A Dream Worth Dreaming?

fjireland

Long time lurker, first time poster …. 

Hopping on because I come here for inspiration regularly 


…. so my story and plan I will share because I’m starting to flag and lose motivation … insights and opinions appreciated 😊

bought a London flat for £355k in 2017… £60k deposit, £153k mortgage and £142k help to buy loan  

2020 remortgaged to redeem 30% of 40% help to buy loan … salary had increased a bit so felt wise to do even with two more interest free years to go.. I wanted to feel like I was doing something about it rather than kicking the can down the road

2020 - also set myself target to save 32k over next three years to redeem final 10% help to buy 

end of 2021 - managed to hit target earlier than expected and got rid of final 10% help to buy - felt great, as 6 months later interest on it would have kicked in.. 

so went into 2022 with help to buy gone and mortgage balance of £228k

worked socks off last year - got it down to £195k by end of year

2023- this year worked hard again - now down to £162.5k 



when I say I worked hard, I mean since March 2020, I basically work 7 days a week - some holiday time where I switch off fully but it kind of became addictive working so much as I saw major dents in mortgage … but I’ve also been pretty frugal about buying stuff, clothes, going out etc 

have managed to go on holidays and they have been great for focusing on whilst working 7 days a week… but I feel like I’m hitting a wall.. 

my plan is 5 more years of this lifestyle - 7 days a week working … aimed to be mortgage free by December 2028… so I’d be done by 45… but I’m starting to flag and question is it worth it, am I trying to achieve too much, too fast ? 

What do you think? Any pearls of wisdom … outside perspectives appreciated 😊

beanielou

Only you can answer that question.

WElcome to MSE & happy shiny new diary 

fjireland

Thank you 😊

I know you are right … I think I’ve pushed super hard over the last four years and really I am proud of taking my mortgage/help to buy debt from £270k in June 2020 to £162.5k going into 2024.

It’s absolutely been worth it - before it felt like a weight on shoulders to have that level of debt as a single person with 33 years to go on it … I used to feel so overwhelmed thinking how will I ever pay that off …. Now I feel much more in control which is great 

I’m going into 2024 taking stock now … it seems like a good time… I still am determined to keep on this journey but maybe I might scale back a bit for 2024…. Instead of 30k off it, maybe I’ll aim for 20k and cut work out completely on one day of the weekend so I feel more balance … still on track on my mission but rebalancing so I don’t feel burnt out 

But I will absolutely keep overpaying and focused … just maybe not December 2028 as the goal anymore 

beanielou

A good idea I think to have one day off. 

Getting a balance is good. 

fjireland

Thank you ☺️ 

It’s really helpful to write down thoughts on here … as opposed to churning around in my head quietly …

I think I’m realising yes I have achieved lots (and absolutely want to achieve more by staying committed to the mortgage free goal)

I think I’m realising I need to be flexible..  my biggest fear has been not hitting goals I’ve set over the last four years… I have been so determined to hit exact numbers I planned in my head that I felt if I deviated a bit I was a failure … I’m realising that you can still keep on this path but maybe things won’t always go exactly as you planned and that’s ok 

It’s inspiring to read other people’s diaries and plans and see how resilient and flexible you all are whilst staying true to the ultimate goal of mortgage free living … 

Things honestly were easier during covid times in 20 and 21 for me… weird I know as most people struggled most then… but I honestly got so focused on this journey right before covid hit that this journey actually kept me going in a way… I had something to actually focus on despite all the challenges of those times… 2022 was good too


This year my bump really is that although I’m now on a higher salary, I’m reflecting that I’m not actually as happy or motivated .. work is well paid but I’m in a tricky place where I question how well I fit in anymore, lots of changes and I can sense I probably need to move on … but I won’t get as well paid a job again, especially in the current climate … so I’m going into 2024 a bit scared …

if I move job for better mental health and work life balance, I will need to accept a pay cut 

that’s painful to accept because it throws by December 2028 target mortgage free date off 

