Mortgage Free But Really Unhappy

gavfish

pathtofreedom wrote: »

Anything is possible it just depends on your expenses. https://www.moneymustache.com goes to the extreme to do this but it is all about can you live on just your mrs income, to keep building your btl business if that is the route you want to go down.

How are your pension savings? How many years ni do you have as you'll need 35+ each to get the full state pension - assuming they still have it by then.

Are you planning on any more kids, as I think that would impact your costs over the next 20 years.

I'm 37 and also in a job I hate. I am looking at moving and downsizing a bit now as my house is too big. I'm focusing on pension and savings etc so I can retire early. Once I have moved then I can look again at where I'm working as I'll have a mortgage sorted out then.

Thanks for your reply Path, I've got about 100k in a pension pot, but tbh am hoping the BTL's keep me in my old age and the lead-up to it.
No more kids planned, 2 are more than enough - need my beauty sleep

We could in theory pay bills on mrs salary alone, though it is a bit risky. It would be ok as a temporary thing the way I look at it.

Hope you get yourself sorted with your house and job soon!

gavfish

optimistic-mummy wrote: »

hi I have no real advice, but wanted to congratulate you on what you have achieved so far.
Id like to add no job is worth your health as previous posters have already mentioned. your still young. is a career change an option if you didn't feel 'safe' relying on your BTL income or as another poster suggested if finances allowed investing in more BTL properties which would in turn increase income


I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide is best for you and your family

Thanks Optimistic Mummy, Really appreciate your kind words and reality check

gavfish

Luckyinlife wrote: »

Great work on what youv managed in life so far

If your unhappy to the point it stresses you out and you lose family time just do something else easier said than done i know

Just remember family and health should be most important thing in life

Thanks Lucky for your kind words, I do want to be around to enjoy the hard work - my biggest fear is I won't.

Need to look for a new job in the near future by the looks of it.

gavfish

Watty1 wrote: »

yes it is possible - but - is it possible for you? One of the things I did was sit down and work out exactly how much we needed to live on in a year. Along with all income. and play with different pictures - so what happens if x happens and so on. that gave me the answer.
Are the BTL properties on repayment or interest only ? That might be key when it comes to thinking of future plans? Like if the mrs decides to give up work also.

Thanks Watty, I have done lots of spreadsheet scenarios and worried myself to death with all kinds of risks (interest rate rises, voids, tenants not paying etc). However I would try and de-risk these things as much as i possibly could. Worst case scenario would be to sell some properties.

gavfish

hildosaver wrote: »

First things first - get another job.

Work out exactly how much you and your family need to pay the bills and live on (if you had no rental income coming in) and work from there.

I would consider selling off one or two of your BTL properties (if you will make a reasonable profit from your initial investment on them) and paying down most of the debt on your other BTL's or your own home.

I think it would be sensible to look into reducing the risk that you and your family are exposed to - solidify your base and then you can build from there.

Once you feel more secure in your basic finances then you can think about expanding the BTL again if that is what you want to do.

Stress is a killer and if I was you the stress from your job would only be made worse by any chance of void's in BTL's causing severe problems - get rid of that concern and change your job will significantly reduce worry and stress and also give you more security.

I'm no expert though obviously and I can only state what I would do in your situation.

Thanks Hildo, You are right about the extra stress that comes with BTL's. I do what I can to mitigate some of these risks but it is a risky (therefore stressful) form of investment. I think if I only had that and not my job to worry about it would be much better.
Im so mad I would get more stressed if I wasn't earning a good return on my money

gavfish

gavted wrote: »

£37K is a workable family income. But it may mean making decisions on holidays/day out etc.. that you haven't had to worry about before.

If you want to know if YOU can do it, try doing it now. The wife and I are currently trying to live off my salary only as she has been told her office is closing. We only got the news in mid Jan, so Feb is the first month, but its looking good. And we now see where we have been frittering money away, which is now being saved! :j

And of course, while you are doing this, you can still look at other jobs.

As you have BTLs, you probably have everything on a spreadsheet, so just check the numbers and see what pops out the end.

Good luck with your journey.

Thanks Gav, Yes I think the only way I'll know if my figures are accurate is to try it for a few months.

Hope all works in your situation, The best of luck to you!

mummytofour

After years of stress, I decided to step off the hamster wheel and have spent the last few months getting well again.

My income has halved but I'm feeling so much better. I'm not saying its all roses but I think health is more important than money. Take the jump, if it does not work out go and look for another job. You get one shot at life, live it xx

getmore4less

I think you have enough to live on but you have to look at cash flows and exit strategies re: CGT. and end of terms of the various debts.

Could you set up a business managing properties you have to do it for yourself and full time you could take on others for people.

Another angle if interested is property flipping review the portfolio for low yielders and sell off and get new higher yielding into the net, maybe doer uppers if that takes your fancy with all the spare time giving up paid work.

I would probably look at some cash flow tool like an offset on your own property that you can fill up with cash to cover the voids/repairs, new purchases etc.


If that £17k is net after all expenses that's 3.4% yield on total values, quite a bit more on your capital invested.

gavfish

An update on this, I today resigned from my job!

I was pushed unreasonably once more and decided I have had enough. I don't have anything lined up as yet but I will hopefully try and live off the money from the BTL's and see how it works for a couple of months. I can always look for something else whilst i'm off.

Feeling like a huge weight has been lifted already. Thanks to all for the advice so far.

gavfish

Update time:

I did take a couple of months off work and financially I was ok, However i did really struggle with keeping busy.

I have suffered from depression for several years (sometimes worse than others) and I must admit it was a particularly difficult two months.

So I did put in lots of effort to get a local low-responsibility job, ideally property related as I do enjoy the day-to-day running of my property business. However All I could get in the end was another consultancy role full time doing exactly the same type of job again!

I tried but when I got the offer I thought I had nothing to loose and by that time i was so bored I gave it another shot.
I've been at the company over 3 months now and really bored of the work and streeses that go with it again now.

So I've had the idea of putting in a request to only work 3 days per week. I wasn't brave enough at first but decided I have nothing to loose as I'd probably quit again come Christmas.

I'm just waiting to hear back from management now to find out if my request has been granted.

Really wishing I knew how to get out of this 'trap' of not knowing what I want to do. I certainly know what I don't want to do. Even quitting my job has not brought me the happiness I wish I could feel.