The Mortgage Free Roll Of Honour

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Well done Gally and HDK - sorry I missed yours!

toejumper

I became mortgage free on 1/08/2016
Sadly my mum passed away in 2009 and with my inheritance I paid a big chunk off my mortgage then increase my monthly payment, I also had a endowment for the mortgage which has given me some extra cash that I know can invest.

MortgageFreeMimi

a. The date you decided to become a MFW: probably January 2012 - my mortgage was taken out with 60% interest only when I was temping in 2009 with nearly 6% interest as I was not a great candidate for lending at the time. That said, I was so pleased to be a) living by myself and b) on the property ladder which had seemed impossible for years of flatsharing in London spending £££££s on rent (my parents lent me the deposit) I didn't care about my mortgage payments being 50% of my tenuous income. I had no problem living off very little (was single and constantly on a diet) which was lucky as after getting a steady but boring permanent job I quit to work for a friend's start-up and took a 30% paycut for a career change. After my first month of comission (took a while to get there and my disposable income was £60 a week til that point and then again for a while after!), I paid a £4k chunk of my interest only portion and thinking that I would have a MUCH more affordable monthly payment and was livid it was only £19 a month off. Then I came on here and saw sense and that became my goal - happy to earn not very much on the "low base salary only" months but no worries about losing the roof over my head. Working for a start up in a recession really hammered it home hard.

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest -£152k

c. Mortgage-Free Date 25th August 2016!!

d. Your one pearl of wisdom: Keep at it. No matter how small the OPI is, that debt is shrinking. 5 years down the line of deciding to do it,I can't believe this slog is over! It was uphill! I am not naturally thrifty when I have had a good run at work as I feel like it will be my last ever good month so my OPs were driven by anxiety rather than by innate frugality. The EU Referendum vote spurred me on as that will have a big impact in a couple of years and so I went flat out at work and cut down on my accidental splurges.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you; the MFW 2016 thread MASSIVELY HELPED. Everyone with the same target and regular updates demonstrating that every contribution is worth it. I came on to this thread too every time I saw it updated. And other regularly updated diaries too - the focus is contagious.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it. No diary.

Next is saving for renovations for my flat and my husband's flat (definitely not mortgage free sadly)then deposit for a cottage in total isolation. And overpaying that too! I hope I'm back on this thread in 15-20 years time.

Please may I have my badge!:j

ElusiveLucy

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
I have been OPing my mortgage ever since I took it out in 2001 - it was a tracker and as I started it the base rate started to drop so I kept my payments at the same value. I seriously reviewed my mortgage back in the middle of 2010 when I decreased the term from 25 years to 20 years (thereby increasing the monthly payment) and increased my OPs to £500 a month.


b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
£120,000

c. Mortgage-Free Date
September 2016, just under 10 years off the original 25-year term

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
Stick with it, no matter how small your OPs but don't put your life on hold. I kept a spreadsheet that was really useful in showing how much I had achieved and how things would pan out in the future if I adjusted payments.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
I joined the MFW challenges each year and the MFiT challenges and the regular reporting and support really helped to keep me motivated.


Now, I just have to decide what to do next!
:beer:


Oooo, do I get a badge?

black_taxi_2

EL I started saving,1st time in my life

ElusiveLucy

I was doing that while I was OPing the mortgage, so I am well trained in that respect. I just need to work out the best way to look after it until I retire, which is further away than it should be! (pension age was 60 when I started work and now 67 before I get my pension from the government, can't see any way I will be able to afford it before then, which give me another 15 years to go)

black_taxi_2

I panicked,like most when they hit 50

debt
mortgage
pension

I will hav state pension & savings

maybe take out crtical health insurance

I'm single

conorh

Holy Sh*t I'm now mortgage free!!


A - Date we decided to become MF - as soon as we got a mortgage...
B - Highest Mortgage Debt - About 210k...
C - MF Date - 9 August 2016....
D - Pearl of Wisdom - don't panic, you still have to live your life. Its not the be all and end all.. Overpay what you can when you can


I didn't think I would ever become mortgage free, but with my lovely wife, we both worked hard and done it. Now its time to save for a pension...
Good Luck

hiswitzend

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
23rd Jan 2012

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
£78,210 Jan 2009

c. Mortgage-Free Date
28th Sept 2016

d. Your one perl of wisdom.
Work out how you can maximise over paying but still save for a
rainy day.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/71371375#Comment_71371375

EssexHebridean

We've only gone and done it!

a. The date you decided to become a MFW Pretty much when I joined on here - May 2008
b. Mortgage Debt at its highest Started out at £103k
c. Mortgage-Free Date TODAY!!! 30th september 2016
d. Your one pearl of wisdom. Don't try to cut everything to the bone - yes you *might* pay the mortgage off marginally quicker than a more steady approach, but equally you might get utterly fed up with it and give it up as too difficult!
e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you Just the general MSE message really - plus assorted blogs have provided inspiration along the way too.
f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it. Sorry you lot on here but it's the Debt Free Wannabe board where I've been camped out throughout.

Mortgage was originally taken out in July 2003 - we made a conscious decision not to stretch ourselves on what we bought, and as we had no savings for a deposit AND had a debt we wanted to clear we went for a 100% mortgage - yes, one of the infamous Northern Rock Together products! we talked about overpaying, but never quite got round to it until a conversation with a friend in Spring 2008 when we suddenly realised we didn't have to OP by a fortune - just whatever we could afford! So that was how it started - literally working out one at a time what we could shave off our regular bills - and each time we made another saving, the OP went up! I think from memory we started on £10 per month. We were helped along the way by the Northern Rock split - we were one of only 2% of mortgage accounts that got accepted over by the "good bank" so when our fixed rate expired we were able to renegotiate a deal and chose to also reduce the term thanks to the reduction in interest rate coupled with the OP's we'd already banked.

Our fixed rate ended today - I had got the redemption figure a couple of weeks ago and ascertained the correct account details to pay by regular bank transfers rather than Telegraphic Transfer, which attracts a fee. Having done the 2 x £10k bank transfers in the early hours of the morning, all that remained this morning was for me to phone up and pay the remaining £606.87 on my debit card - much to the amusement of the chap on the phone!

Paid off in full in 13 years, 2 months and 6 days - nearly 12 years early. :T