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.

For all of the reasons given by several others, particularly health, I'm very glad I travelled and worked abroad when I could, and didn't put off having a life.

I know I've probably got at least another 15 years of ratracery ahead of me, and then, going on family life expectation, another 20-odd years after that. I'm hoping I'm still well enough to keep working (though not necessarily in my current line of work), and that my various pensions will give me an okay standard of living, including the possibility of travelling.

Oh, and at 50+ I wouldn't say staid package holidays are exactly what I'm looking for, though I definitely understand the appeal of just lying on the beach for a few days now. I didn't want Club 18-30 in my 20s either though...and on the topic of what 50+ people want, my favourite holiday story was a friend who was on an organised tour to Pakistan. One of the other members of the group was a 70-odd year old lady who was still fit enough to go abseiling. That's the kind of holiday I'd aspire to, health allowing!

In many parts of Europe this obsession with owning your own home at the expense of other parts of your life isn't a factor - but then in many parts of Europe, tenants have far, far more protection than we do in the UK.

but then in many parts of Europe, tenants have far, far more protection than we do in the UK.

I agree. There needs to be far more regulation regarding property rentals in this country.

I took the exact opposite approach and spent a lot of money when younger, having experiences as a young single person, young couple, and later with DC. 52 now and 15 years from retirement and paying off the mortgage, and don't regret a thing. Early retirement isn't for me. I love my job. It makes me feel useful, keeps me in touch with the world, and is very sociable. I can easily afford my mortgage payments of less than £300 per month, so it would have been a shame had we gone without to save what is a relatively small outgoing, now i earn more, and my DC are financially independent. Obviously I've paid more in interest, but given the experiences we had as a young family, its worth every penny.

FYI

As explained above, a £500,000 pension pot may be able to generate an annual income in the region of £20,000 each year or £1,666 each month. As stated above however, this money could run out depending on how it is invested, the investment returns and charges. For those earning an average income around the £33,000 mark just before retirement, £20,000 each year should provide a suitable income when you stop working but as previously stated, it all depends on your personal needs, circumstances and the lifestyle you desire when you retire

www.avtrinity.com/news/how-much-do-i-need-in-my-pension-pots-to-retire

I’d paid off the mortgage by 32, but no way can you retire! It’s a very nice feeling, but there are still bills, living expenses, kids, a car and if you want to go on holiday.

It wasn’t the biggest chunk of outgoing at the time, that was probably nursery fees. The security is nice, but you still have to live, and eat, and heat the place!

@silentpool

While it would be nice to have a paid off house, the experiences you have when you are in your 20's and 30's cannot be replicated when you are 50+. You just don't want the same things/won't take the same risks etc. You'll be wanting staid package holidays and walking tours...

Plus, the world has changed markedly since I was 20-30. It's harder to travel & less safe (in many of the developing/even developed countries I visited or lived in). Yes, I won't be a wealthy, early retiree but I also have no regrets.

You just don't want the same things/won't take the same risks etc. You'll be wanting staid package holidays and walking tours.

What a stupid (and profoundly ageist) thing to say. I want, at 60, EXACTLY the same holidays I wanted in my 20s - looking at old buildings, cultural interests and yes, walking. Can't imagine anything more stultifyingly boring than a beach n booze holiday or bloody skiing.

I personally had a fun time in my late teens to mid twenties with uni and travelling, with not a care in the world. Once late twenties hit I settled down with my now husband, we've bought a house. We get and pay the set mortgage for the term (2yrs, 2yrs and now 5yrs), remortgage at the lower amount needed, reduce the term and so far we have saved over £20,000 on interest and managed to now only owe 10yrs worth of payments on our original 25yr mortgage after 6yrs. We are still 'living and enjoyjng' life, having children, yearly holidays. We will be mortgage free by early 40's, even if we dont change the mortgage again. We are certainly not high earners.

My mum died when she was 34, we were poor but that certainly would have ruined the small amount of joy in her short life. I envy those who can plan ahead with the assumption that they will be there to reap to the 'reward'

I think most people couldn’t pay off a mortgage by 30 no matter how hard they work and how much they go without. In fact most people can’t even buy a first house by 30 these days.

I do believe in saving and planning, but let’s be realistic.

The ages on this are extreme but it’s possible to do a variant of this, if it suits you. For us, it was important to have financial security as we are both from poor backgrounds so there has never been a safety net if we got into debt trouble. It’s a good idea to pay off your mortgage early in financial terms as you save vast sums in compound interest even at low rates and you get the security and peace of mind of being debt free. When my DH had cancer we met a lot of people in a similar situation who were terrified of not being able to pay the mortgage as well as having a life threatening illness and it was such a rellef not to have that worry, and also to know I could give up work to care for him if he needed me to - in the end that didn’t happen.
It’s possible to achieve zero mortgage without total deprivation, though we don’t drink booze which is a huge saving! You just need to be organised about it. We also didn’t spend on expensive furniture and home deco, which people seem to do - we waited until the mortgages were paid off before major home improvements, and just made do.
We paid off a mortgage on a property in London, took a few years mortgage free enjoying holidays etc, then bought a second property in the country and paid that off too. We paid the London home off in 10 years, the country one in 7. Both are modest - and I guess a lot of people would want bigger and swankier places. We did it by paying off extra every month then if we ever got any windfalls - rare and small! - eg a share save scheme at work maturing, it went straight off the mortgage. It’s all about balance and what you want out of life.

