The Mortgage Free Roll Of Honour

debtfreeoneday

a. The date you decided to become a MFW

August 2008 we had some £64k of debt and £118k of mortgage outstanding. 

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest

£118k when I seriously starting tackling it but it has been as high as £215k

c. Mortgage-Free Date

September 2023

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.

Overpay wherever you can. If we hadn’t done overpayments over the years we wouldn’t have cleared the mortgage with this house move. Friends have scoffed at us overpaying £1 or two here and there and literally pennies on other occasions but it all added up.  I always remember one poster saying to me that that was £1, I would never pay interest in again and it stuck with me that even those tiny amounts make a difference. 

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you

Other people on the boards have been amazing and motivational for sure. Time spent as a debt free wannabe and then on the mortgage free diaries have absolutely had a huge impact. Too many to mention but really grateful for anyone who reads and comments. 

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.

This was my main MFW diary

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5149508/mortgage-free-by-2023#latest

But I started a new one recently as it didn’t look like our mortgage free in 2023 was going to materialise. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6414501/it-always-seems-impossible-until-it-s-done/p1

KajiKita

Congratulations @debtfreeoneday 😊👏
Hope you are enjoying your new home 🏡 

KK

Cotswoldfoodie

Congratulations! Wonderful achievement 

Cotswoldfoodie

a. The date you decided to become a MFW

September 2019 when I realised how much interest I could save - initially planned to pay in off in 15 years

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest

£147k when I took it out, was at £122k when I decided to pay it off early in Sept 2020

c. Mortgage-Free Date

2nd October 2023 🥂🥰🎊

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.

Overpay and offset! I paid the full 10% OP allowed and two years ago moved to an offset mortgage which has really turbocharged it. I also took up stoozing and put all that in the offset account. I haven't been frivolous and really saved hard during COVID.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you

Everyone! Just knowing other people were trying to do the same thing, and reading about the journeys helped keep me going.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.

This was my main MFW diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6163551/new-mfwb/p1

Thriftmaster1973

A. 15/05/2010

B. Highest debt - £83,500 for 25 years.

C. Mortgage free date 01/03/2023 

D. Spend time making a plan, make sure the plan is doable, start noting down where cutbacks can be made and where earnings can be increased. Spend a couple of months "stress testing" to see how things work out in the real world.

Then begin the overpayment journey - monitor progress month after month. It really is like a marathon.

Research others on the MFW journey.

E. The community on the MFW have been brilliant, they have all encouraged me along the way.

F. Here was my diary...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5694361/the-journey-begins/p1

kdenty

a.  Decided to become MFW
No set date it just became a thing.  I was here in 2010 up to my neck in debt - about 24K.  So I got into budgeting* & managed to pay off the debts.  It took about 3-4 years.   

I started making mortgage overpayments after Covid. Covid was a scary time.  I took a mortgage payment holiday for 3 months till the government decided I was an essential worker after all!  I cancelled the direct debit and never reinstated it.  I would overpay whenever I had spare funds.  Luckily I had a super flexible mortgage that allowed holidays and overpayments. 

b. Highest Debt
I don’t remember the worst time was probably 2010 with the added debts, car loans credit cards etc.

c. Mortgage Free Date
Hopefully Monday (6 Nov 23) it took a day for some money to clear and we owe 3p (interest).  This is 8 years earlier than it would have been.

d. Pear of Wisdom
When you hit rock bottom things can only go up.  You will look back on that time you will realise how far you have come.

*Budgeting - Martin’s multiple allocated money pots worked best for me aka have an account for monthly bills, an account annual big bills, an account for spare/spending, an account for my self employed tax etc

MerryHen

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
Before we'd even bought our first house 😂 which we did in early 2016.

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
£142k 

c. Mortgage-Free Date
13th June 2023

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
Set up a regular overpayment standing order. Even if it's just a small amount it's still something. We had one set up for the start of the month, then if we had anything leftover at the end of the month they'd sometimes go towards it too. And play around with the overpayment calculator!

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
I lurked on so many MFW diaries. And the MSE overpayment calculator was also a great motivation, calculating how much interest we could save helped get DH on board too.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.

I wasn't very good at updating it 😅 but here it is 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6149797/the-hen-house-chronicles/p1 

Tahlullah.H

a. The date you decided to become a MFW
August 2013, after reading some fantastic diaries such as Tilly and GallyGirl.

b. Mortgage Debt at its highest
£85k, but this was up and down, buying 3 other properties and a campervan in between.

c. Mortgage-Free Date
6 December 2023

d. Your one pearl of wisdom.
Be organised if you can.  Try to structure your payments so that it becomes habit forming.  If you can earn smaller amounts from elsewhere, use this to make your life slightly easier whilst making the regular payments.  And then change to an Offset Mortgage, the best thing you can do for yourself.  If you pay down regularly, the capital reduces as does the interest, and you can borrow back to do what you want with the money.  You have to enjoy life whilst paying it down or it becomes a chore which you can give up on.

e. The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
So many fantastic people have come and gone.  But thanks goes to all who've been there and urged me on, especially when I couldn't see the progress I was making.

f. And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.
 Far too boring to share.  It is only there so I can look back in my dotage and marvel at what I achieved when I focused on something!

didabuf

The date you decided to become a MFW
Some time in 2011

Mortgage Debt at its highest
£112,500 - 3bed detached on the Yorkshire coast

Mortgage-Free Date
22nd December 2023 11.5 years it took.

Your one pearl of wisdom.
Do what you need to do, Don't feel that you need to be like everyone else. Work hard, be determined. Believe that it can happen.

The MSE Mortgage guides and others that helped you
Oh no, this was all me. Although I do love the OP calculator

And if you had a mortgage freedom diary on MFW, a link to it.
You can find it if you really want to, It's boring and short. But I love to look back on it. 

Qtipps44

Date decided to become mortgage free.
september 2012 when I took out the mortgage.

mortgage debt at highest
september 2012 @ £125000

mortgage free date
27th December 2023. Just over 11 years. I can’t believe that as we’ve dealt with redundancy, illness, extension, pregnancy and part time work.

your pearl of wisdom
cut your cloth appropriately. We didn’t miss out but we certainly didn’t go abroad, have up to date tech, fancy clothes or house. Every little helps even a few pounds on the tight months helped. When it gets near the end it goes quickly.

I read lots of diaries for inspiration and tips. I particularly liked reading about people starting out and their numbers. So grateful for mortgage free wannabe boards 2022 and 2023 for keeping me accountable. 

i did have a diary but didn’t really keep it up.

now I hope to work part time, continue to decorate our home (it’s been waiting long enough), go more holidays and build savings slowly.

thanks everyone.