Mortgage Free and Ready to Start Enjoying Life

pjembe · 1 November 2017 at 2:11PM

After a really bad couple of years financially for us we are now Mortgage free and have started planning on what we want to do with our new found financial freedom.

Our road to this point started a couple of years back when the directors of a company is was working for decided to the wanted to break up their partnership. As the manager I was told to keep things going until the business could be taken over by another company. This was incredibly stressful as two of the owners had resigned leaving one partner who had no interest. Eventually after keeping things going for over six months, another company took over and I was told that I was no longer required as they had their own management structure. And that was that! I was told that I could go that day and an external HR company would be in touch. So having been in work all my life I was at a loss combined with the stress of running the business with little support for the previous six months it put me in a really dark place.

My family were fantastic and so supportive but I needed to get back to work as my other half's wages would not be enough to cover all our outgoings. As we were getting towards the end of my severance money. I was asked by the MD of another company located in the same building as my previous job whether I would come and manage that branch. I agreed but it was for less money and fewer hours but needs must. At that point and after talking it through with my family we decided we needed to ensure that we weren't at risk of being homeless or repossesed ever again.

We decided that as we had little in savings and a fair amount of debt that we should sell our house and downsize and clear off as much debt as possible.

we duly put our house on the market with an online estate agent. After about three months being on the market we had an offer on our house very near our asking price and we accepted the offer. A couple of days later we received another offer for the full asking price but being the type of people we are we declined as we had already accepted the lower offer. Things were going OK but things went very quiet. So I contacted our estate agent to find out if everything was OK. Unfortunately the buyer had to withdraw an the chain collapsed. Our estate agent contacted the person who had made the second offer but they had found somewhere else and were soon going to be moving in.

So the house went back on the market and viewings dwindled until a few months ago when we received an offer out of the blue. It was well under our asking price but enough for us to be able to move on, so we accepted.

So we started looking for a smaller property and found one pretty quickly at a reasonable price and our offer was accepted.

We started the process of selling what we could, giving stuff away to family, friends and charity shops and binning years of accumulated tat we were ready to move. However the solicitor we were using and who was tied in with the estate agent we used was not particularly good and we ended up running around trying to sort out documents and legal forms she should have had sorted out months before. In fact we were still unsure as to whether we were going to exchange contracts two days before we were expecting to move.

This was last Friday and luckily, with us badgering the solicitor constantly we exchanged contracts and moved.

The mortgage was paid off, we bought the house we own now outright and had surplus to pay off nearly all of our accumulated debts.

The proceeds from the house sale arrived yesterday and I was straight into the bank we paid off our two credit cards and closed the accounts. paid off the loan we had when we were doing up our old house and cleared the overdraft. The only thing we have left to pay off is our car but the payments are well within our new. monthly budget.

This has been a huge life changing experience that has changed our focus on life. When it first happened it was a case of surviving and panic mode but as we have gone through this experience, it has changed our mindset that at the end of the day the things we were driven by was stuff. having the latest TV, big house and all those things that go with it. During the dark days I saw an inspirational picture with the line don't die with dreams, die with memories. This gave me the focus not to concentrate on stuff but to enjoy and experience life.

It's very early days being mortgage free and very nearly totally debt free but it is a huge relief with just that fear at the back of my mind that I don't want to go back to the dark days I was in about a year ago.

wishingthemortgaheaway · 1 November 2017 at 6:53PM

Wow, what a journey.
You will find so many people here who will support youwith your next steps.

All the very best. I shall subscribe to cheer you on.