To not want to be mortgage free?

[chatenoire]

There MNs I've been playing with spreadsheets all day, and quite frankly came to the conclusion that I'd rather have more freedom than to be mortgage free.

The original plan was to be mortgage free within this decade, but the price to pay is to put in half of our truly disposable income.

Which means we would be able to go on big holidays nor any major home improvements. Our mortgage is tiny (£375 - deal expires in May next year), so I don't see the point of sacrificing quality of life for the sake of never having to think about it again. I'm sure through the cycles deals expiring, overpayments, etc.. we'll end up being mortgage free before hitting 50, so that's not so bad, right?

Can you just make a smaller overpayment? And one that doesn't impact your plans for enjoying life? Even £25 extra a month has an impact? That's what we did

Somewhere in the middle. You don't need to sacrifice everything, just overpay a regular amount money. Whatever you can afford will make a big difference. But leave some money aside for fun. And living your life.

If anything below £1k is low for you then why wouldn't you just put that money into the mortgage.

This is my thinking.
I'm another of the generation that had to pay 15% mortgage rates. We managed, so each time they dropped a bit, we kept the payments at what we'd been managing.
Honestly, it is worth looking at a mortgage calculator to see how many thousands upon thousands of ££ you say be paying off early.

I agree with @Blossomtoes on P1 - there is something psychological about the day you no longer have a mortgage. Worth more than the figures just looking at maths.

But, like so many have said, there is a middle ground between 'paying the minimum' and ' throwing every bit of disposable income' or 'scrimping and saving' . It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Apparently I'd be saving around £40K (which does sound like a lot) but IMO it's not a lot in the grand scheme of things if I end up having "subpar" holidays.

Like I said it's not that I won't overpay, I just won't direct all of my efforts towards that goal.

Oh haha typo, should say 53

I'm starting to think OP is just flexing how much money and income / holidays they have and that this is nothing to do with paying off a cheap mortgage...

We did prioritise being mortgage free, once paid off we then had a lot more money to juggle with which meant investing for us. The issue with financial decisions is that there are macro economic forces that change an outcome even if you have made an informed choice that at the time is for the best. The feeling of having no mortgage is amazing though and paying down debt should always be a priority.

My mortgage is pretty high and I’ll be paying it for a long time unfortunately.

I do have the option to move to a cheaper area if needs be though, so that’s something.

I think there's no point just paying your mortgage and not doing anything fun. you might die tomorrow

Not really! I had the same post on Reddit, and the redditors made me realise it was not a life I wanted to live.

My main worry has always been that we can live on one salary (20-30k) and we're at that stage.

Just showing my spreadsheet so people don't think I'm making it all up!

Mortgage free is freedom. Freedom to then save the mortgage amount you'd been paying every month for your retirement.

The future is unknown and having some fallback space (no mortgage) can only be a good thing.

You can do calculations to find out how much interest you'd save yourself - but it really depends on any fees you might have to pay for ending it early. Worth looking at and considering seriously.

That's definitely not universal! There was no big psychological benefit for me. We celebrated, and it was nice, but that was it. It never felt like a huge weight lifted and now I've got a mortgage again I don't feel down about it.

It may not be universal but it’s very common. All my friends felt exactly the same.

I like having a mortgage! Ours is £1000 a month including slight overpayment. We’re also saving like mad for our DC’s house deposits too.
we have nice holidays, meals out etc, just not loads of them.
I like feeling that I’m investing in my property each month. We’re both working full time so it makes sense to me. For me, better to have a more expensive house with a mortgage, then we can downsize when we retire and still get a nice place.
im not bothered about how much I’m paying in interest, it’s still lots better than renting.

Also, paying off a (safe as it can be) debt is not a priority for me at all.

Martin Lewis has a calculator which will tell you the difference between overpayments at different intervals vs savings (including whether or not you pay tax on your savings).

I finish paying my student loan this month, and I plan to put the amount into a highest interest savings I can manage (above the rate of the mortgage) and hold until we remortgage for LTV reduction if we choose. At this stage there is also a ‘cost’ to not having that money in liquid form.

I also think most people that are most pro overpaying are those that have the luxury of a mortgage that is already small. Throwing an extra grand at mine a month shortens it to 17 rather than 35 years, which at my age feel equally as long as each other 😜

But presumably you'll have payrises so in 10 years' time in relation to your salary your mortgage payments will seem less of a big chunk out of your salary (unless interest rates rise HUGELY). You could always put some extra salary each year towards the mortgage and overpay it gradually without noticing TOO much.

It's being a homeowner/mortgage-holder in the first half of the term that is the killer.

Come on, no-one "likes" having a mortgage! They may tolerate, or learn to live with, having one, as a means to an end. And the feeling that you're investing in your property each month - just think about what that investment goal is, it's actually owning the property. So you're suggesting that it's the result of the invement itself which makes you happy ie. ownership.

We overpaid, raided savings and got rid of ours a few years back. But we were in a rather unstable employment position and paying it off was something we needed to do at that stage nor was it a 3 figure amount per month. What worked for us may not have the same impact as for others.

Yeah I agree with you moistclam. I really think a lot of mumsnetters don’t get what it’s like to be paying a huge mortgage (and no the days of 15% were not the same, get over it) and that is not by choice - it’s the best of a bad lot between extortionate rents and shitty leasehold. Oh and the 37k of tax I had to pay just to buy my house (which btw I’ve already paid tax on). Because prices are insane.

My partner’s male relatives all died in their mid fifties. By all means people can have goals and aspirations and not to say fritter everything away, but I think there’s a lot to be said for living in the here and now as well.

I’m not sure I understand your maths OP but as others have said there’s a middle ground and savings can reduce mortgages or buy lovely holidays so basically putting money aside for any reason is a good thing!

If we carry on as we are I'll be 58 and DH will be 60 when ours is gone (18 years left). I'm totally happy with that tbh. Life is for living.

The logic is that I'd need to save I think 15k annually (I think slightly more) annually to pay the mortgage off by January 2029/2030. Although possible, the money leftover wouldn't let me have the type of holiday that I like.

So I'd rather have my mortgage for a longer period of time and go on holiday. I'm sure I'll pay it off within 10 years (which is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination).

The logic is that I'd need to save I think 15k annually (I think slightly more) annually to pay the mortgage off by January 2029/2030. Although possible, the money leftover wouldn't let me have the type of holiday that I like.

So I'd rather have my mortgage for a longer period of time and go on holiday. I'm sure I'll pay it off within 10 years (which is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination).

.........and that's fine. You've done the maths, and that is your personal choice.
Lots of us would do it differently, but that is part of life's richness, that we are all different.
Personally I can't imagine spending £15k on holidays year after year, but we just have different priorities. There's no 'right' or 'wrong'.

I think your thread title should have been, 'To not be mortgage free in 5 years, but 10'.....so I can splash 15k pa on holidays....