Paying off your mortgage warning

MortgageNoMore

Hello all! I'm new to the forum so let me give you a bit of background. In 2007 after a fair few years of squandering my finances, I decided to have a go at significantly reducing my mortgage whilst interest rates remained low as I was worried that rates would at some point go up and I didn't want to see my payments going back up as I was on a standard variable rate.

In late 2007 my mortgage with if.com stood at around £107000 against a property worth around £220000. Just over 6 years on and my mortgage now stands at £64500, this is an offset mortgage so any savings are offset against it and my savings account currently has £50000 in it (3.5 years of saving.....) so my overall mortgage balance is now around £14500 (which is a reduction of £92500). A great result I know and one I am very proud of :beer: except.......

This was very hard!!, as I got caught up in trying to pay off more and more, I basically stopped spending money on anything else. So the reason for this post is a warning, don't do what I did and get too caught up in the whole thing! clearly now I am in a good position but it came at a dreadful cost of not living for 7 years so please don't take it too far the other way.

I'm still having problems spending money on anything that most people would consider reasonable like clothes and a few luxury items.

I think paying off a mortgage is a good thing but just make sure you all live a little and have fun as sometimes life can be too short to deprive yourself of nice things :eek:

[Deleted User]

I am not n you position (yet), but I had the same struggle of finding the right balance between spending money and enjoying it and saving hard for a house deposit. Especially in the beginning, I felt terribly guilty about spending money on non-essentials. I think I've found the right balance now though.

Imma_Number

Sage Advice MortgageNoMore.:)

Over the years I've varied between mad-keen overpaying and being a bit lax with it.

One day I realised that I wasn't spending loads on "living" nor overpaying much but still getting through all my salary every month.

So I went through previous expenditure, hung out on DFW for a while, did an SOA, and saw I was somehow wasting ££££ every month on food.

So now I have simple meals most days of the week but that frees up the £ to have meals out with friends and trips etc.

I think it can be an eye-opener to spend at least a while of hard cutbacks to realise you perhaps don't need half the things you think you do. Also it's a relief when you can ease up on the scrimping.

Importantly I'm happy with my current balance

SuperSecretSquirrel

I know people that live their lives as though it will end tomorrow - "you can't take it with you". I also hear of people that live miserably from one day to the next, chasing some perfect future at the cost of today - of course they could drop down dead the day they retire...

As with most things in life, a balanced moderate approach gives you the best of both worlds. Be sensible and try to make the best future for you and your family without sacrificing happiness on the journey.

My philosophy is neatly summed up as - "live your life assuming you'll die at the national average age"... That pretty much forces you to find a good balance

MortgageNoMore

Quick Update! I was meant to be relaxing the paying off regime but I wasn't able too so I'm not sure how but now I find my mortgage is down to less than £6000!

At this rate I should have it cleared before the end of the year........old habits are hard to break I guess

Thrugelmir

You never know what's round the corner in life. Once mortgage free you'll be stress free to a high degree as well. Something money can't buy.

gazter

Thrugelmir wrote: »

You never know what's round the corner in life. Once mortgage free you'll be stress free to a high degree as well. Something money can't buy.

A powerful feeling to know that no matter what else happens, whether it be illness or job insecurity, you wont have to move, you wont be on the street and you wont be poor.

katejo

gazter wrote: »

A powerful feeling to know that no matter what else happens, whether it be illness or job insecurity, you wont have to move, you wont be on the street and you wont be poor.

Due to the current low interest rates I have paid off about 40% of my repayment mortgage in 8 years. The remaining amount is only about 10% of the property value. Roll on the end...

nearlyrich

Always good to keep a balance we paid off our mortgage but still had holidays and nights out etc.. You can keep saving after the mortgage is gone and spend it on nice things...like retiring at 55...

MortgageNoMore

Tuesday 23rd September will be the first day in a long time since I have not paid any debit interest on borrowing. Yes!!! I have reached the goal to own my own home and not pay any interest for the privilege.

£107000 in 7 years!! Never again!! :beer::D

Still can't quite get my head round how I managed it to be honest, at times it was a brutal regime. I guess the thought of looming interest rates kept me going.....

For all those still plugging away, keep going!! the sense of relief will be worth it!

I want to shout it from the rooftops but from what I have observed of other people face to face is that the reaction can be quite negative, so I'm keeping it quiet apart from to a few close family/friends.

May the force be with you all!!

catshark88

I do agree that it can be hard to keep a balance.

When I burst into tears because I'd spent £10 on gluten free stuff in Waitrose (I know, I know, but my local Aldi hardly does any gf stuff), I knew I'd gone too far....

;-)