Burning the mortgage and kindling FIRE

savingholmes

That sounds a fabulous reward for getting mortgage free - and something great to aim for. You are doing so well.

Edgeoftheburn

Thanks Savingholmes it is not something I could justify before but with the mortgage gone, it really is the ultimate reward.

Edgeoftheburn

Bank holiday accounts complete and still on target for September to be mortgage free, the closer it gets the more impatient I become.

However we have a leak in our roof that has been bothering us on and off over the years, my husband does a temp fix and it lasts a while but never permanently. This time it is back and worse than before, time for a proper fix, so had a chap out to quote for repair, thinking it may be costly which might set us back.

Holiday planned for October, OH special birthday, he has had the Faroe Islands on his bucket list for a while. He is intrigued with the tunnels from island to island and the undersea roundabout. Short flight, car hire and 10 days accomodation booked. Love having an adventure to look forward to!

savingholmes

Repairs to the roof are a priority. Glad you have the holiday to look forward to as well.

South_coast

Ooh, I think I would be intrigued by undersea tunnels and an undersea roundabout too (too much Enid Blyton as a child - that woman has a lot to answer for 🤣)! Hopefully the roof repair doesn't put you back too much and it can also be a M-Freedom celebration 😀

Edgeoftheburn

Thanks for the encouragement savingholmes and South_coast.

You are right it is a priority no point paying off a mortgage while ignoring issues that get more expensive to fix in the long run.

We love Enid Blyton in this house too it's still my teenage daughters favourite she still listens to audio books like a comfort blanket. 

Edgeoftheburn

Roof fix complete, was a months mortgage payment so slightly painful, but absolutely necessary. Back on track and continuing to try to shuffle everything towards the last of the mortgage.

School holidays start next week and trying to think of creative and cheap ways to entertain. We have started house/pet sitting, which has been great fun, hope we can fit another in over the holidays to get a change of scenery. 

My mortgage payment calculation obsession is now shifting towards modelling retirement scenarios and how much we would need. Not sure this is entirely healthy and need to find a way to set and forget with an annual review or something. I think it might be because I am close to one goal and not got a solid plan for the next one. Always need a plan.

Solstice goal, enjoy now ☀️

Edgeoftheburn

School and now work holidays well underway and annual numbers complete, my husband and I have July as our review month started a number of years ago and has stuck.

Mortgage still on track for September pay off, using monthly chuck everything at it and my endowment maturing. I got the maturity statement through and while it would have fallen short of the original mortgage it was intended to cover, it hasn't done too badly over the 25 years especially as it also provided life and critical illness cover. So all in all pretty proud of the younger me who kept it on a savings tool when there was nothing but doom and gloom in the press about them. 

I have been reading about Coast Fire a lot recently and it very much appeals. Build up a pot that at a certain point you stop contributing to but that grows by compound effect until you are ready to drawdown.The advantage is that you can then work to cover outgoing costs only. In our case this could be in 3.5 years if the wind blows in the right direction and could enable me to care for my Mum when she needs it. By focusing so much on the mortgage over the years our costs have always been fairly low, with holidays our only real splurge.

Our new discovery of house sitting has been a fun way of getting some of that holiday vibe but saving on accommodation. 

Edgeoftheburn

We cracked open the nice bottle of fizz last night to celebrate mortgage freedom 🍾.

My endowment policy matured on the 01 Sep, was paid out much faster than expected and was in my account on Monday morning. Called the mortgage company on Monday, settlement statement provided on Wednesday, money transferred same day and by Friday account was showing closed. After all the counting down and years of slow and steady progress it all happened extremely quickly. I don't think it has fully sunk in yet, I think that will happen on next pay day when we don't have to allocate the huge mortgage payment.

Having never done this before we learned we have to get our solicitor to remove the claim on the property, so will get PoAs in place too something we have been meaning to do. From experience this makes things so much easier should a loved one loose capacity, you are never too young.

Next month I am having 2 weeks unpaid leave, so will enjoy our holiday relax the reigns temporarily and in November we are going to up my husbands pension contribution and our ISA savings. 

Mortgage burned, now stoking that fire 🔥 

South_coast

Ooh, congratulations! Very well done to both of you 😀😀😀 Enjoy your break and good luck for the next stage x

I'd double-check about needing a solicitor to remove the charge though, it's not something I ever did. I just got a letter from the bank after a few weeks to confirm they were going to do it, then a while later checked the Land Registry online and made sure it was in my sole name