The Mortgage Free Roll Of Honour

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  • dave8204
    dave8204 Posts: 59
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    Wanted to be mortgage free from the day I signed on the dotted line.that was in 1992 and 12 years later I'd cleared my mortgage.Admittedly I only own a small flat and my mortgage was £37,500 but I started from scratch after splitting from my Wife and only got a mortgage at all thanks to a lot favours called in and borderline fraud/creative accountancy by a relative in the property game.As a humble factory worker,then and now,I was working 60-75 hours a weeks and while my co-workers were spending their overtime money on big cars and foreign holidays I rode a Yamaha 100 to work and paid of £500 lump sums from my mortgage whenever I could.Having spent a brief period of my life living rough,squatting and doing the bedsit thing my own place was important to me and to my way of thinking if my flat was owned by the Halifax then it still wasn't MY place.
    My Brother said I was mad and "no-one pays their mortgage off",same brother who still owes £100,000 on the £60,000 house he bought 20 years ago and has re-mortgaged several times.
    I'm still a factory worker,earn just below what is apparently the National Average wage but having no rent or mortgage to pay saves me about £450 a month at local prices,over the years my little flat has paid for itself in saved rent.I live frugally but don't feel I go without,have no debt at all except when I put things on my credit Card to keep it from being withdrawn (keep it in case of financial emergency),earn more than I spend quite comfortably and am actively investing for early retirement.
    Best tip,overpay,don't let the amount bother you,if you can do it do it and you'll be suprised how quickly the "snowball effect" kicks in.
  • a. The date you decided to become a MFW = January 2011
    b. Mortgage Debt at its highest = £55,000
    c. Mortgage-Free Date = Today! 25th March, 2013
    d. Your one pearl of wisdom = Don't lose heart. All overpayments help, no matter how small.

    I took MSE's advice and used my savings which were paying a low rate of interest in an ISA and paid a chunk off, then paid sums off when I could afford them. The feeling this morning when I rang Skipton to make the final payment was, well, relief!
    Cleared 8 years and 2 months early, just ahead of hitting 49.

    Phew!

    Good luck to all others :-)
  • misselvis
    misselvis Posts: 285
    Energy Saving Champion
    Forumite
    dave8204 wrote: »
    Wanted to be mortgage free from the day I signed on the dotted line.that was in 1992 and 12 years later I'd cleared my mortgage.Admittedly I only own a small flat and my mortgage was £37,500 but I started from scratch after splitting from my Wife and only got a mortgage at all thanks to a lot favours called in and borderline fraud/creative accountancy by a relative in the property game.As a humble factory worker,then and now,I was working 60-75 hours a weeks and while my co-workers were spending their overtime money on big cars and foreign holidays I rode a Yamaha 100 to work and paid of £500 lump sums from my mortgage whenever I could.Having spent a brief period of my life living rough,squatting and doing the bedsit thing my own place was important to me and to my way of thinking if my flat was owned by the Halifax then it still wasn't MY place.
    My Brother said I was mad and "no-one pays their mortgage
    off",same brother who still owes £100,000 on the £60,000 house he bought 20 years ago and has re-mortgaged several times.
    I'm still a factory worker,earn just below what is apparently the National Average wage but having no rent or mortgage to pay saves me about £450 a month at local prices,over the years my little flat has paid for itself in saved rent.I live frugally but don't feel I go without,have no debt at all except when I put things on my credit Card to keep it from being withdrawn (keep it in case of financial emergency),earn more than I spend quite comfortably and am actively investing for early retirement.
    Best tip,overpay,don't let the amount bother you,if you can do it do it and you'll be suprised how quickly the "snowball effect" kicks in.

