AIBU to be nervous about paying the mortgage off!

[Blondiebeachbabe]

My 5 year fixed mortgage deal ends in November. The current interest rate is 1.54% The new rate will be 5.02% I’ve been saving like mad to get together enough to just pay it off in November. The balance will be £22k. I can do it but somehow I feel so nervous sending that money over and not having it to hand anymore. WWYD? I will have a bit more left in my isa for emergencies. I think it’s just that I’ve never spent that amount of money in one go before.

I paid mine off. I understand your worry but the following month I started putting the equivalent mortgage money i to an isa.
Actually, no, the 1st month I treated myself to something special, then started saving.

Sadly I’ve not cleared ours but I have cleared my half…we have separate finances. So the rest of the mortgage is for my dp to pay. The last payment I made was the big one so I’d paid my last £16k I was really nervous for ages and then just told myself you have to do it and never think about it again. I have far less than that left now in savings and no income so I understand the worry.

OMG. Pay it off. I paid mine when my mum died and left me just enough (70k) but it left me with no savings. The relief was unreal. I (well me and DH) own our house and are beholden to no bank.

I think I’ve never felt beholden to the Bank though, because I’ve never missed a payment, so they’d have no reason to repossess. My initial plan when I took out the mortgage five years ago, was to consistently overpay, but then with the interest rate differences it made no sense to overpay my mortgage that was on a rate of 1.54% when I could get 4.1% in an ISA, so I stopped overpaying the mortgage. By November 2026 if I had been overpaying my mortgage balance left would have been £5000, but because I didn’t overpay it’s now £22,000, which feels like such a big amount to send. I know that I am overthinking!

I see what you mean but I think it's a good use of the money

I’m 56 btw, just incase anyone thinks I’m getting rid of my mortgage at 35 or something 😂

I was in a similar situation, facing a rise in interest rate when my fixed rate came to an end. I could have paid off my mortgage but it would have left me with very little savings. I’m a single parent with no additional support and no other earner to fall back on, so I was wary of wiping out my savings. In the end I paid off a chunk of mortgage, enough to keep my monthly payments the same as they had been before, which I knew was manageable. I’m turning 60 next year and hoping to pay it off soon after.

Pay it off. You will be able to save up again in no time without your mortgage payments. Congratulations on paying it off

Can I ask people on this thread

Whenever your fixed rate has come to an end

Have you been offered another fixed rate? Or has the bank not offered you a fixed rate ever?

Well done! Congrats! A huge achievement. Buy yourself a bottle of champagne at Asda (current cost £15 and it’s won awards)

Well done OP. You will soon build up some savings again when you have no mortgage to pay.

The feeling of utter relief and security when you make your last ever mortgage payment is incomparable. Just direct debit your current mortgage payments into an ISA, you’ll soon have decent savings again.

I’ve always had fixed rates, usually 2-3 years. At the end of each fixed term, my mortgage would default to the bank’s standard variable rate. So about 3 months before the fixed term ends, I use a mortgage broker to look at alternatives.

I would go against the grain here, and compare what rate you can get on a mortgage versus what you could save your money at.

I borrowed extra £20k on our mortgage in 2023 and I have been making more money in savings than it is costing me every month since then. It isn't much, but I'm making about £500 a year on it I reckon.

I'm not sure what the draw is to having so much of our wealth tied up in illiquid assets.

We paid our mortgage off early, and it didn’t take long to build up significant savings as we weren’t paying the mortgage anymore. We paid it it off in an about a third of the initial term, and also saved about £90k in what we would have paid in interest!

before anyone asks, no we didn’t have inheritance or a windfall. Small house bought cheap, didn’t move, and got better paying jobs so plowed it all in. 35 year term paid off in 12

Paid ours off a few years ago, I was in my late 40s - it gave an amazing sense of freedom.
I don’t worry about work anymore, if I ever get made redundant, or get fed up I can take a lower paying job, and still afford to live.

i have a home, nobody can take it off me, and it means my daughter will always have a home.

Ok thanks

I just wondered if the same lender that you're with has always offered another fixed rate at the end or if there's times where they don't offer that

This!

Then put the monthly mortgage amount you would have been paying post November (at the current rate you do now) into your savings. Start building your pot again, whilst knowing you have secured a roof over your head for life!

I'm a massive fan of paying off mortgages early. DO IT! You'll feel amazing after - trust me!

Treat yourself to a nice meal out the day you pay it off, or a new outfit or something. You'll get your savings built back up again after.

We’ve just paid ours off two years early, we only owed £10k, but even so I did feel a bit anxious transferring the money, but have just put my first payment back into my savings to start building them back up again. Feels good to completely own the house.

Pay it off. You make the repayments out of taxed income, so a £1000 mortgage payment costs you £1200.00 even if you’re a basic rate payer. Do it. We did and it allowed us to make significant choices a few years later

My fixed rate ends at the end of this month. I have arranged a new 5 year fixed rate with the same lender, not quite as good a rate as I’m on now, but still low enough to be able to over pay so that, hopefully, by the time that’s coming to an end, I will have actually paid it off 🙏🏻

When I first bought this house I got a 5 year fixed deal.
I've just signed up to another 5 year fixed deal with same lender.
I just wonder if that same lender will always offer me a fixed deal when my one runs out or if there's ever a time when they don't

You don’t need to pay it off let it go into tracker and keep 10k in savings and pay the rest of the postage off over two years

Do it. It’s fabulous to have the extra money (from mortgage payments and saving up) each month.

And well done.