Time to Face The Music

RelievedSheff

I can't wait for mortgage free day to come around. It will free up so much spare cash each month. We won't know what to do with it all

enthusiasticsaver

Good idea to overpay your mortgage when the debt is gone and good you can now get decent remortgage deals. We cleared our mortgage by our late 40s ready for retirement but there is a body of thought which says in these days of low interest rates investing in pensions and stocks and shares isas rather than overpaying the mortgage makes more sense financially. Nothing like being mortgage free though to give you a sense of security and minimising outgoings is great. When the mortgage was paid off we then focused on investing for the last 10 years of our working lives. 

RelievedSheff

I have been investing in my pension since I was 16, so my pension pot isn't looking too bad with 20 years of contributions plus employers contributions. The other half's isn't great but it will provide a bit of something.

We have recently started a stocks and shares ISA and have been putting £50 a month into that. We will look to increase that monthly amount once we have some of the debts cleared.

With the mortgage gone we will have plenty of money spare to invest a larger amount and ensure that we have plenty of money to live off in retirement.

First things first though we need to make big inroads into this debt.

alt80

Just seen the rate you’re on at the start of your diary getting onto high street rates going to make a massive difference. Definitely onwards and upwards for you there. 🥂 

I do get why people want to own their res home outright personally just can’t stand the thought of having all the money in equity sat there when could be used to leverage a bigger portfolio tbh whether that be property or other investments sorry. Actually feel I’ve got bit too much equity tied up in res home right now at my ltv. Mortgage rates (high st resi) are the cheapest finance you’ll ever get more of it the better IMO lol.

RelievedSheff

For us the security and peace of mind of having our own home owned outright far outweighs any want or desire for a property portfolio. You are right at the minute it is cheap finance, but for us having things paid off and owned outright is more important and will give us more options later in life.

Baileys_Babe

I just want to clear our mortgage for the security of a roof over our head without worries, less than £40k to go. 

ladyholly

Getting the paperwork from the Land registry showing the house is all ours was the best feeling.  I see what alt80 is saying but I value peace of mind knowing it is ours. As it happened we both had to retire early due to health problems it was a blessing having no mortgage to pay. 

enthusiasticsaver

I would agree with the above.  Just because borrowing is cheap it does not mean that people should borrow and similarly not everyone wants to be heavily invested in property.  Mainly though the advantage of being mortgage free is it gives you security to know you are not dependent on the bank to keep lending to you should circumstances change and peace of mind that your home is safe.  Also you have so much more disposable income for living. 

enthusiasticsaver

RelievedSheff said:

I have been investing in my pension since I was 16, so my pension pot isn't looking too bad with 20 years of contributions plus employers contributions. The other half's isn't great but it will provide a bit of something.

We have recently started a stocks and shares ISA and have been putting £50 a month into that. We will look to increase that monthly amount once we have some of the debts cleared.

With the mortgage gone we will have plenty of money spare to invest a larger amount and ensure that we have plenty of money to live off in retirement.

First things first though we need to make big inroads into this debt.

It sounds like you are in a pretty good position.  As you say once the debt and mortgage is gone you will have plenty of spare income and pension savings are more tax efficient on the way in than stocks and shares isas.  Even though we are retired we are still putting in the £2880 each to get the HMRC contributions.  Stocks and shares isas are more tax efficient on the way out but are great for plugging early retirement gaps. 

alt80

100 get property investment is not for everyone - I actually advised someone on here (not on this diary) potentially look to step away as ultimately it's a business; not as passive as a lot think. This person was also committing mortgage fraud and didn't have the first idea about LL reqs but anyhow... pulling the equity could apply to other non-property investments - ie if you can get say a c7% return and are paying c1.4% on the res mortgage to fund the investment which you can liquidate and pay off res mortgage if needed seems a total no brainer win win to me?