    Thank you so much very inspirational, aspirational yet realistic
    misselvis proud and in motion - dealing with her debts step by step :)DFW #107
    challenge pay off 6.5k by the end of 2017~ £388/£6500 challenge 1% challenge = 6% of debt cleared; challenge - build up 3 months emergency fund- £0/£6000
  • Kaz2904
    Kaz2904 Posts: 5,797
    Combo Breaker First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Forumite
    edited 10 April 2013 at 12:42PM
    We've done it today :D! I got off the phone about half an hour ago having paid off my final payment. DH is 36 and I'll be 35 in 19 days.
    A. We decided we wanted to be mortgage free after watching a programme in 2004 called "Pay your mortgage off in two years". We had two tinies then and lived in a flat. We were in the process of moving house and the seed was planted.
    B. We borrowed £90000 from the bank and £14000 from my Mum. We also still had a loan of £3000 used to pay for windows in our flat.
    C. Mortgage free today 10/04/13.
    D. Pearls of wisdom. Do everything as cheaply as you can. Pay your mortgage by standing order so that you control how much you pay monthly. Have your mortgage set as an extra payee in your online banking so that anything you save on your weekly shop, vouchers or suchlike can be instantly transferred to the mortgage. No overpayment is too small- I have sent 13p before! Don't listen to the doubters. You CAN do it.

    Now we're going to save up, get the house finished off (it was a wreck when we moved in almost 8 years ago and we're just awaiting the builder to come and do the landing and stairs and then we're finished! After that, we'll save a deposit for a btl investment property.


    ETA: I was a member of both MFi3 and MFiTT-2. I am off to update the MFiTT-3's as some I know have transferred on.
    My children are now 9 and 11 so not too many worries about helping them through uni if needed.
    Debt: 16/04/2007:TOTAL DEBT [strike]£92727.75[/strike] £49395.47:eek: :eek: :eek: £43332.28 repaid 100.77% of £43000 target.
    MFiT T2: Debt [STRIKE]£52856.59[/STRIKE] £6316.14 £46540.45 repaid 101.17% of £46000 target.
    2013 Target: completely clear my [STRIKE]£6316.14[/STRIKE] £0 mortgage debt. £6316.14 100% repaid.
  • black_taxi_2
    black_taxi_2 Posts: 1,816
    Debt-free and Proud! Mortgage-free Glee!
    Forumite
    awesome Kaz

    enjoy your financial freedom
    £48515 interest £181 (2009)debt/mortgage-MFIT/T2/T3
    debt/mortgage free 28/11/14
    vanguard shares index isa £1000
    credit union £400
    emergency fund£500
    #81 save 2018£4200
  • Anna_Glypta
    Anna_Glypta Posts: 264
    Mortgage-free Glee!
    Forumite
    That's fantastic news - well done. I wish I had been so switched on when I was in my 20s :beer:
    4 February 2014 - Mortgage Free

    MFW14 no 67 - overpayment goal £6,200/£6,200
    Save 12k in 2014 no 142 - savings goal £5,300/£12,000
  • Peonie
    Peonie Posts: 1,471 Forumite
    Kaz, I'm only MAJORLY jealous. Well done. I watched that programme too and loved it. A less extreme version should come back.
    Pots: House £6966/£7100, Rainy day Complete, [STRIKE]Sunny day £0/£700[/STRIKE], IVF £2523/£2523, Car up-keep £135/£135, New car £5000/£5000, Holiday £1000/£1000, MFW #16 £2077/£3120
    MFiT3 #86: Reduce mortgage from £146,800 to £125,000
    Mortgage Sept 2014: £135,500, MF Oct 2035 Peak July 2011: £154,000, MF July 2036
  • LauraJo
    LauraJo Posts: 1,041
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Many congrats Kaz - bet its a big relief eh!!
    Mortgage starting balance 2011 ... £170k today £1.5k
    Savings: £3k
    Aim: 100k by Dec 2021
  • sofaman
    sofaman Posts: 104
    First Post Photogenic First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I was mortgage free as of 15th June 2007.
  • Well done you! Wish I had done it at your age,

    Squirrel
    Paid off mortgage nine years early in 2013. Now picking and choosing our work to fit in with the rest of our lives!
    Still thrifty though, after all these years:D
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