Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

The dream of home ownership isn't really that special. While it's nice to have a place you can call home you don't own it outright until your mortgage is paid off. My two bedroom place is ideal for a single professional geek like me, however sometimes I regret buying it and wish I'd rented for longer.

Sure I love my pad, it's in a nice neighbourhood, close to a park and the local shops are handy and yet I feel tied down, not only to the mortgage payments but also to the maintenance and repairs that have needed doing since I bought it. On top of the building insurance I pay every month.

To be honest I'd like to "own my house" and become mortgage free. With my credit card debt gone I have extra money to put into the mortgage. This is my next debt step.

Some might think I should invest the money for a higher return. For me it doesn't make sense, right now I'll leave my work pension to invest every month. The fact is paying off your mortgage early will save you thousands in interest payments.

I don't want any form of debt and that means the mortgage too. I'm sick of giving banks my hard earned cash and paying them for decades so I can have a roof over my head at over twice the price of the property.

With all your debt gone you can build wealth faster instead of banks and credit companies taking it away every day. I prefer having no debt then a 30 year mortgage eating at my investments.

Imagine not having any lenders and being empowered to invest without any debts dinting your assets. A home that's paid off quicker is more of an asset then slaving away making the interest payments.

Having a mortgage is also a risk without an emergency fund in place. What would happen if you couldn't make the payments for some reason like illness or an accident. Do you have insurance and an emergency fund to cover for an unexpected crisis?

I want to pay off my mortgage faster over investing because that's my personal choice. When I get my mortgage statement and see that 75% of the payments only cover the interest and the actually balance hardly goes down it makes perfect sense that I should work to pay it off faster rather than invest in the markets.

Having no debt is better than having debt and once all the debt is gone and the mortgage paid off I'll gain years to plough the saving into index funds.

I'm paying off my mortgage early, without a mortgage you can be finally free from debt and it zapping away your wealth. Complete debt freedom means you don't owe a penny and you never need to borrow money again.

What would you do with the money, invest or clear the mortgage faster? If you have a mortgage how would you feel if it was cleared earlier? Let me know by the commenting below.

Am I Obsessed With Paying Off Debt?

Why paying off my debt has become so important to me isn't a vexing question. The answer to this question is simple - I'm sick of debt eating away at my money and I want to be in control of my finances.

For many years I haven't looked after myself or my money. Clearing debt and getting fit are noble and responsible goals to have. I started this debt blog to track my debt and health, to publish how you can turn your finances and health around.

The dark excesses of debt can lead you down a dark financial path. A place where you are saddled with debt and struggle to make ends meet, let alone save up for something. After years of austerity, huge public service cuts and due to the uncertainly of the Brexit vote I thought it was best to Keep Out of DebtExit. On top of this we have Covid 19 attacking the economy and jobs.

I'm not sure what the new economic picture may bring for the UK, I'll leave that to the policymakers, however at least I could start to take control of my own financial borders and shopping rules. I decided it would be nice to have a surplus every month and actually keep the money I earn instead of debt and interest payments gobbling it all up. This meant clearing my all my debts using fiscal discipline and some austerity of my own.

I've found a new hobby that I enjoy and it makes a bit of cash. Beside keeping me accountable the other reasons I blog about debt and my finances is I make money from the advertising. It's not much but the little I do make is paid into my debt helping to bring down the amount I owe. Like Tesco say "Every little helps".

I'm learning new things about managing money and balancing my budget. I've learned to delay gratification by not using credit anymore, tightening my belt (I can literally do this now since losing weight), break bad financial habits and learned how to be more frugal with my money.

These are the secrets to getting wealthy. Growing up we aren't taught enough about personal finance and if we are we don't listen or forget the financial wisdom we receive when we hit adulthood and start our first jobs.

We know we should be more prudent with our money. The financial strategy of saving money, avoiding debt is the right thing to do and a solid way to riches but wants, temptation, financial circumstances and unfortunate events push us into debt.

Before we know it we've overdone the borrowing with shopping trips, car loans, an overdraft and a galactic mortgage debt. Now is the time to leave all that debt behind and build wealth for you, your family and your future.

