So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

Karmacat

That's adorable 😁 and a brilliant compromise 🌞

rtandon27

Well done Vix & Mr. Vix on being mortgage free - what an achievement! 🎈🎉🎊💖

themadvix

Thanks RT!

I posted the below on the MF roll of honour, but realising that not many people read it, I’m going to repost it here.

 This is a quote from Tilly’s diary (to which I owe a huge debt of gratitude for the inspiration, having read it at least twice). It’s WestieLass’s story (I think). I sent it to Mr MV in 2016 and it has remained in my inbox ever since as a bit of inspiration. Obviously times change and I don’t think BTLs are the answer anymore, but I still take huge inspiration from it. 

Hi Tilly,

Oh, where to begin! I think it was mostly down to sheer determination really!

Yes, i am now 48 and DH is 45. In our mid 30s we noticed that we were both pretty miserable in our work, would come home exhausted, and would then spend evenings moaning at one another about colleagues etc! We are both University graduates, and had ended up in management roles that paid decent enough money, but which quite frankly bored us to tears and drained the life out of us!

So we went away on holiday to the sunshine, and spent 2 weeks on the beach talking, and plotting our escape. Obviously, we had to stick with the dull jobs initially, but with a plan in place and an end in sight, we felt better able tohandle the workplace. When we first began this, we had recently moved house and the 25 years on the mortgage certificate was just so depressing to see. Thankfully, we had always been pretty good with our money, so had no other debts, and knew that for us, mortgage free was the dream!

So we started to throw everything we could at the mortgage....we made overpayments as often as was possible, we lived very frugally and just tried to save every penny. We don't smoke or drink, but the one luxury for us is travel....so we continued to travel as much as possible, but in a much cheaper way...back to the student days of backpacking and camping (and we loved it). Worked as much overtime as possible for a few years, hubby did diy for people, renovated cars and sold them on, painted houses, babysitting, ebay selling....you name it, we did it. And we managed to pay off the mortgage on our own home in 6 years    If you'd told me that at the start, I would never have believed it possible, but it was and we did it. We had also bought the 2 buy to let properties while we were still earning decent money and able to get mortgages! Every penny in rent received on them went to the mortgages, and then when our own home was paid off, we switched the focus to the btl's and worked every bit as hard at clearing them off too (and we did).

It was 10 years of very hard work, but ultimately quite enjoyable, because we knew the end result would be well worth it. There were no windfalls along the way, it was all down to sheer hard work and determination (oh how it annoys me now when friends say how "lucky" we are to be mortgage free!!! )

So on the morning of my 45th birthday, my hubby brought me breakfast in bed with a "happy retirement" card.....Yay   

Of course we're not in a position to be totally retired, but we can now work as and when we want. So we both spend the summer as sailing instructors (which we love), and then naff off to the sun in the winter. We'll never be rich, but we honestly don't care...our needs are fairly minimal....so long as we can throw on our shorts in the morning we are happy  (My hubby gave all his suits to charity and announced he would never wear one again!!)

So basically that's it.....sorry if it's a bit long winded lol (wakey,wakey )

South_coast

Congratulations Vix, very well-deserved (albeit I am slightly jealous you already have your MF badge - mine appears to be lost in the post 🤣)

I definitely think you need more of a celebration than multibuy snacks though 😀!

themadvix

😂😂😂 Thanks SC! How have you not got your badge yet?! That’s outrageous! 

We will celebrate, and I’m a bit miffed we’re not even going for Friday night drinks this evening but Mr MV isn’t feeling great, so it seems better to wait. 

Staffordia

Congratulations Madvix 👏 

I found  that not having a mortgage to pay was so liberating, and accelerated my retirement plans by over 3 years.

You may decide to take on another mortgage in the future, but enjoy your achievement.

Staffordia

South_coast said:

Congratulations Vix, very well-deserved (albeit I am slightly jealous you already have your MF badge - mine appears to be lost in the post 🤣)

I still haven't got my retirement badge nearly 3 years later.

Jessy103

Huge congratulations to you and Mr vix! 🍾🎉🎊

QueenJess

Congratulations! 🎉🥳 That’s so exciting! The best thing is the peace of mind and the possibilities it opens up. In just over 11 years is very impressive, there’s no way I can do mine in 11 years, but you’ve inspired me to hit the mortgage a bit harder.

Edit: I see you got your badge - yay! I also read the mortgage free roll of honour and see I was mentioned 😳. Thanks very much! I can’t imagine many people read my waffle either 😂

kaycastle

Your story is truly inspiring. Congratulations on your mortgage freedom 👏