Life begins at 35?
Discussion
Croutons said:
I'm guessing you're pretty debt averse OP (which is fine Btw).
If you have no other debts (cc's, loans etc) Then don't actually clear the mortgage, get it to the smallest you can without actually paying it off.
That keeps your credit score high, as you will have continual evidence of borrowing and paying. Mine cost £2.12 this month, for this reason.
Or you could pay off your mortgage, strike satisfaction, and get the same credit score 'benefit' from simply using a credit card and paying it off?If you have no other debts (cc's, loans etc) Then don't actually clear the mortgage, get it to the smallest you can without actually paying it off.
That keeps your credit score high, as you will have continual evidence of borrowing and paying. Mine cost £2.12 this month, for this reason.
what exactly do you think credit scores are for, beyond generating business for credit rating agencies?
Not entirely clear what OP is going to want a high credit score for anyway? now debt free, after all.
Croutons said:
I'm guessing you're pretty debt averse OP (which is fine Btw).
If you have no other debts (cc's, loans etc) Then don't actually clear the mortgage, get it to the smallest you can without actually paying it off.
That keeps your credit score high, as you will have continual evidence of borrowing and paying. Mine cost £2.12 this month, for this reason.
I have a few bits and pieces on 0%finance, sofas, garden furniture etc, so unless having a tiny balance on mortgage offers any benefits over this or a credit card re: Credit score, It'll just go.If you have no other debts (cc's, loans etc) Then don't actually clear the mortgage, get it to the smallest you can without actually paying it off.
That keeps your credit score high, as you will have continual evidence of borrowing and paying. Mine cost £2.12 this month, for this reason.
The Green Triangle said:
I have a few bits and pieces on 0%finance, sofas, garden furniture etc, so unless having a tiny balance on mortgage offers any benefits over this or a credit card re: Credit score, It'll just go.
In the past a small mortgage was often retained so that the lender looked after the title deeds for you but this is now digital so as long as your house is registered at the Land Registry then this is irrelevant. In a country where so many young people are struggling to get decent paying jobs, despite working their arses off, and can't get on the property ladder because prices are ridiculous and saving for the deposit so hard....
How the hell have you paid off a 500k house by 35? Some people would be lucky to be in a property of their own by then.
You must either have a very well paying job, or got a nice head start via mum and dad.
f
k.
How the hell have you paid off a 500k house by 35? Some people would be lucky to be in a property of their own by then.
You must either have a very well paying job, or got a nice head start via mum and dad.
f
k. Current value is 550. Bought 10 years ago. Cost 10 years ago could have been well under 250 depending on location. They have 2 incomes and have stated that paying off the mortgage has been the core domestic criteria. Using those rough numbers it highlights how easy it can be if you're not into disco dancing.
Firstly I didn't pay 500-550k for the house. Thats its value today.
Secondly yes I have a good paying job. But not always. I've just been very careful with money and not pished it up the wall. No iphone, no fags, no designer clothes, no expensive cars.... No head start in life. Just determination.
Secondly yes I have a good paying job. But not always. I've just been very careful with money and not pished it up the wall. No iphone, no fags, no designer clothes, no expensive cars.... No head start in life. Just determination.
The Green Triangle said:
Firstly I didn't pay 500-550k for the house. Thats its value today.
Secondly yes I have a good paying job. But not always. I've just been very careful with money and not pished it up the wall. No iphone, no fags, no designer clothes, no expensive cars.... No head start in life. Just determination.
Hard work mixed with a bit of good timing and luck then. Secondly yes I have a good paying job. But not always. I've just been very careful with money and not pished it up the wall. No iphone, no fags, no designer clothes, no expensive cars.... No head start in life. Just determination.
I'm roughly ten years younger than you, did managed to get on ladder but relationship ended shortly after. We did make on the house but the wife got most of the equity.
Now with my own income I can only get a mortgage up to 90k, buys you f
k all even up north. The property boom has passed I think, new buyers are struggling for a deposit and wages are not going up much at all. So house prices can't increase forever.
benjijames28 said:
Hard work mixed with a bit of good timing and luck then.
I'm roughly ten years younger than you, did managed to get on ladder but relationship ended shortly after. We did make on the house but the wife got most of the equity.
Now with my own income I can only get a mortgage up to 90k, buys you fk all even up north.
The property boom has passed I think, new buyers are struggling for a deposit and wages are not going up much at all. So house prices can't increase forever.
Yes absolutely a good slug of timing and luck, mixed with hard work and sacrifices. Having a target and literally ticking off the months. And yes the Mrs also contributed a good chunk until the kids start coming along... But luckily she's more shrewd than me! I'm roughly ten years younger than you, did managed to get on ladder but relationship ended shortly after. We did make on the house but the wife got most of the equity.
Now with my own income I can only get a mortgage up to 90k, buys you f
k all even up north. The property boom has passed I think, new buyers are struggling for a deposit and wages are not going up much at all. So house prices can't increase forever.
