Where did I go wrong financially?

Have a watch of . He does a good one on money and happiness too.

Feels like your savings should be a bit higher, I
earn just less than half of you and have half the savings you do, however I used to spend massively (M&S dinners or out all the time, spent a lot on collectibles etc). When I pulled that in I saw my savings grow effortlessly. Currently on Mat leave and haven't touched savings (yet).

I would hardly be worried to be honest. You must be spending quite a lot, maybe on food shopping, hobbies and interests or something?

You’re doing well - take what your friends/peers are telling you with a dose of salt. I find a lot of people are economical with the truth when they’re up to their eyeballs in debt.

I know people with cars on HP, for example, who don’t see themselves as having debt.

I think there are too many factors here that you cannot compare yourself too. It's like you comparing your payslip to someone else, tax code, NI, student loans, pension - everyone has different circumstances that factor in.

Did you buy your house the exact aame time as these people with the exact same deposit with the exact same length of time etc. If not then that's probably how they are paying off their homes quicker.

Your savings are low considering your take home, but that said have you had to pay out for anything e.g. New washing machine, holiday etc. If so this will have taken from what you could put away.

You are earning a good wage for your age, a home owner, a car owner and have some savings. I think you should be okay with your life choices and be grateful you are not living in more debt and hand to mouth. X

It's not a race or a competition lovely.
Just enjoy your life.
We are older, mortgage payed off, money saved, looking forward to a comfortable retirement, except all that money and equity will likely be used to pay for care fees for DH. We so wish we'd just spent it.

I’m almost a decade older than you OP and school fees burning chunks of money aside, not one of my friends are about to finish paying their mortgage.
A lot of people forget to mention inheritance etc….
It sounds to me like you’re doing okay!

I don’t think you’ve gone wrong at all - you’re single, bought your own house and have a great income, with plenty of time to save for retirement. My partner and I have a similar joint income to your sole income, we’ve paid off our mortgage but bought our house 15 years ago, and live very frugally (camping holidays, secondhand clothes, secondhand cars etc). I think stop comparing, enjoy your freedom and be proud of yourself.

you can get a used car? I got a 7 year old car in 2018 for 3k. Its still kicking.
before that I got a 9 year old car for 1600 in 2016 and then my first car was a 14 year old golf that I got for 1200 when I passed in 2012
I know used prices have gone up but you don’t need to spend lots!

Comparison is the thief of joy. You sound like you're doing ok. Better than me and I'm late forties, doesn't bother me.

Bit surprised anyone has paid off their mortgage at 39! I’m similar age and will be paying my mortgage for a long time yet …

The only people I know who are close to paying off their mortgage at 48 are those who lost their parents and sold their property to share the proceeds. We won’t pay off till dh is 60 (I’ll be 55).

"Everybody I know..." No, OP, not everyone you know, unless everyone you know is elderly and has had decades to build wealth.

You're not as wealthy as you'd like to be. So earn more or spend less and invest the difference.

Don't fear not buying a car, why would you own a depreciating asset?

It turns out that literally everyone I know is in a better financial situation

Of course they're not, don't be ridiculous. For you to think that you must be comparing yourself with a very narrow group of people who are far from representative of other people their age. Many people in their 30s haven't even bought yet or if they have, pretty much all their money goes on their mortgage, childcare, car payments, food, bills etc.

Stop comparing yourself with other people who may earn a lot more than you think, have received help from family etc.

All you can do is do the best for you. You earn a decent salary, you're paying into a pension, you have a relatively small and cheap debt, you have a good amount of equity. If you want to overpay your mortgage, you need to look at what you're doing with your money and reduce other costs where possible to free up money to throw at your mortgage. You must have a decent amount spare every month, so what are you doing with it? Is it something that brings you more satisfaction/enjoyment than being mortgage free would? If not, stop wasting money on things you don't value and overpay your mortgage instead.

And an expensive car isn't all that, have you seen what is happening to insurance costs? At least if you drive a modest car, the bills to keep it on the road will probably be a lot less. When you've paid for the one you have, save what you would have paid so you can buy the next one with savings, not debt.

I find this thread quite unbelievable, unless the OP lives in one of the richer parts of a major city (and even there, I know there are loads of people with massive mortgages) and mingles with rich people. Nobody I know in their late 30s is anywhere near debt-free.

your monthly net pay needs breaking down as to where it goes

you can aboslutely pay more than £150 extra on your mortgage surely?
whats your current mortgage pment

You've had a bump in the road in separating and buying on your own. That's obviously going to have set you back, but what's the alternative? Being in an unhappy relationship? Renting? You've picked yourself up and bought again, that's great.

This post is ridiculous. Glad you're not my accountant...

Fellow accountant here, agree that regional salaries are way lower. I started at under $20k in Glasgow in big 4 back in the day (i'm your age btw). I moved abroad and the salary difference was huge, but so was the cost of living. Almost everyone I know who is nearly done with paying down houses got a head start from the bank of mum and dad, or is in a couple with larger earnings potential. You've got a house, and a chunk of equity, so you're doing good in my opinion!

I'm 35 and will probably be 37 by the time I even get a mortgage, let alone pay it off 😆

I think you are doing very well for yourself, I only know two women my age who have managed to buy without a partner.

You sound like you're doing well! X

I think you need a financial adviser to sort out your finances and help you get your finances in order. In particular, you are not putting enough money into a pension. You shouldn’t compare your mortgage situation to couples who are both contributing. You can probably get free advice from someone at your bank. Have you tried writing down where all your money goes for a couple of months?

What is it that you're actually bothered about here? Where you are as a comparator to other people or the fact you deem yourself to not be as financially well off as you'd like to be?

If it's the first one.....why do you care?

If it's the second one, you can't turn back time so either make amendments to better your situation now or stop caring so much.