How did you celebrate paying your mortgage off? (If at all).

[december2020]

We are in a fortunate position that we may be able to pay our mortgage off by the end of this year, a lot earlier than expected.

(Partially due to very unfortunate circumstances, my mum dying unexpectedly).

It feels a little strange, to become mortgage-free, and oddly feels like an event you wouldn't really tell anyone in real life.

So I was wondering, when you become mortgage free, did you do anything at all to celebrate? Or am I just making something that isn't a thing into a thing.

We were thinking maybe a spa day, or a fancier hotel weekend in the countryside. But maybe I'm overthinking it all, it is not a thing, and it's me just trying to find a bit of light.

We paid ours off a year ago & I think we just had a glass of wine & maybe dinner out. Complete anticlimax.

I think we just took a drink and toasted it, but we'd wound it down so were only paying a few quid off each month so it didn't make a big difference to lifestyle.

But you're right, it's a life moment, isn't it?!

🙂

It was purely an internal celebration of knowing the mortgage was gone, we did nothing and told no one. I would advise you not to tell anyone at all.

It's what happened ages ago isn't it? Don't think you need your now, aren't they electronic now?

That was my thinking as well, sounds like a very outdated practice. We have about a year left.

We didn't do anything. It didn't even occur to us to do something. I don't really see why everything had to be an 'event'.

We are hoping to get ours under 100k by the end of the year and if we do, we'll be celebrating (we were at 122k at the start of 2023) so definitely do something!

I got two houses. I finished my main mortgage and celebrated it by calling another bank to change our Buy to let to repayment. One more to go 😂

Treated ourselves to solar - as one of the very last on highest rate Feed In Tariff with the remainder of the endowment policy after the mortgage was paid off.
This has paid well, and covers ALL of our energy costs plus £200-400 on top per year. Think we have about 11 years to go on this high rate FIT

We danced around the kitchen, opened a bottle of champagne and went out for dinner with adult DC.

We worked really really hard to pay ours off, cut out every last penny of spending for a number of years, no treats or luxuries of any kind. Last payment in August, cracked a bottle of wine I think, no spare money for anything fancy. Retired in September, ordered a new kitchen, refurbished our antiquated bedroom and booked a cruise all in the first 6 months. It was a good year

Paid ours off Wednesday just gone over the phone at 8:08am before starting work. Very anti climactic. The call handler, while efficient, read her script in a fast & one toned voice. Not really celebrated. We have saved up & taken a lump sum from a 2nd pension. Not really celebrated yet, might do when we get 'the official letter'

Paid ours off in June so yet to really feel it. Does feel good and we will save the monthly amount for the next 18 months to help our retirement fund.

Paid ours off during Covid. DH was diagnosed with a life threatening illness and the Critical Illness Cover we took our all those years ago paid the mortgage off. It was a bitter sweet celebration.

Took a month’s worth of mortgage payment each to spend on what we fancied and another one to treat the family. Had a grand time with it all.

We saved really hard over a long time to pay it off and what’s the point if you don’t enjoy a bit of the advantages it brings.

Our last mortgage payment will be in September. Think it will be a bit of an anti climax tbh. Won’t be telling anyone irl.

We won’t feel any better off as have taken out a 2 year loan to get a new bathroom & that’s about the same amount each month as the mortgage. Maybe we’ll celebrate when that loan gets paid off 😊

Fancy dinner and gave the kids £1000 each. This was less a spaff the cash gift and more a get saving boost although I think I the youngest may have a hols.

We had a family take away as the children are young, bottle of champagne.
I thought we went out for a very posh meal but I think that was actually for my birthday but was similar time.

We went out for a nice meal with our grown up children and their partners. We didn't really say that's what the meal was for but we knew why we were doing it.

We did book a couple of nice trips that year; we went to New York and Dominican Republic, we'd usually only have been able to do one of those holidays a year.

It is a lovely feeling and I'm grateful everyday for the position we're in.

We paid ours off in Dec 22, we then saved the payments for a year and then this year we have 7 holidays booked.

TBH it was just an outgoing that was being paid down, it felt good that it was gone but we never celebrated in any way.

For the last few years we were making significant overpayments (no 10% limit) to get it paid off (think we did it in 17yrs) and then diverted that money into savings so that when we next moved there was no need for a mortgage.
Pensions were already covered.

We didn't celebrate, but appreciated having extra money for savings/maintenance/general spending.

I was able to reduce my hours at work. I celebrate that most days

We are due to pay off in March, all being well. Plan is to open the nice champagne.

I agree it is a weird one and I'm not sure we will tell many people. Definitely not a chocolates at work situation!

It was a bit of a non event really. I paid off most of DH's mortgage when we got married and I sold my house. But we kept a tiny balance on it so that we could use the low interest loan if we needed one for anything in the future. Then realized we wouldn't ever do that so paid that bit off unceremoniously!