I have a family member around mid 20's and see how he's struggling to get a foot on the ladder so I feel your pain. He's self employed so even more obstacles trying to get a mortgage.
Congratulations OP and I admire your grit and ability to stay focused. My situation is similar to yours accept I'm 50... last year I finished paying off my personal and business debt after 20 years of miserly behaviour, much to the frustration/amusement of my mates over this time. My choice has now been to semi retire, earning less but gaining free time. I have bought a motor home, my wife has given up work too and we have lots of short trips planned. I also invest my spare in stocks and shares isa's. My children have not suffered from their modest holidays over the years... My mates now understand.
Steelnads said:
Congratulations OP and I admire your grit and ability to stay focused. My situation is similar to yours accept I'm 50... last year I finished paying off my personal and business debt after 20 years of miserly behaviour, much to the frustration/amusement of my mates over this time. My choice has now been to semi retire, earning less but gaining free time. I have bought a motor home, my wife has given up work too and we have lots of short trips planned. I also invest my spare in stocks and shares isa's. My children have not suffered from their modest holidays over the years... My mates now understand.
Thanks, and good luck in your plans to semi retire. I reckon mid 50s would be just right for retirement. Just need to make some savvy decisions now to plan for the future.The Green Triangle said:
Yes absolutely a good slug of timing and luck, mixed with hard work and sacrifices.
Mostly the former I'm guessing, but that's fine.Anyway, you're lucky enough to have the life's major purchase done and dusted, so from 35 on I'd ditch the miserly spending on other things and indulge your hobbies, passions and pursuits.
I would love to know the numbers on this. 35 here, and no chance of clearing my even modest mortgage of £120k over the next 10 years with a family. Thats despite a modest lifestyle and no debts and with 2 incomes above the national average. I think I need to start looking at ways in which to do this.
Well done OP. I dont get the references to this being down to luck.
I would take the extra money you have been paying every month and half it - half in to savings like a shares ISA and half for fun. The extra could be pimping your holidays or just day to day living - whichever you prefer. I'd then come back to the question in 12 months time, you will of had some fun and still have a pot of cash to play with.
Long term I would probably think about putting the majority of spare cash in to share (or fund) ISAs - they should be worth a bit by retirement age and you can draw down on them before that if required. I can't get the figures to add up with BTL personally.
I would take the extra money you have been paying every month and half it - half in to savings like a shares ISA and half for fun. The extra could be pimping your holidays or just day to day living - whichever you prefer. I'd then come back to the question in 12 months time, you will of had some fun and still have a pot of cash to play with.
Long term I would probably think about putting the majority of spare cash in to share (or fund) ISAs - they should be worth a bit by retirement age and you can draw down on them before that if required. I can't get the figures to add up with BTL personally.
Chicken Chaser said:
I would love to know the numbers on this. 35 here, and no chance of clearing my even modest mortgage of £120k over the next 10 years with a family. Thats despite a modest lifestyle and no debts and with 2 incomes above the national average. I think I need to start looking at ways in which to do this.
It seems easily doable on the basic figures you've wuoted but just boils down to a lifestyle choice and prioritising how you are currently spending or investing your incomes. Olivera said:
Mostly the former I'm guessing, but that's fine.
Anyway, you're lucky enough to have the life's major purchase done and dusted, so from 35 on I'd ditch the miserly spending on other things and indulge your hobbies, passions and pursuits.
Without going too detailed on the numbers: On average over the last 10-12 years (First 2 years for saving up for initial deposit on first house), we’ve put away 2.5K-3K a month into mortgage (includes overpayments). That’s 360K-£430K over the full period. We gained a bit on the sale of the first house, about 30K. When I got made redundant, I put all the money from that into the new house (around 20K). Based on similar property sales and zoopla estimates, current house has increased in value by around 100K -150K since we purchased which is academic as we ain't moving.Anyway, you're lucky enough to have the life's major purchase done and dusted, so from 35 on I'd ditch the miserly spending on other things and indulge your hobbies, passions and pursuits.
I’ve always taken 4 year fixed mortgage deals (apart from the first which was 2 years fixed) as I am generally risk averse and always believed (wrongly) that interest rates had to start increasing at some point. I recognise now that I would have been better off going onto tracker deals or shorter deals, but hindsight’s great and I always wanted to make sure I knew what I was going to be paying and the amount the loan was going to be paid down for as long as possible, betting that rates would increase when they didn’t.
With low interest rates, I guess some people see this as a great time to borrow and that’s fine and their choice. But I looked at it as a great time to reduce my debt as the service of this was low and allowed me to pay back bigger chunks of capital then I would have been able to if the rates were higher, benefitting from the compounding effect of this (a pound paid back today is going to save you interest on that pound every month/year to the end of the product life). Nothing’s right or wrong there, I guess it’s a bit like the analogy of glass half full or empty and personal preferences/life style choices and an addiction to spread sheet trackers.
