Ease up or plough on?

loveginhatetonic

Just over 3 years ago I was in debt and struggling. I owed around £23k (not including mortgage) which in comparison to my earnings was really high.
I have now cleared all debts and only have a mortgage left. I'm 63 now so will reach retirement age in a couple of years but my mortgage runs till I'm 70.
Now all other debts are cleared I am throwing EVERYTHING at the mortgage (£39k outstanding- On a variable rate which has gone up 4 times in the last 3 months and now sits at 4.24%). I have no savings or rainy day fund as every spare penny has gone to clearing the debt but I'm now starting to worry about not having any savings in the event of an emergency. Ideally I want the mortgage cleared ASAP (I don't want to work full time till I'm 70) - Should I keep overpaying with everything I have or is it now time to try and save a bit?

edinburgher

How is your pension provision and is there any particular reason you're staying on the variable rate when a fix would be cheaper?

LadyGnome

You need savings otherwise if a problem hits you will end up back into debt.  Can you get a fixed rate mortgage so you can plan on a known monthly figure for a year or two?  Then you could build up an RDF of a certain amount whilst making token overpayments on the mortgage e.g. £10pm and once you have a bit of a fund saved up start to increase the amount of OP and reduce the amount of saving.

Think about your monthly outgoings e.g. how much would you need for 1 month bare bones survival?  Do you have any big items that will likely need replacing in the next couple of years e.g. car, fridge, washing machine?

Well done on the debt clearance - build yourself a safety net so you won't ever go back there.

dimbo61

For the last 3 years you have been clearing expensive debt, paying the mortgage and surviving !
Well done 👍 
Now a little thing like £39,000 should be No problem with someone with your skills and mindset.
Review your options RE pensions and making sure you can receive the Max state pension possible while also chipping away at you debt.
I wonder what Interest rate you have been paying

loveginhatetonic

Thanks for all the responses - much appreciated!

I'm back at the spreadsheet, testing out all options (including a possible lump sum from my work pension that I hadn't considered (thanks edinburgher)). 

I t

savingholmes

Good luck with finding a workable plan.