Work hard now to pay off your mortgage by 30, and retire by 40

[Ieattoomuchsugar]

And to buy a house at 19/20 whatever age

Maybe exaggerating with the ages a bit but these are examples I've seen.

People who've gone without holidays, new clothes etc, lived with the bare minimum and worked endless overtime for years in order to achieve the above.

Has anybody actually done this or in the process of doing it?

I do see the appeal but I personally wouldn't want/wouldn't have wanted to spend my 20s and 30s living that way. I do think life is to be enjoyed, I of course want to save but I am not prepared to go without things I enjoy for such a long time. I think it's better to strike a balance, and I'd rather enjoy life now just as much as when I am 50/60.

It's not just paying off your mortgage and paying into your pension, you will need a shit load of money to finish at 40 and have a meaningful lifestyle, even a simple one.

@Enzbear and a plan to hedge against inflation.

I worked and saved from 13 , earned the deposit to buy first property (24) with a mortgage we carried through 4 more properties until we paid it off(45). I worked PT then retired at 50 (then immediately found new income WFH) . DH progressively reduced employed work from 50 (4 days) then (WFH 3 Office1), then full retirement at 56 (and immediately found new income with entirely different WFH).

We had no parental help or inheritances. We're now 75 and have spent a quarter century doing as we like, work and debt free.

Anybody able bodied can do any low-paid skivvy job and I've done most of them .Every lowpaid skivvy job is an opportunity to observe, copy and acquire transferable basic skills that can earn far more in some other context. A basic skill done brilliantly well creates interest and demand, and needs no advertising. Commercial demand chases high skill, and the holder of the skill commands their own terms and conditions.

Our kids learned this from our example and adopted our means and aims. They are in their 40's, downsized to working 4 day week, mortgages paid or nearly.

We've probably done things completely wrong. We bought a new build flat in our early 20's but have since then moved 4 times and took out a 25 year mortgage every time and had 4 children. As things stand we have a mortgage of 200k ish at just under 50% ltv and if we don't overpay it will end at age 64
If we'd had just maybe one child and stayed where we were we'd be mortgage free
As it goes we are now in a 4 bed detached and we are a bit tight space wise but we like where we live and to move to something bigger would mean a mortgage of about 350k until age 70. We would be able to get it but it's a bit much I think
Instead we will probably borrow a bit more on the house and do a small extension.
We do have about 30k ish in savings and don't overpay the mortgage. I feel more comfortable having the savings at the moment in case of job losses
We spent our 30's without any spare cash due to childcare costs. I went part time when we had children and am still part time now as youngest is still in nursery
I will increase my hours in next few years but will also up my pension as I have really neglected it
No inheritance coming our way so once my hours have increased and we've got the house done we will focus on building our savings. But things get in the way. We need a new car soon. Nothing flash but we buy outright so that will eat into savings
Our mortgage is on a rate of less than 1% so right now overpaying it isn't a priority
We both earn well but neither of us are interested massively in climbing the ladder. We like to finish work on time and all eat dinner together
As long as the mortgage is paid off by the time we retire then that's good enough for me

@NewPapaGuinea

Why put off enjoying life now for some future you might not live to see?

Yeah, this. My Mum died at 56, so although I plan and save I also want to enjoy my life.

I paid off my mortgage in my mid 30's. My Sister and Brother had help from my parents in relation to a property so my parents evened the keel with me. I was able to pay off my mortgage. I would have been able to do it myself by my 40's as despite my finances getting better, I stayed living in a mid-terrace bought for 90 grand with no garden, yard, or parking managing to do this happily with a family of four and a dog.
I do think it depends on what your expectations are and what exactly your aspirations are (as well as finances of course). Were not bothered by big holidays and are not big spenders either so I think it depends on many things, not just your finances but your lifestyle, circumstances and everything just coming together at the right time.
I don't think it would work for everyone, but then there's nothing wrong with that, some are just lucky to find themselves in the position to do it, others aren't but are still happy and successful.

@SNUG2022

I wouldn't want to miss out on life experiences. Also a commitment to a house and mortgage means that you may not be able to risk leaving jobs and trying something new. I did a lot of travelling too. I suppose we could have paid our last house off but it wasn't what we wanted to stay in forever. We now have something bigger and more expensive.

Our experience is exactly the opposite of your expectation.

We moved jobs frequently all over mainland Britain, each time buying and selling our homes and taking the same mortgage with us until we paid it off in our forties. Since then our property deals have all been cash.

Because we were mortgage free early, we could pick and choose employers, time off, where to live, how to live. We've travelled the world (work and privately) .

Our retirement planning was about far more than money.
We chose where we wanted to live, and what we planned to do. All our working lives we'd had hobbies, sports, enjoyed travel and social lives, and a long string of assorted volunteer work.

Since we retired ( to a new location) we've enjoyed old and new hobbies and sports, new voluntary work, new and old friends, lots of travel and fun.

Pipe and slippers NOT.

Both my DBs retired at the earliest possible moment (very early 50s). Neither are looking good on it.

DB1 is the worst. He isnt yet 60 but has the outlook of a miserable curmudgeon. He never married and lived for the day when he could retire. Now he is retired he isnt enjoying it one bit.

DB2 retired far too early and cant actually afford being retired and lurches from one financial crisis to the next.

