The Mortgage Free Roll Of Honour

edinburgher

I am so happy for you and the family HDK - welcome to the next chapter :j

muddywhitechicken

:j:j:j well done Helen :j:j:j

MWCx

A_Frayed_Knot

Huge Congratulations. Well done :dance:

newgirly

Fantastic news , I am really pleased for you :T

Westin

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
I guess we always had a plan to work hard and pay off the mortgage early but obviously needing to counter that wish with a degree of realism. The desire to move up the housing ladder into a comfortable family home whilst bringing up two children meant other costs sometimes took a priority. We also wanted to enjoy life! Both we have found are however possible.

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
£175,000 - yes! (we live in the south of England).

c. Mortgage-Free Date
January 2015

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
I have more than one - sorry if I appear smug.

(i) Always try to overpay your mortgage debt each month. If you have cash left over - pay off some more of your mortgage. Keep a rainy day saving pot, enjoy life, go on holiday - do all those things but any spare cash each month, pay off your mortgage debt.
(ii) Consider an Off-Set Mortgage. We found this worked well for us as our savings are simply off-set against our mortgage loan. Easily accessible if we need cash but better to off-set the interest otherwise earnt (0.5%?) against a mortgage repayment debt of 2.5%-4.00%.

We purchased our first house at the top of the ladder back in 1989. Interest rates went up to 15% two months after we purchased. The first three years were tough but as interest rates dropped we never reduced our repayment levels and therefore slowly chipped away at our mortgage by over paying each month. In years to come we got to a stage of actually overpaying some £650 per month. Did that for years.

Our first mortgage was an endowment. We were young, innocent and believed what the mortgage advisor told us. We stuck with it and when the thing eventually matured we paid off a lump sum from our current mortage (we had moved to a off-set, repayment style mortgage in the meantime). That was a lump sum of +£50k.

Our other two major breaks came when both my wife and I were made redundant from our jobs (at different times thankfully). At the time you think the world is ending but life does go on. We both now have new careers and jobs. Anyway, given our long service at both companies we both ended up with generous redundancy settlements. At the time, others laid off with us went out and bought new cars, put extensions on houses (we have done that since but not with the redundance money), bought a caravan, went on holidays around the world etc etc. We both boringly stuck our two redundancy payouts into our off-set mortgage accounts. Never touched the cash. We know it is there if we need or want it but placing it there means the savings pots in the off-set mortgage counter the debt on the mortgage. Effectively mortgage free the past 18 months.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
Boards and Forums often have good tips and advice from others in a similar position but I can't say that we followed any guide word-by-word. At lot of it is common sense - if you have debt, pay it down asap.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.
Sorry - didn't have one.

jackywhizz

Just found this thread.

a. 2001 when I rejigged it to be a flexible mortgage and arranged to move some onto repayment instead of interest only.
b.£62,500 (modest by today's standards)
c. Mortgage free date 18/3/16
d. Arrange to increase your monthly repayment
e. & f. n/a

gallygirl

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
Was always a vague idea but crystallised in May 2007 when we bought a place in Spain as a holiday home but I immediately decided I wanted to retire there asap!

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
Around 155k.

c. Mortgage-Free Date
11th August 2016 :T

d. Your one pearl of wisdom
Think about your mortgage 'in the round' and why you actually want to pay it off. For many, it's a step on the way to Financial Independence and it may be better for you to keep a mortgage and invest in an S&S ISA or your pension, or even BTL. We could have paid our mortgage off years ago if we hadn't invested in BTL's and my pension - but then I'd be playing catch-up on everything else instead of having retired to the sun at 53 :T. Don't make the mistake of thinking you'll clear the mortgage and then worry about everything else.
Having said that, little and often keeps you interested and does add up. Tilly Tidy your odd pennies, survey payments etc, quidco cashback etc.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
All those on the MFW board, thanks to all for your support and good humour, especially Tilly :T.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2953124
and crikey, this one goes back to 2008, I may read it myself! https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1187259

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

That made me cry

Hugely thrilled - shall we book a Rupert Bear adventure?

Tilly xxxx

edinburgher

GG has that effect on me as well

gallygirl

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

That made me cry

Hugely thrilled - shall we book a Rupert Bear adventure?

Tilly xxxx

Oh yes please