Over 50? What’s one small money saving habit that’s made a real difference?

Humboldt

Hi @bertnotbob I'm probably viewing your query a little differently, but paying off our mortgage during our 50's has made such a positive difference to our lives.  There was no one particular habit that enabled us to do this, it was a case of embracing all things money saving. We are now in our 60's and able to make life choices that we never could have dreamed of had we still had a large mortgage to pay.  

Whatever your dreams and aspirations, there is so much knowledge and inspiration throughout the MSE forum to help you achieve them.  Best wishes Humboldt.

Alnat1

We did a similar thing to Humboldt and managed to pay off our 25 year mortgage in 18 years, leaving us mortgage free in our early 40s. We achieved this by reducing the remaining term by 1 year each time the fix came to an end. 

My daughter reaches the end of her 1st 5 year fix next month and decided she was going to try and do a similar thing. She can afford to knock 4 years off the term, leaving 16 years of payments. She's hoping to continue this  and retire early like I did. 

Clowance

Opposite to most of you although we have lived in this house since 1986 we took out several mortgages to pay for upgrades over the years, the latest was 50 000 in 2020 to pay for a kitchen diner bifold extension across the back of the house. Will be paid off in 6 months from now as overpaid most months. We dont regret it at all.even though we are either over or close to state pension age.

Humboldt

Clowance said:

Opposite to most of you although we have lived in this house since 1986 we took out several mortgages to pay for upgrades over the years, the latest was 50 000 in 2020 to pay for a kitchen diner bifold extension across the back of the house. Will be paid off in 6 months from now as overpaid most months. We dont regret it at all.even though we are either over or close to state pension age.

Morning @Clowance your extension sounds amazing.  Just proves that we all make different choices and what works for one, may not work for another.  What really matters is that we work towards achieving our own goals and then enjoy the end result.  

Pollycat

I was frugal way before I reached 50 - initially from necessity, later from habit.
Growing up in the 1950s/60s, eldest of 3, very little money within our family.
Made my own clothes.
Married a spendthrift, lived on chip butties for weeks on end when we were short of money.
Shopped in charity shops before it became fashionable.

Been married to someone who has the same attitude to money as me for over 40 years now.
We planned for the future when we we first got together and although people thought we spent a lot of money, we actually holidayed very cheaply (s/c apartments in Greece & Turkey instead of 5* spa resorts in the Far East/Caribbean) and drove a smallish car (new) instead of BMW/Audi/Porsche.
Now I'm retired (over 20 years ago) and now just over age 70, I don't need to be frugal but I still like to be.
I still shop on eBay and Vinted and in Charity shops, sell my unwanted stuff on eBay.
I change my wardrobe regularly this way and so actually spend very little on clothes/shoes on balance.
We eat very well, a lot of meals made from scratch.

SouthCoastBoy

I like to think I'm good at saving. I paid my mortgage off in my mid 30s about 25 years ago. I could have bought a larger house however I had no desire to buy a more expensive house just for the sake of it, as a family of 4 we lived quite comfortably in a 3 bed detached. Now it's just 2 of us at home we have plenty of space, and not too big a house to maintain. 

Paying off the mortgage released a lot of pressure on me, as I was the main earner. I was out of work in 2002 for 4 mths, not having a mortgage to worry about made a huge difference. 

Also as I have had no mortgage to service it means I have been able to save/invest a lot of of my earnt income.

UKX69

SouthCoastBoy said:

I like to think I'm good at saving. I paid my mortgage off in my mid 30s about 25 years ago. I could have bought a larger house however I had no desire to buy a more expensive house just for the sake of it, as a family of 4 we lived quite comfortably in a 3 bed detached. Now it's just 2 of us at home we have plenty of space, and not too big a house to maintain. 

Paying off the mortgage released a lot of pressure on me, as I was the main earner. I was out of work in 2002 for 4 mths, not having a mortgage to worry about made a huge difference. 

Also as I have had no mortgage to service it means I have been able to save/invest a lot of of my earnt income.

Yes, paying off your mortgage early if you can makes a huge difference. It was fortunate that we didn’t have a big mortgage anyway as we bought our house (2nd one - 3 bed semi for 17k as it needed a lot of work), in 1984 after making a cheeky offer. As it turned out, I had to finish work at 50 due to ill health but was able to pay the mortgage off using the proceeds of my company share scheme. 

pollypenny

Discovering Meerkats in 2018 when buying car insurance was a bonus. Cheap cinema a couple of times a month, then meal in Prezzo or Pizza Express. 

For subsequent years, we'd buy travel insurance for a couple of nights. 

Like Pollycat, we'd always had to count every penny. However, after the nightmare of mortgage interest at 17% we were able to keep up those payments and were clear of it by the time I was 56. 

Murphybear

pollypenny said:

Discovering Meerkats in 2018 when buying car insurance was a bonus. Cheap cinema a couple of times a month, then

  

 meal in Prezzo or Pizza Express. 

For subsequent years, we'd buy travel insurance for a couple of nights. 

Like Pollycat, we'd always had to count every penny. However, after the nightmare of mortgage interest at 17% we were able to keep up those payments and were clear of it by the time I was 56. 

No Meerkat toys?  I had a few of those, they went to a charity shop when we moved house. Apparently very popular

Organgrinder

Having rejigged my trusty spreadsheet again yesterday I have to say it's made a real difference.

Long term I use guiide and James Shack's retirement planner. Everyday spending goes into my own spreadsheet. 

I keep tweaking it, eg for savings and investment growth and more recently for drawing down on savings once fully retired. Previously it just added a lump sum on retirement.

It gives me not only peace of mind but also allows me to see if I can afford to spend more on certain items. Next year for example it looks like a slightly more luxurious holiday. 

Without my spreadsheet I'd worry far too much that we couldn't afford it!!