That's the last of my redundancy money gone

ESBlonde

When young and with a family debt seems the only way, anyway theres always tomorrow. Age makes debt heavier but should provide the means to clear it (career advancement and lesser responsibilites). In retrospect I wish I'd suffered then without what ever I though I  needed and I'd have been clear of debt sooner.

Yes it feels good.

p90fool

EricTheWeary said:

When my redundancy money comes through it's paying off the balance of the mortgage. So I'll be the richest I've ever been for about two days then it will all be gone with no immediate discernible difference to my life. Yay... :o3

Having a pretty low mortgage myself means that I can do a part-time job I enjoy rather than a full-time job I hate.
I live simply but well, without the stress of resenting my boss.

Maybe not having a mortgage at all is a good time for a direction change?

ennspek

The only debt I have now is a car which is on finance. The reason it's on finance is that they made it cheaper overall to go down that route than to buy it outright. It was also cheaper than buying an ex-demo one.
I can only conclude the car market is struggling right now.
In the past I have been through crushing debts and it is a horrible feeling.

hobbio

CabbageCat said:

hobbio said:

CabbageCat said:

joneve said:

I've just transferred the last of our debt for 40 months, so that'll be paid off in a few years and I'll (hopefully) be debt free, with the exception of my mortgages.  

Heh. Being debt free with the exception of mortgages is like being injury free with the exception of amputations.

Not really, because if you hadn't bought then you'd still be paying rent.

A debt with a good reason is still a debt. You still have to pay it off. You are still trapped in the rat race.

But even without that debt you'd still have to find a similar amount of money every month for rent, and so having a mortgage doesn't really change anything until it's paid off and you own your home outright. A mortgage is still a debt, true, but it's in a special category.

p90fool

Exactly. I don't see a mortgage as being "part of the rat race". You're just paying rent to yourself instead of throwing it away.

RaymondLin

Only have mortgage and a small credit card bill. No more student loan, no car finance, no guitar on finance.

The house is not in negative equity so it's not a problem even if the worst happens.

jd0272

It's cheaper for me to have my mortgage than it would be to rent a similar property. Currently got between £60-£80k equity in it, which is ok. Nice deposit on a bigger place.

Credit card is indeed in credit. No loans.

£10.5k 'debt' courtesy of estranged wife, may remortgage and reach a lower settlement figure on that? Seeing mortgage advisor soon.

Can't complain that much. Even my Experion is in the excellent bit. Surprised me...

stickyfiddle

I don't yet have a mortgage, but will be debt-free next month after my final car payment is made, and I paid off the remainder of my student loan as a lump sum last month. 

After getting into what felt like serious credit card trouble in my early 20's it's a fantastic feeling. Thankfully I was only ever about 3.5k down in total but when you don't have the ability to deal with that's plenty I assure you!!

Sporky

p90fool said:

Exactly. I don't see a mortgage as being "part of the rat race". You're just paying rent to yourself instead of throwing it away.

But Mr Cat's point is still true - a mortgage is still a debt, and usually the biggest one.

It is also true that it is one of the most easily serviced, most predictable and most sensible ones.

Iamnobody

My understanding of debt free is no loans, no credit cards and a fully paid off mortgage.

CabbageCat

p90fool said:

Exactly. I don't see a mortgage as being "part of the rat race". You're just paying rent to yourself instead of throwing it away.

You aren't paying rent to yourself. You are paying off a debt. And it's not the debt that makes you part of the rat race it's being in work that makes you part of the rat race - it's the debt that means you can't stop working.

ThePrettyDamned

Congratulations man. That's brilliant, brilliant news

I have a 1k limit credit card which I use for most spending - that pays off in full every month automatically. I did it as a financial advisor said it would boost my credit rating if I got it and set it up to pay off monthly automatically.

I have now cut it up - not because I couldn't manage, but because I now have a better credit rating and it has achieved what I asked I hate it. I was happy when I got it, but actually seeing my money come in, then immediately smash back every month was a little crushing - despite my spending habits not changing (and therefore having no worries).

I'm glad to be free of it. When me and the girlfriend first got together, we spent a few months paying off her (relatively small) credit card debt as the interest kept pushing it back up. It was soul crushing.

Sporky

I do everything I can on the credit cards - I get cashback.

chillidoggy

Sporky said:

p90fool said:

Exactly. I don't see a mortgage as being "part of the rat race". You're just paying rent to yourself instead of throwing it away.

But Mr Cat's point is still true - a mortgage is still a debt, and usually the biggest one.

It is also true that it is one of the most easily serviced, most predictable and most sensible ones.

It may be a debt if you're in negative equity, but to me if the asset value outweighs the remaining mortgage payment, then it's money in the bank!

paulmapp8306

I cleared all my debts with my Military Pension Lump sum.  I immediately got a mortgage though as I needed a house for the family - so was in more debt than I started.  That said, it is the only debt I have - and I also had a large deposit (25%) so got a good deal.  Its also a fix - 2 years initially, then another 2 - now Im on a 10 year fix at 3.49%.  I could have got lower on a 5, or 2 BUT Im happy with the repayments (in fact Im overpaying by £100/month) and immune to any fluctuations caused by the last week.  If interest rates go down, Im not that bothered.  The most its going to move is 0.5% I guess - but Im shielded from the possibility of much higher rises.  By the time my fix ends - and with my overpayments, Im going to have just shy of £20k left which I should manage no problem even at 8-10-% rates if they are sky rocket.  If all my plans come off, Ill actually have £20k in savings to pay it off anyway - though you never know.  My kids are still only 13 and 10.

In reality it's no different from paying rent I guess, so while technically in debt, it doesn't really feel like it.

I do use a credit card, as it has cashback for supermarket shops.  Its the only thing we use it for - and it gets paid off the nest day.  In fact most of the time im actually in credit (as I can pay off more than I owe).  

I feel in the best place Ive every been.  I got into debt when I was younger - an engagement that went sour drove me into a place Id rather not remember.  At its peak I was £42,000 in debt with nothing to show for it.  Bloody stupid kids - dont do it.  It took me 13 years of tough money management, plus 1/4 of that army pension to clear.  Im glad its gone.  I now have a home of my own, £60k equity in it, and no other debt.  - I feel like I can fly at times.

stickyfiddle

Sporky said:

I do everything I can on the credit cards - I get cashback.

I get airmiles. In October, my wife and I are literally flying to Japan for free, as a result of everyday spending combined with some chunky work expenses. I pay it off in full every single month without fail.

TTony

Scarily, after years of being debt (incl mortgage) free, we're actively considering taking on a larger mortgage than I've ever had before.

Still, interest rates are a lot lower than they were when I was last mortgaged, so I guess it shouldn't be too painful.  

There goes retirement though ...

chillidoggy

TTony said:

Scarily, after years of being debt (incl mortgage) free, we're actively considering taking on a larger mortgage than I've ever had before.

Still, interest rates are a lot lower than they were when I was last mortgaged, so I guess it shouldn't be too painful.  

There goes retirement though ...

Do you need a bigger house? Just curious, because we're heading for downsizing prior to, or just after retirement. 

jellyroll

The mortgage is no trouble. But the school fees......

PolarityMan

I'm actually considering voluntarily taking o another mortgage!!