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Original poster

What difference would it make to you being mortgage free?

46 replies

Hecketyheck · 18/02/2019 08:01

Just that really. We’ve just paid off our mortgage due mainly to DH’s amazing money-management skills and my lack of spending. I’m feeling like I should be delighted with this but more feel like it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference - we now have to focus on a pension or something else equally tedious.

This is not a stealth boast or anything else like that and I’m sorry if people are struggling to live on a week-to-week basis.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hecketyheck · 18/02/2019 08:02

Oh and just to say - I am incredibly grateful that we’ve been able to do it!!

OP posts:
PresidentHump · 18/02/2019 08:12

It would mean I have around £14,000 extra cash in my pocket each year. I'm single and I live alone. I could pay more into a pension and save. Or I could give up my job and do something completely different - i could retrain. I could afford a child if I went down the IVF route. I could do a part time course at uni. I could travel. I could give more to charity. The list is endless.
I can't fathom how paying off the largest expense would make little difference to my life

hidinginthenightgarden · 18/02/2019 08:14

It would mean we actually had money to save but more importantly the security to know that even if one of us loses our job, the house is not going anywhere.

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Magmatic80 · 18/02/2019 08:15

We would have £850/month ‘extra’ and would prob put half in long term savings and spend the other half on fun stuff. Plus also sleep easy knowing we have a roof over our heads fir for rest of our lives.

Congratulations! Enjoy your spare money 😊

boatyardblues · 18/02/2019 08:18

There have been times in my career where the job has been awful, the management despotic or opportunities have arisen during reorganisation to jump ship with a large payoff. The reality of paying off a hefty mortgage has meant I’ve had to suck it up and stay put. Likewise,I’ve had friends who’ve had to return to work after major illness or make really tough decisions about time off to care for a sick child, partner or parent. If your work is decent and rewarding and you’ve not had face down those kind of dilemmas, I can see that the benefits of clearing your mortgage are abstract. The truth is that significantly reducing your outgoings (with the possibility of building your savings) gives you freedom and flexibilty to make different decisions when the chips are down.

Omgineedanamechange · 18/02/2019 08:18

£1000 a month extra here, already paying into pensions, have savings etc. And it’s so close, 22 months and counting. The plans we have for that money Just bloody hope the brexit shitshow, or heaven forbid, a Corbyn government don’t fuck it up.

chocolatepudandchocolatesauce · 18/02/2019 08:19

I agree with you. I have a friend who lives very frugally, to the extent they eat very little, haven't redecorated/modernated their home, never go on holiday etc etc. I get the impression they won't be splashing out on a Porsche and a Carribean holiday once the mortgage is paid off either! They also arn't the type to then move, or buy an investment property. So I guess they too will then swap their saving onto something else. I much prefer to have a middle ground. Go on holiday, have a new kitchen etc etc (nothing tremendously lavish or expensive) and pay the mortgage off as we go. No rush!

PandaMa · 18/02/2019 08:19

I'd relax alot more. Our mortage isn't massive but I'm low income ans husband is self employed and his work has been scarce lately. We prioritise mortgage over all else - but everything else feels like a struggle most days.

It would mean I could get my hair done without having to live on pasta for a week to make up the cost.

Fairylea · 18/02/2019 08:22

I would do more fun stuff. Go on more fancy holidays, buy stuff I don’t need, decorate, eat out more etc.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 18/02/2019 08:24

Not a huge difference tbh- I don’t consider my mortgage a debt or a burden as I have to live somewhere and it’s relatively small. Obviously all extra money would be a bonus, my daughter could do more days at nursery but I wouldn’t see a rapid change in my lifestyle.

Imicola · 18/02/2019 08:24

We're mortgage free now... So far we have been renovating our new house, but now that is almost complete we'll need to start thinking about investing and pensions. Also we just had a baby so I guess that will account for part of it!

Hiddenaspie1973 · 18/02/2019 08:25

My partner could leave his job as a senior manager, which he hates. He could get something easier or part-time (but as a control freak, I reckon he'd be bored).
I'd love to say we'd take more holidays, but our feet are stapled to the floor until DD leaves school.

Squickety · 18/02/2019 08:25

Work less! Very stupidly we will be mortgaged until I'm nearly 70 unless we decide to downsize at some point. I really wish I'd been more sensible when I was younger.....

AnnabelleLecter · 18/02/2019 08:29

We have more than enough savings to pay it off outright but in premium bonds with a chance to win a nice prize.
We're overpaying instead and it will be gone in a couple of years anyway by the time we retire. If we were able to pay it off in full next week we could retire a year earlier at least which would be great.

ValleyoftheHorses · 18/02/2019 08:29

We pay £1000 plus overpay a further £500 with the aim of reducing our mortgage term.
So we’d be £1500 per month better off.
Yes we would probably save most of it tbh!
I’m 42 this year and hoping to retire in my early to mid 50s so saving for that.

BitchQueen90 · 18/02/2019 08:31

I rent my home. Just owning one would mean the world to me, to have some security for me and DS. I'm saving for a mortgage.

AnnabelleLecter · 18/02/2019 08:31

That doesn't make sense... What I meant was if we could pay it off in full next week without touching our savings we could retire a year earlier at least.

Weetabixandshreddies · 18/02/2019 08:32

We've just paid off our mortgage and it will make very little difference. It was our smallest bill every month! We will notice more difference when we finish paying for our children at university tbh.

It's very nice though to know that our home is paid for and can't be taken away.

peachjuice · 18/02/2019 08:36

I love the idea of being mortgage free but in reality we live in a small house and our payment is only £400 a month, so £200 each.

My car costs me £400 a month (loan repayment, fuel, tax, insurance, repairs) and the dog costs us about £400 a month too (dog walker, food, insurance).

So the mortgage being gone wouldn't make the most difference tbh. Our other bills account for a much higher proportion of our income.

Movinghouseatlast · 18/02/2019 08:42

We had nearly paid off our mortgage (£30k left)but remortgaged to buy a holiday property to live in when we retire.

So our mortgage is now £500k!!!

Strangely, I feel less stressed about paying the mortgage than I did before. Mainly because our holiday cottage pays for itself in rental income.

I used to worry all the time about what would happen if we couldn't pay the mortgage for some reason. My partner was made redundant so I was the sole provider and I found it so stressful.

My view is that it is around creating options in your financial life, if you are lucky enough to be able do that. I feel I have found a way of taking the pressure off myself.

PalmTree101 · 18/02/2019 08:43

It would make £1.5k/month difference to me! Which is loads.

Got another 25 years to go...

newmobile · 18/02/2019 08:47

Paid ours off a few years ago but just moved to a bigger house do back to square one again! Don't mind at the moment I made decision to go full time when we moved so happy enough at the moment. No holiday abroad though this year whereas it was 3 a year when mortgage free but still feeling happy

BarbaraofSevillle · 18/02/2019 08:53

It wouldn't make much difference to us either as under £400 pm and plenty of disposable income.

Currently has about 8-10 years left but could pay off earlier as have some savings, but not in a rush atm, as interest rate is less than we're getting on savings.

I have vague plans to drop to 4 days a week when it's paid off because the drop in salary would be about the same as the mortgage payment so disposable income won't change.

Don't feel bad about it not being the great celebration you expected it to be. Not everyone is crippled by their mortgage. I remember when my parents paid off their mortgage and they felt the same - probably because it had been £55 pm. Some people pay more than that for a mobile phone contract.

notanothernam · 18/02/2019 08:56

I'd sell up, upsize and take out a new mortgage 😂😂

BringOnTheScience · 18/02/2019 08:57

We're mortgage-free just in time to send DC1 to uni!