Help me become mortgage free before I turn 50

Oceanic815__

Hi, 

Any useful tips?? We are both 29 years old.

I have a current mortgage outstanding of £220,000 on a house valued at £294,995. I have a 35 year mortgage fixed at 4.37% for 5 years. Just started this home journey. 

Newbie_John

Open ISA, keep putting there as much money as possible. Never deep in. Repeat every year. When you turn 50 and have there more than outstanding balance - pay off in full.

beanielou

My advice is to overpay whatever you can whenever you can. 

BestnamesRgone

Agree with Beanielou, chip away with overpayments no matter how small whenever you can. There’s an overpayment calculator on MSE you can play with to see the impact it makes - it def helped me to clear my mortgage early. Good luck. 

Oceanic815__

Thank you I have just checked the overpayment calculator. Through budgeting, it may be possible to clear it within 22 years. 
Do not have children at the moment though and I am sure it will change everything 😃
Not sure if there are other positive and negative variables about? Currently, we are 75% LTV.

Newbie_John

With mortgage at 4.37% and best ISA possible 5.17% it doesn't make sense to overpay mortgage right now, unless you've used your and your partner allowance of 2x£20k.

South_coast

You won't be able to get those ISA rates for the next 5 years though. They're already dropping with the base rate change

Hoenir

Plug the numbers into a calculator. See what you need to pay every month to clear the mortgage over 21 years. Then pay this amount into your mortgage account. Find the neccesary savings by budgeting properly. Dropping from 35 to 21 years may prove a challenge though. Set yourselves a target which is achievable. Remember to enjoy life. 

Oceanic815__

South_coast said:

You won't be able to get those ISA rates for the next 5 years though. They're already dropping with the base rate change

I think I am more motivated to pay off my mortgage early, rather than putting it in an ISA. I don't know, but, it feels good to know that if I overpay a certain amount, I can cut my 35 year mortgage to 23 which gives me (albeit everything goes well) mortgage free at around 50 and this includes regular savings, leisure/holiday activities (not excessive however, as mortgage is big) and of course some small investments and an emergency Pot  

powerspowers

Yes I agree putting the money in savings can make it more tempting to pull out! 

Make sure you’ve got an emergency fund and are contributing to your pensions. 

I set a goal each year for us to overpay. Trying to aim for balance between paying it off earlier and living life. 

Keep track of your progress here, I love looking back at how far we’ve come. 

Good luck!

Sarahwithlove

Treat the overpayment like a regular bill and set up a s/o every month. Make sure you budget for annual costs and have an emergency fund. Then anything extra pay off over the month when you can. Do it now whilst you can before you have kids and don't have as much disposable income.