Mortgage-free...where to start?

101 Posts

Hello all,
I recently purchased a mortgaged home, and cannot wait to be mortgage free already!
But, I don't know where to start...or whether making overpayments is the right financial decision for me at this present time....
I have a few buy-now-pay-later bills to pay off by next year- totals around £3k. Should I pay that off sooner and then start mortgage overpayments or is it wiser to start overpayments now and pay off the other stuff in smaller installments over the rest of the year?
Also, if i make overpayments, does it mean my i'll be paying less interest overall too?
Also, I'm with Halifax, how can I find out how much maximum i can overpay in a year? I can afford to make £200 overpayments each month...
Sorry for so many questions, but thank you in advance!
I recently purchased a mortgaged home, and cannot wait to be mortgage free already!
But, I don't know where to start...or whether making overpayments is the right financial decision for me at this present time....
I have a few buy-now-pay-later bills to pay off by next year- totals around £3k. Should I pay that off sooner and then start mortgage overpayments or is it wiser to start overpayments now and pay off the other stuff in smaller installments over the rest of the year?
Also, if i make overpayments, does it mean my i'll be paying less interest overall too?
Also, I'm with Halifax, how can I find out how much maximum i can overpay in a year? I can afford to make £200 overpayments each month...
Sorry for so many questions, but thank you in advance!
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Replies
You will have many years to make overpayments, so should not be in too much of a rush at the moment.
You can give Halifax a call to check what overpayments you can make.
If you put your figures into this calculator you'll be able to see how much interest you'll save. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/
Balance 27/07/2016 £49990
Balance 08/07/2017 £47999
Balance 30/07/2018 £44500
Balance 01/08/2019 £40700
Balance 03/09/2020 £37619
Balance 30/09/2021 £33983
I am aware that there is nothing quite like owning your own home but it is not the only aspect. A common approach is to do both - half and half : Half goes to OP and reducing term and interest, half goes to investments to help build your wealth in the long term. This view will be the minority view on this forum, but some people are going the other way and reducing repayments to be able to afford more investments. The important thing is to do what you feel comfortable with, and not spend it on trivia
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