I don't understand this obsession with being mortgage free

Lomcevak

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Leveraging with debt is double edged. Not only are gains greater but losses too. Remember the old adage if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

This. Leverage is great when the market is going up, not so much when it is going in the other direction.

We live in a time of unusually low interest rates, and relatively good economic conditions. It may last, it may not, nobody knows, although the longer it goes on, the easier it is to forget that sub-2% mortgage rates are not entirely normal.

Whatever happens though, thinking how a highly-leveraged property portfolio would perform in a downturn is well outside my risk threshold, so i'm happy making hay while the sun shines, paying down the mortgage, and becoming mortgage-free as part of a balanced plan that also includes fully-utilizing pension and ISA allowances. I'm happy without the leverage

longway2go

The simple answer is everyone is different.

I actually have a btl which is helping me clear my residential mortgage monthly. For me it is about not paying more interest that I need to and having the security for my young family. Having the money I currently spend on my mortgage each month to enjoy thing with my kids when they are a little older is about a lifestyle change.

If I ever loose my job with every overpayment I am helping to secure my families future.

I used to be a mortgage advisor and sold when rates were around 6% which wasn't that long ago. Things are good at the moment but can quickly change.

fresh_cotton

This is all based on the misconception that making more money is superior to anything else AND that there can never be too much of it.

I dont think anyone on here is under the impression that clearing a mortgage that has an interest rate of 2.5% is the biggest financial success of the year.

Mortgage freedom is more about ones lifestyle and outlook. For me it is also about simple living.

This may sound a little privileged ( and I really am not) - But making loads of money is easy and actually pretty common. Making the most out of life is difficult, and very few manage to achieve it.

It is said in the opening of this discussion that “rich people get richer thanks to huge amounts of debt …. “ - let us not presume that these same people are getting any happier in doing so.

bexster1975

What fresh cotton says.

Just a thought, but maybe the mortgage free wannabe forum isn't for you OP?

If your question about not understanding the obsession is genuine, I'd suggest a read of a handful of the many threads created on the MFW board ( including those of the people here who have already replied). Success and wealth can be measured in ways far more sophisticated than money

Bexster

alan_d

For me it's about life-risk.
For now, i'll carry on with a job I don't particularly enjoy because it pays well and is reasonably secure while I chip away at the mortgage, and throw a load at my pension.
Once it's gone (and the end IS in sight) then i'll be in a far better position to jump into something else that doesn't pay as well but far more enjoyable, linked to a hobby or part-time or whatever.
I'm not as regimented with spending/saving as many on here, and certainly not obsessed over the mortgage, but it's certainly my main (financial) priority to get rid of it.
Edited to add, I had a share in a B2L for many years, and i'm glad it's now gone, more hassle than it was worth!

couriervanman

People have different circumstances......me personally 56 and mortgage/worry free:j:beer:

badmemory

to name just a couple of incentives to be mortgage free


interest rates going up from under 7% to over 15% in a very short period of time (well it certainly felt very short at the time)


threat of redundancy with young family & its only support



further threat of redundancy when well over 50 when in many spheres you become virtually unemployable


The above to most would make mortgage freedom highly desirable, surely none of us wants to look homelessness in the face & that is basically what owing no money for the roof over your head secures.