I think my plan I’m formulating is to cut back on the level of overpayments from January, but save the difference… give it a couple of months to build on a pretty low emergency fund (barely 1k at the moment 😕)


when that has built up to say 5 - 7k, then I will be in a better position to look at a job move

The lack of a decent fund  is my root at the moment 


it’s been great denting the mortgage but I lack the security of a decent emergency fund now… I had 5k this time last year but I have raided it throughout the year and neglected rebuilding because I focussed so much on achieving the £162.5k figure 


I think I’ve got my priority for the new year … let’s start rebuilding that emergency fund to feel some security again 🙂

newgirly

Hi and welcome 🙂 

That’s a huge achievement already well done getting it down to a more comfortable amount. Only you can decide the time frame you are happy with, I would play around with the figures on one of the good overpayment spreadsheets (there was a link to one on here the other day someone had put up) and see how many months difference it makes to your end date to say , work six days a week, five days a week, 7 days a week with a couple more holidays for rest etc. how much impact does it have? 

Only you can decide but that’s still quite a while to be so extreme? I’ve struggled with an all or nothing type mentality with my mortgage, right now it’s all for the mortgage as we had a lax year last year as it was dh’s 50th. 

Only you can decide but giving yourself permission to maybe set shorter targets might lift the pressure a bit, it’s hard when you have an end date in mind but you need to live too 🙂

fjireland

Thank you 😊

I know what you mean - about the all or nothing approaches… I think that’s my fear if I let myself change the plan then I’ll just pack it all in but it’s about balance and that’s a mentality I need to find 


I like your idea of a lax year then back on track… hope dh’s 50th was memorable…

Thank you, will have a look at various figures before settling on exact new plan for 2024

MatyMoo

You have done incredibly well already and I’m assuming that your property has also increased in value too?

A couple of things to chuck in the mix.  Do you also have a good pension building up or is your property part of that? Are you intending to stay in London or would you look to move out at some point? Your money would definitely go further even an hour out of London. 

It would definitely ease things, and give you a better work/life balance if you stretched your mortgage free date by 1-3 years and you would still be mortgage free well before you hit 50.

My own personal view is that working 7 days a week is not sustainable long term 😉

fjireland

Thank you 🙂

with regards to property value, mine actually dropped - I paid £355k and for my help to buy redemptions, it was valued at £325k twice… at the time, it obviously meant I paid back less so it didn’t hurt - I repaid 12k less than what help to buy originally was overall

I think the valuation is probably still as good as I would get today 

I know what you mean about moving out of London - it certainly would give more breathing space financially or value for money … but I’m hesitant to do that as I feel my circle of friends, job opportunities would be limited if I move out 

being single trying to shoulder a London mortgage is tough …. And I know I’m even on the lower end of the scale in terms of my borrowings for London… being single though means the burden is all mine and I can’t see my career progressing much further… I don’t want to depend on potentially having a partner in future, which I guess makes me so determined on this journey


I think it is very true though - 7 days a week I could do for the last few years but it’s not sustainable, I really feel like I’m burnt out… it’s satisfying seeing how far I’ve come but I’m basically just halfway there so cutting back the work and extending the journey by a couple of years does seem the most sensible option


My emergency fund needs to be my immediate priority but  food for thought, thank you 😊

fjireland

I should add my pension is generous and doing well 

fjireland

First op of the year done ✔️ £800 done

Like everyone else, January will be a tight month after Christmas

I will start my emergency fund very gently by end of the month. It has to be a big focus until June I’m thinking. Got big bills like ground rent and service charge to tackle this month as well as tidy up those Christmas expenses so progress with that will be pretty slow this month.

Roll on February …  January is a joyless month after December…. 

But I did the op this morning so I don’t start 2024 dropping the ball on the mf journey

Have decided not to focus on 2028 so much for the end now, will take some pressure off (for now)