If you've paid your mortgage off how old were you when you did it and how?

[Tulipsy272]

Just daydreaming about being mortgage free. I've just turned 40 and would like to do it by the time I'm 50. It's doable but it would take a huge amount of budgeting. I think it would be worth it in the long term though. I think we'd have to over pay as much as we could each month.

How old were you?

I was 48, made redundant, got a good package which paid off mortgage

I was doing back flips out the door when I was verbally told 👍👍👍👍

I could pay it off by 49

But I’m not going to.

I will overpay and make very significant inroads in to the mortgage BUT I want to save for my children. I suspect very different economy awaits them

Mid 40s. Two good, but ‘normal’ jobs, no kids & careful budgeting meaning we could overpay significant amounts every month.

Contrary to what many people seem to think, not spending £20 per person every working day on cups of coffee, sandwiches, snacks, prepared fruit etc etc really does add up over time.

I bought my first house in cash when 36. I worked abroad in a lucrative ex-pat role in order to be able to do this

You could spend the next ten years living really poorly with no treats or holidays just to pay your mortgage then god forbid get ill Makes the most of your life while you have your health

I’ve bought 2 more since (in Switzerland). I’m 40 now. Working abroad (and being highly qualified) has been the key for me.

27. Bought house with cash outright. Never had a mortgage.

Inheritance and savings.

@Skyla2005

Amen to this. I rented all through my 20s and half of my 30s while studying, traveling & partying! Life’s for living after all.

I went for the coffees, meals out, holidays, moved to bigger houses, paying into pension etc. Paying off the mortgage has never been a priority for me.

I’ve never had any help or inheritance, neither from my family nor DHs. Would have been nice though!

Just a few months ago, I was 56.

35. It was a combination of a big redundancy payment and an inheritance. We've been very lucky.

27. Overpaid £500 each month, savings and two inheritances. This was in the DINKY days.

42. Just worked hard and saved extra to pay it off sooner.

45. We could pay it off now, but given low interest rates it makes more sense to put the money into stockmarket for a couple more years.

We were lucky to have significant financial help from parents and also bought at the right time. In the 10 years we've had it, the value has doubled.

30. I didn't keep moving to bigger and better houses, I kept with my modest house and cleared my mortgage instead.

It’s all relative. I could buy outright where I grew up tomorrow. Where I am now, there’s a big mortgage at stake.

Dh and I were both 38. Our home has no mortgage, but we have an investment property which is being paid off by tenants. Another 25 years left on it but the equity is healthy 150k, so we'll be OK even if we have to sell it at some point.
We did it by developing a rubbish London property over a number of years whilst living on a building site with no proper kitchen and two young children. That and driving a cheap car, no holidays and putting up with a lot of discomfort for years (draft, mice, no hot shower, no oven, no dishwasher, building dust everywhere, buying second hand baby stuff etc..)
I'm glad we did though. We're now early 40s and living mortgage free is so nice.

35? We bought first property when I was 31 in 1999.
With partner, chose a property in an iffy neighbourhood, mortgage that either of us could pay (on single salary). I already had a lot of savings & then realised how profitable it would be to pay off whole mortgage not keep money in bank.

Inherited money after that to help stay mortgage-free but live somewhere bigger.

In my native culture people lots never own, and rest are rarely mortgage free before age 60.
DS might be mortgage free by 35.

I'll be 51 when we finish this mortgage, I'm 41 now. But we plan to sell this property and my other in France (same 10 years left on that mortgage) in two years and buy a much smaller property in France and be mortgage free.

I’ll be 50. I’m not going to restrict my life and be frugal so I can pay it early though, I’d much rather have fun now while I’m young with amazing holidays and family experiences. We bought at 25 with a 25y mortgage.

21. Married well.

43. Been overpaying for years. Rishi self employed grants and a gift from my parents and it’s paid off.

I was 39, OH was 45. Combination of not borrowing to the max in the first place and over paying. We both had decent bonuses for a few years and saved well for a deposit initially and then used them to overpay.

We’ve talked long and hard about whether to move to a bigger place but have decided to stay put and be mortgage free instead. We’d love a bigger garden for the kids but are prioritising planning for retirement instead.

43

Had a very sick child so when I divorced (had owned my own property) I bought outright rather than get a mortgage for a bigger house when I didn't know what the future held.