where you can job losses occur quite often, so being MF is a nice security to have.

We looked at overpayments, and we could pay off up to £500 per month in addition to our normal payment of around £500 per month, so we started doing that about 2 years ago.

We also started a "mortgage fund", so whenever we got bonuses, or additioanal cash at the end of the month, once we had paid into our pensions, ISAs etc, that went in the pot. It is amazing how quickly the cash adds up. We had that money in a high interest account.

We are very lucky in that we have reasonable jobs, however, I would add that the one thing we do is live within our means. We could get a lot of credit and drive expensive cars, go on expensive holidays buy all the best TV/stereos etc. But we don't, when our TV blew up it was 17years old, so we had to buy a new one, we don't replace stuff until we need to. We see replacing perfectly good things with newer stuff just to keep up with the trends as a waste of money.

We don't go without either, we spend money on what we consider important. So for example I have health issues, so I have a personal trainer to help me keep on top of them. It's expensive at £100 per month, but it is a priority. We go on holiday a few times a year, and have a great time together, but we rent holiday cottages in lovely places, not expensive, but we really enjoy ourselves. We don't waste money, but still have everything we want or need. I think the difference is that what we want in our lives, is not masses of flash electrical goods and a fast car, but security and the time to enjoy our lives together without having to worry too much.

My main peice of advice is that if you want to be MF, you need to let go of what the majority of people seem to think: "I must give the illusion of wealth". I have learned that when people appear wealthy, the whole image is probably propped up with a massive amount of debt. They rent a lifestyle which at some point has to collapse around them. If you want to spend money on something, just ask yourself, "do I really need it?", sometimes you just want to spoil yourself, and thats OK too, just weigh up the purchase against the fact that it might mean it takes you several months longer to pay off your mortgage.

We didn't do anything particulalry extreme, we were just sensible, spent on what we considered important and weren't seduced by the "have nice shiney new things all the time" concept. By being sensible we can now say aged 32 that we have no mortgage, no debt and we can kick back and relax a bit.

I have rambled, so I hope that this helps a bit.

Good luck!

southern_chick

wow, what an inspiration, well done on your hard work and becoming mortgage free enjoy you "new" life

SC XX

lic

I've just read your post and was impressed. I was even more impressed to discover you are 32 years old. What a fantastic thing to have done. I will hopefully pay my mortgage off in 5 years, by then I will be 48!
So I take my hat off to you both, congratulations.

Liz33

Congratulations, you are a true inspiration. I have just this month paid my first overpayment on my mortgage and your story has made me realise that it is achievable to get this loan paid off.

Well done again :T

Gringot

lic wrote: »

I've just read your post and was impressed. I was even more impressed to discover you are 32 years old. What a fantastic thing to have done. I will hopefully pay my mortgage off in 5 years, by then I will be 48!
So I take my hat off to you both, congratulations.

Thanks! I know we are young to have paid off the mortgage, but I am sure we are not alone. However, no matter whether you knock 20 years or 2 years off your mortgage, you are still saving money, and that has to be a good thing!

I am on a bit of a high about it actually. This morning I went and stood in each room in the house (including the garage) and thought "This is all ours, we earned it and now we're going to enjoy it". How daft am I?!

Gringot

Liz33 wrote: »

Congratulations, you are a true inspiration. I have just this month paid my first overpayment on my mortgage and your story has made me realise that it is achievable to get this loan paid off.

Well done again :T

Well done you! It all helps, I had a little spreadsheet which calculated approximately how much cash we were saving on interest by overpaying, that was really useful for keeping me motivated. When you look at a total saving of tens of thousends of pounds on interest, suddenly spending money on "stuff" seems a bit daft.

groatie_queen

Not daft at all! You've created a great new mortgage-free reality for yourselves - you're entitled to enjoy it! Well done!

GQ