We under-invest in our retirement and financial independence all for the sake of buying stuff on credit. Don't worry you're not alone, I'm a debt sinner too, so I decided to do something about my health and wealth and created Healthy Debt Diet.

It's was a life changing decision, I wanted not only to dream about being debt free but actually be debt free.

I believe that blogging about your health mission and your personal finance journey will help you achieve your goals and keep you motivated. It forces me to stay committed, follow through and practise what I peach. Without running this blog I may have quit by now.

So is paying off my debt an obsession? I wouldn't say that I'm obsessed with paying back my debt, I just run a debt blog about it.

With some determination and support you can pay off your debts. As well as me I want you to succeed in paying off your debt too, that is why I launched the Health Debt Diet, its aim is to help households clear their debts.

Keeping Out of DebtExit

Thanks to the UK Brexit (and now COVID) our financial futures seem more uncertain than ever before. In these uncertain times, with rising costs, falling wages, the risk of job losses and a risky stock market affecting our pensions. I believe that clearing your debt and having an emergency fund should become a priority for all families.

When we come out of the EU I think it will hit hard, therefore instead of Brexit we should be working towards our own personal #DebtExit. Here are a few steps we can take to increase our financial security:

Create a Tighter Budget

Focus on creating a budget that spends less and puts the money into any debt you have. If you don't have a workable budget, one that is overspending then I suggest you review What Could You Cut From Your Budget?

If you keep regularly breaking your budget then eventually you'll go bust and need a bailout like the banks did. Unfortunately you are not a bank and the taxpayer isn't going to your cover your expenses should you personal finances collapse because you haven't secured any fresh income from new trade deals.

Brexit may be a haul long that damages the UK economy so it's more important than ever to live within your means and avoid any accumulating any new debts. Reduce your budget and limit your spending.

Build an Emergency Fund

This maybe the worst time ever to build up more debt. My advice is to stay away from using credit and start saving for a rainy day.

With Brexit looming I strongly suggest you build an emergency fund if you don't already have one. Should a crisis hit then a three to six month emergency fund of expenses will help you ride the financial storm if the economy is heavy impacted with a hard Brexit. With an emergency fund it will make sure the essential bills are paid in the event of job loss, sickness or a nasty surprise.

UK inflation has already increased, food, clothes and interest costs are rising so be prepared. With the threat of no customs union in place EU imported goods and holidays to the EU are also likely to jump up in price which will influence higher living costs.

Boost Your Income

Could you generate more income from selling on eBay, Blogging, affiliate marketing or making money from a hobby? Not everybody can or wants to get a second job yet generating more income will help you pay off debt and save up faster. Earning your way out of debt and money struggle offers an opportunity to grow your income for cash strapped households.

Think My DebtExit Plan Is A Good Idea?

I confess that I genuinely fear for the UK economy, our pensions, peoples jobs and public services after Brexit. I believe that Brexit isn't a smart move at this time.

Do you agree or do you think that leaving the EU will bring peace and prosperity? Will Brexit work for all of us or just the select few? Comment below or use Twitter hashtag #DebtExit to let me know what you think?

Cyber Security Promotion

In 2016 I got promotion to my company's Cyber Security Team. My new role came with a nice 5k pay rise which was sweet.

And what did I have to show for this extra money? Was my overdraft cleared, did I use the extra cash to increase my credit card payments, did I save or invest my pay rise?

The answer is no. I have nothing to show for my extra 5k a year. In fact my debt increased since from there. Thinking about it, this pattern seems to be the case throughout my career - As I earn more I spent more.

With a wage increases can come higher credit limits resulting in more debts. When we earn more our lifestyle tends to follow and we buy more, upgrade our stuff and even use more credit that's made available to us.

Furthering our careers offer an opportunity to dig ourselves out of debt. When you get a salary increase put it to good use. Continue to live as if you didn't have the extra cash.

It's important that when we receive an income boost we take advantage by spending it wisely on paying off our debt and saving the extra cash. If we fail to do this our rewards for working hard and earning promotion are just wasted.

Use any salary increase you receive to increase your pension contributions, kill off debt and save up. For my next promotion the income boost will be spent straight into my mortgage and home improvements.