Cutting it Fine - the challenge is on!

SandyShores

Now debt-free and been able to get on the ladder again in our 50's.  Exciting but scary and I'm keen to get on and see the back of this mortgage which is about £310k.  Scary but good to be in our own home again.  Feels like we're cutting it fine to be mortgage free by retirement - but hey, I never thought I'd be debt free in six years (£25k), so never say never.  

rugbymadfamily

Congrats on the property purchase! Sounds like you've done well getting debt free before, just about applying similar principles to the mortgage pay down. Best of luck with it!

SandyShores

Thanks rugbymad it seems a much bigger task, but I'm going to do my best.  

I've downloaded a mortgage overpayment spreadsheet from the web which shows that at the end of our 5 year fixed interest period, if we didn't make any overpayments, the interest paid would be around £25k (at year 5) 😲.  But, if we start overpaying £1k/mth next June as planned, then interest would come down to about £20k.  I was expecting it to be a bigger saving, but I won't turn my nose up at £5k as well as the interest saved over the remaining years and the increase in equity.  DH will be able to access some of the equity in his pension in a few years so we might hurry it along with that as well - although we need to consider that carefully.

SandyShores

Oh dear, I was looking at the wrong dates altogether on the mortgage calculator the other day.  Don't give up the day job Sandy!  The mortgage started in 2020, so five year fixed rate will be up in 2025 (I think I was looking at 2026).  And the interest saved by overpaying £1k/pmth for those final four years will be  approx £2k, although we would also have shaved an extra £48k off the mortgage.  That will be around £125k of property paid for in only five years.  The plan is to do the same over the following five years, coupled with DH's pension drawdown if necessary, but we'll assess at each step of the journey.  It will definitely be best to remortgage at some point once the H2B free period comes to an end, but it doesn't have to be done immediately, there's time to weigh up the options as the interest is fairly low to start with.  Paying it off means we'll have to pay for a revaluation and pay off fee, but it will open up more mortgage options, especially as we should have good equity (about 25% with no overpayments, 38% with £48k overpayments, and it could be even higher if we use DH's pension drawdown).

Its great to look forward to this, but I sometimes (a) end up kicking myself over not doing it sooner and (b) wonder if I should be so strict about this as we're in our fifties and do need to enjoy our lives and (c) all this looking forward to paying off the mortgage means that I'm constantly looking towards a time when I'm at retirement age (!!!).  All three are sort of connected - (a) is where I beat myself up about things I've done wrong or things I haven't done, and (b) is about finding the things in life that are meaningful not just things that cost money and (c) means I need stop worrying and just enjoy life.  I've found a really good article on the internet about how dwelling on the past detracts from your present so I'm going to paste it here as a starter and a reminder: https://medium.com/swlh/forgive-yourself-for-everything-you-think-youve-done-wrong-eb932965bdec but I also need to stop worrying about the future as well.  So, my aims are to keep healthy, keep learning and to focus on the here and now (while paying off the mortgage as quickly as possible of course ).

Fortune_Smiles

Hi there @SandyShores 😀  I think we're in a similar position.  We also took on a large mortgage in our 50's feeling that it was our last chance to achieve the home and lifestyle we dreamed about.  That was 3 years ago and, already, we're feeling more relaxed about the amount we owe and have never regretted the decision.

Good luck with your plans.

Fortune x

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi Sandyshores and Fortune Smiles

Another one here in a similar position.  I was previously mortgage free but then my marriage feel apart (well actually ex had a midlife crisis, the grass was not greener though!) so now at 50 I have just taken on a large mortgage in my sole name and my repayment date is also 2039, which I would like to reduce to 2034 if possible.  It is scarey but also somewhat empowering and age is only a number after all!

Good luck to us all

MvTMM

LeighofMar

Welcome with your new diary. We bought our house when I was 38 and hubby was 53. Our original payoff date is 2045 when I'm 68 and he would be 83. Definitely not happening. Paying off the mortgage early will be the best retirement present you can give yourself, and we'll be cheering you on. 

SandyShores

Fortune_Smiles said:

Hi there @SandyShores 😀  I think we're in a similar position.  We also took on a large mortgage in our 50's feeling that it was our last chance to achieve the home and lifestyle we dreamed about.  That was 3 years ago and, already, we're feeling more relaxed about the amount we owe and have never regretted the decision.

Good luck with your plans.

Fortune x

Hi Fortune, and thank you. 

Its so good to hear I'm not alone.  I will bookmark and follow your journey if you don't mind.

Sandy x

SandyShores

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain said:

Hi Sandyshores and Fortune Smiles

Another one here in a similar position.  I was previously mortgage free but then my marriage feel apart (well actually ex had a midlife crisis, the grass was not greener though!) so now at 50 I have just taken on a large mortgage in my sole name and my repayment date is also 2039, which I would like to reduce to 2034 if possible.  It is scarey but also somewhat empowering and age is only a number after all!

Good luck to us all

MvTMM

Hi MvTMM

It is good to hear that I am very definitely not alone, although I'm sorry that your mortgage situation isn't out of your doing (I have to admit that I am partly to blame for my situation).  But you are sooo right, age is only a number - I keep Allen Carr's worrying book by my bedside (Allen Carr of stop smoking fame) and he says the same about age.  

Yes Definitely very good luck to us all, Sandy   (will pop over and bookmark your thread too if that's okay).

SandyShores

LeighofMar said:

Welcome with your new diary. We bought our house when I was 38 and hubby was 53. Our original payoff date is 2045 when I'm 68 and he would be 83. Definitely not happening. Paying off the mortgage early will be the best retirement present you can give yourself, and we'll be cheering you on. 

 Thank you for popping in Leigh.  Another diary I will be following, if that's okay.  I need all the positivity and cheering I can get.  Sandy

SandyShores

I was so pleased to have some lovely responses in my diary, I felt really motivated today and off I went in the rain on my run in a really good mood.  

I was thinking about my goals all the way around and the challenges I feel that I'm facing at the moment.  Aside from that tiny little goal of paying down the mortgage and saving money, my goals are:

• Lose Weight/Get stronger
• Get a more rewarding job
• Improve my running
• Add some depth to my life - hobbies, giving back etc.
• And my sort of fantasy goal is to build a garden room and/or buy a holiday property.  I just imagine having a garden room (for some reason its all white inside) where I can go and sew or paint, or a holiday apartment close to the sea where we can walk by the beach and relax.  Neither of these will probably happen, but then I never thought I'd pay my debts off or ever own a house again, so they are in the list as you never know

So, thank you to everyone for popping in and giving me a lift and giving me some focus.  I really should be working now, so I'd better get on, but I'm looking forward to reading everyone's diaries over the next few days.