I plan to retire at around 65 (10 years time). Old enough to have paid off the mortgage and to have accumulated a decent pension pot, young enough to be able to enjoy it.

Getting mortgage and children over by the early 40s and then being able to concentrate fully on my career has given me financial freedom for the rest of my life. A break for maternity leave and trying to juggle a high level job and child rearing in my late thirties would have had much more impact on my earning potential than it did in my early 20s.

Had I had to make the necessary financial sacrifices in my 30s for a house and family, it would have hurt far more than not having been used to it and a live now pay later lifestyle was never my thing.

Now in my 50s I work as and when it suits me ( which isn't often!). Retirement is what you make of it and money makes a huge difference. I'm busier now than I have ever been but the difference is that I am doing what I want, when I want to.

@GnomeDePlume

Both my DBs retired at the earliest possible moment (very early 50s). Neither are looking good on it.

DB1 is the worst. He isnt yet 60 but has the outlook of a miserable curmudgeon. He never married and lived for the day when he could retire. Now he is retired he isnt enjoying it one bit.

DB2 retired far too early and cant actually afford being retired and lurches from one financial crisis to the next.

I plan to retire at around 65 (10 years time). Old enough to have paid off the mortgage and to have accumulated a decent pension pot, young enough to be able to enjoy it.

This sounds like you are trying to convince yourself that they are wrong and you are right. Sounds like they arent very astute financially and have mood issues. Not sure why you think retiring early might make someone a grump!

Its been absolutely fantastic for me.
Another 10 years of FT work vs pension and PT work ?
Haha its a no brainer!

The only people I have known who retired early both became very old very quickly.

Not that I have to worry about retiring and becoming really old as I have no pension and no future that I don’t see a lot of hard work.

One couple we called at 7.00pm one evening in summer when it was still broad day light and were berated that we had called at 7o’clock at night.

Most people would be better off prioritising pension saving when they're young and paying off mortgage later. Compounding makes early pension saving worth loads more.

I have always lived in an area of low house prices so buying well within our means didn't mean a tiny flat it meant a 4 bed house.
We bought once and didn't upgrade. Not high earners.
We over paid massively when DC were little and paid off the mortgage when DH was 50. He retired at 56. I continued to work mainly because I'm 10 years younger and wanted to carry on. I retired at 58.
Not a single regret, ever. Never lived so frugally we couldn't have holidays abroad and a good standard of living.

I agree that life is for living. One thing that covid has taught me is to not put things off to tomorrow if you can do them today.

Thers is obviously a middle line between being totally reckless and living a frugal and joyless life.

We paid off our mortgage last year at age 31. No inheritances, no help with buying the house about 5 years ago. We earned about £80k combined at the point of final payment. Which is a lot higher than the average but not ridiculously so. Both in professional jobs.

We haven’t withheld any fun, holidays, experiences back though so I don’t feel we have missed out. For us we worked out what we could save each month and put it away on payday. We also are not big on designer clothes, the latest phones, handbags, etc. We also don’t have cars on finance.

We also got an offset mortgage so we could access the money in an emergency but we immediately get the reduced interest benefit.

We don’t necessarily want to retire early but we want to become less dependent on work so as we get older it is our choice whether we work or not.

On threads like this lots of people say those that retired early are miserable. I think those people would be miserable whether they were working or not.

Lots of people work thinking they will retire and have a few good years of health. This is not guaranteed.

It should be a balance. Live your life but not to the detriment of suffering for many years in retirement. Same with not suffering for years just to potentially retire early.

It depends on how you want to live. I paid mine off at 35 (good salary and I don’t spend massively) but have since moved so will be paying the new mortgage for another 5 years.

It is possible, but you have to be honest about your expectations, wants and available cash.

The more important bit I think is to avoid debt (mortgage excluded).

@Stuffin

On threads like this lots of people say those that retired early are miserable. I think those people would be miserable whether they were working or not.

Lots of people work thinking they will retire and have a few good years of health. This is not guaranteed.

It should be a balance. Live your life but not to the detriment of suffering for many years in retirement. Same with not suffering for years just to potentially retire early.

Very well put! The need to paint others as miserable and sad is just cognitive dissonance. They dont have enough money, inclination, choice or luck so the only way to deal with it is to make it a negative like being miserable or old before their time. Some might be miserable but my younger colleagues never stop telling me how lucky I am and I keep telling them to check their pensions, particularly the women.

Often overlooked is that retiring at 40 - you will have a LOT of time to spend 7 days a week

I reckon you must end up spending just to fill the time.

I’m in my 40s

The idea of retiring… honestly, so unappealing

I’ve just started online saying
I’d feel so embarrassed saying I was retired and must limit conversation!

Online dating

Went for a date last night

We spoke about how work, career, prospects, industry

To just sit there and say “oh I retired at 40 and now… well do very little” (yes yes, you can volunteer)

My DH and I retired at 55 and 52. We didn’t overpay our mortgage but prioritised paying into pensions. As soon as our youngest DC finished university we retired.
We have 1.5 million in pension pots plus state pensions (if they are still around in 15 years time) so should have a comfortable retirement.
Retiring earlier wasn’t an option for us.

@IamGusFring

Stupid title - retire by 40 ? What are you going to live off even if you have paid your mortgage off ?

Investment income, savings, private pension (most can be accessed from 50 or 55), etc. A job is only one route to income.