It certainly has felt like hard work and has required a lot of strict budgeting. But sure luck plays a part in everything we do, and we have been lucky to be able to do this taking advantage of low rates etc.
Edited by The Green Triangle on Monday 27th February 10:42
Edited by The Green Triangle on Monday 27th February 10:50
NorthDave said:
Well done OP. I dont get the references to this being down to luck.
I would take the extra money you have been paying every month and half it - half in to savings like a shares ISA and half for fun. The extra could be pimping your holidays or just day to day living - whichever you prefer. I'd then come back to the question in 12 months time, you will of had some fun and still have a pot of cash to play with.
Long term I would probably think about putting the majority of spare cash in to share (or fund) ISAs - they should be worth a bit by retirement age and you can draw down on them before that if required. I can't get the figures to add up with BTL personally.
Cheers, taking time out and enjoying things, and topping up share isa's seem to be the most attractive short term options allowing quick access to funds of needs be.I would take the extra money you have been paying every month and half it - half in to savings like a shares ISA and half for fun. The extra could be pimping your holidays or just day to day living - whichever you prefer. I'd then come back to the question in 12 months time, you will of had some fun and still have a pot of cash to play with.
Long term I would probably think about putting the majority of spare cash in to share (or fund) ISAs - they should be worth a bit by retirement age and you can draw down on them before that if required. I can't get the figures to add up with BTL personally.
OP, thanks for giving a bit of insight, obviously what you put into the mortgage is entirely relative to what you and your missus is earning, but regardless, if you've suddenly got £3k a month, then I think you need to enjoy a bit of that. How is your pension taken care of? I pay 15% on mine so its a big chunk of my income gone, but hopefully that'll mean that I'll be set up once I do retire. Whilst our generation has been pretty unlucky with house prices being high, we have enjoyed fairly low rates. Mine is currently tracking at 2% above BR whereas when we first got onto the ladder, rates were up around 7%. Much rather take the lower rate to get the mortgage down quicker!
Chicken Chaser said:
OP, thanks for giving a bit of insight, obviously what you put into the mortgage is entirely relative to what you and your missus is earning, but regardless, if you've suddenly got £3k a month, then I think you need to enjoy a bit of that. How is your pension taken care of? I pay 15% on mine so its a big chunk of my income gone, but hopefully that'll mean that I'll be set up once I do retire. Whilst our generation has been pretty unlucky with house prices being high, we have enjoyed fairly low rates. Mine is currently tracking at 2% above BR whereas when we first got onto the ladder, rates were up around 7%. Much rather take the lower rate to get the mortgage down quicker!
No problems. Pension wise, in my current one I contribute 6% and my employer puts in 22%, which to me seems crazy. I don't know much about pensions, but have always had one in all the company's I've worked in. This one seems the best on paper, but with the pension scandals in the past, I'm not going to count on it...just in case.OP congratulations, it's a great achievement and as others have said something you should be proud of and reward yourself and family with a decent holiday and more importantly a fun motor. :-)
I'm in kind of a similar situation (same age), in the sense that we have saved aggressively whilst working overseas which has meant we have a decent deposit/savings. Currently, we own a property in UK which on a good day is worth 160k with 70k remaining on the mortgage. We're fortunate that due to us working overseas and saving hard we have around 550k saved up.
My conundrum is whether to buy a house around 600-650 with a small mortgage and plough the rest of our monthly income into index trackers, or given rates are so low, push for something in the 8-900 range with a view that over the long long term (20yrs+) property should rise to some degree (perhaps not as fast or far as the last 15 years).
Risk averse part of me says, go for the lower mortgage, but, other part says, it would be stupid not to take on more mortgage given rates are historically at a low point borrowing 500k at 1.8% would be quite manageable.
UK mentality seems to be go for the property, "englishmans home is his castle" etc. Reading an interesting book at the moment, called Millionaire next Door (quite US focussed) which espouses a different view, smaller house, focus more on investments and multiple sources of income.
Decisions, Decisions...
I'm in kind of a similar situation (same age), in the sense that we have saved aggressively whilst working overseas which has meant we have a decent deposit/savings. Currently, we own a property in UK which on a good day is worth 160k with 70k remaining on the mortgage. We're fortunate that due to us working overseas and saving hard we have around 550k saved up.
My conundrum is whether to buy a house around 600-650 with a small mortgage and plough the rest of our monthly income into index trackers, or given rates are so low, push for something in the 8-900 range with a view that over the long long term (20yrs+) property should rise to some degree (perhaps not as fast or far as the last 15 years).
Risk averse part of me says, go for the lower mortgage, but, other part says, it would be stupid not to take on more mortgage given rates are historically at a low point borrowing 500k at 1.8% would be quite manageable.
UK mentality seems to be go for the property, "englishmans home is his castle" etc. Reading an interesting book at the moment, called Millionaire next Door (quite US focussed) which espouses a different view, smaller house, focus more on investments and multiple sources of income.
Decisions, Decisions...
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