Dont you mean work hard to get a deposit by the time you're 40 and retire late so
You can pay your mortgage off and make ends meet

I'm mortgage free at 40 but still don't have spare money

I was in a position to pay the mortgage off at 42 but bought a much bigger and more expensive house, remortgaged and renovated. I don't think we pull pay off now until I am 53 because in the meanwhile I have lost a high earning job and now earn significantly less in charity. Whilst it worries me (mainly as new salary puts more stress on us), we now have a huge garden, bigger house, parking etc that we did not have before. House price has probably increased by 50/60% due to work. We opted for an investment in property as part of our long term saving. We did have at least one very good holiday every few years (think long haul luxury) and then UK holidays/city breaks a few times a year. I want to holiday with my kids, parents never did and spend their life telling me what they regret. I can't see me retiring until I am 70, people in my current sector are still involved in their 80s. They are fitter, healthier and much more with it than my parents are who retired in their early 60s to do things and have just sat at home.

Retirement isnt all its cracked up to be. I retired at 60 which was the age I could retire at in 2010. I then went back to work part time until I was 65 and then foolishly gave up my job so I could spend more time at home doing my many hobbies and travelling. I am now 71 and wish I had continued with my job. I started volunteering at my local hospital but because of Covid that isnt happening at the moment. I am seriously considering getting a job on the checkout at my local Supermarket. Not because I need the money but because I need the work. I started working at weekends back in the dark ages at the age of 12. I left school at 15 and went straight to work. I miss my colleagues and going out to work. I didnt have a cushy job it was pretty normal in a nursing home but I loved it.

My parents paid off their mortgage in a few years. It meant they never had to worry about financial matters and always had money for other things

I know someone in their mid 20’s who has just purchased a £325k property with cash

@wooo69

I know someone in their mid 20’s who has just purchased a £325k property with cash

Inheritance? Lottery win?

Now in middle age, I'm glad I didn't do this.

Enjoy every minute of your youth while you have the health and energy to enjoy, rather than spend all your time working and scrimping.

Every year that passes I have more money yet find less need for it. My time and energy are still valuable, but they are less useful to me now.

This seems to get more marked as people get older. Wealthy pensioners seem to sit on oodles of cash while in a dated house, not bothered about redecorating etc. Whilst spending large periods of time unable to enjoy spending the money they have.

That sounds terribly depressing but.....

We were mortgage free when I was 36. We sold in London and bought in Scotland so saved a huge amount of money building a much bigger house. I would be bored out my mind though if I was retired!

@lljkk

wtf sounds so boring to be retired by age 40.

when is the article due?

Yeah. OP posts ONCE.

Do sod off, crap and transparent hack!

The Fire movement is a joke. Often only possible to save if you can live with family and friends. Often only possible for couples - singletons not so easy.

The idea that there much money to be saved by not buying as much clothing or bulk buying toilet paper is deeply insulting to people on minimum wage or anyone living in poverty.

Cryptocurrency

@Ieattoomuchsugar The last article I read where somebody bought a house in her early twenties, she'd lived with her parents for years. Not everyone can do or wants to do that. And interviewees are not always completely candid about where they have got their money from, some of it could be inheritance. Newspaper articles about this are just pushing the "if you work hard enough, you can do it" agenda. There's still a gender pay gap (and the cost of childcare is onerous) and the average UK house costs £275,000. 🙄

I moved out at 19 to go to uni and never went home. Rented in a shared house then moved in with bf when I was 28. Paid him rent then bought half of his house (matched deposit and lump sum to cover his investment). Enjoyed travelling in my youth, never missed out although I didn't drive. Sold the house (190k) and upgraded when I was 35 with a bigger mortgage (280k). 2 kids later and almost 40. Got 100k left on the mortgage by over paying while still paying £700 each month on nursery fees. Any left over gets paid in a lump sum at year end. In September when the youngest gets his free hours the nursery money will go I to the mortgage. We should be mortgage free by 45. DH in IT for a uni and I'm a part time teacher so not massive earners. We don't scrimp but also having a fancy car and designer clothes aren't important. Babies and covid reduced the number of holidays but we do go away, kids have swimming and sports lessons etc. We've never had any help from parents or an inheritance. I actually bailed out my parents to stop them losing their house.

It very much is possible without buying early or having high paid jobs. That said we won't retire early, well I'd like to retire at 60 rather than 67 but being able to be part time out of choice would be great. Once the kids are older it would be nice to go travelling to India/Thailand/Australia with them rather than a package to Spain.