Mortgage Free Diaries - @mortgagefreeaf

In this month's mortgage-free diaries, we meet a couple who successfully paid off their mortgage at the age of 39. Curious to uncover their secrets to financial freedom? Let’s dive in!

Location: Eastern Washington State, USA

Occupation: Accounts Payable Specialist for a public school district, husband is the Director of Finance for a different public school district.

Mortgage Free age: 39 

Time taken to pay off mortgage: I owned for 20 years and always paid extra, but from the time I got really serious and decided to go for it to when it was paid off was 13 months BUT we had a large amount of cash set aside for projects and other things and we ended up dumping all of that cash on the mortgage plus robbing our EF (but not all of it) to pay off the house.  The balance at the time I got serious was $115,000.

Mortgage/Cost of home paid off:  Cost was $150,000.  Original mortgage was $120,000.  We took a bunch of equity from our previous home to do improvements as the house was a major fixer.

Natural spender / saver or investor: I'm a natural saver and investor.  Husband is more of a spender but he definitely doesn't over do it and he knows it's important to invest.

Where did your inspiration of becoming mortgage free come from? The idea of paying it off by 40 originally crossed my mind at 19 when I bought my first house.  I just thought how great it would be to start that decade with no mortgage.  However I got busy and lost sight of this goal.  Later I had a coworker who paid off her home at 39 and I saw her then in her 50s able to pay for her three children and their significant other's to take nice trips.  She seemed so carefree and like she was really enjoying life.  She explained that she just really focused and was able to pay off her house young.  Seeing someone else do it showed me that I could.  You have to believe that you can.

What was your main motivation for becoming mortgage free?  Grew up the child of an addict and a general uneasiness.  So I have always craved security and stability and I knew being mortgage free would give me a lot of that, and it has.  Husband was motivated by freedom and the ability to enjoy life more with a large expense removed.

What was your biggest challenge during your journey and how did you overcome this?  Just giving up so much.  When you are seeing everyone else do and have all the things and you are just sending tons of money away and not really seeing anything new show up, it can be frustrating.  We didn't take a single vacation for three full years.  We really cut our lifestyle to nothing and questioned even the smallest purchases.  

What lifestyle has being mortgage free early given you?  I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  There is something wonderful about your fixed expenses being very low that gives a lot of peace.  We have embraced some lifestyle inflation and definitely say yes to more things now, but more than anything it is the peace and security that we have that I love the most.

How do you feel about getting another mortgage?  Sometimes I say I'm okay with it.  Like "Oh, just a small one if we have to, we will pay it off fast" but in reality I really, really don't want one.  When I start to do the mental math of just closing on a loan I break out in a cold sweat.  And my husband doesn't want to go back to the super strict lifestyle we had during payoff and I'm certain I would want to.  I don't want that conflict in our relationship.

What kind of conversations did you have about money growing up? Do you remember being taught about money by your parents?  My parents didn't discuss it, short of "don't spend a lot".  They were just very frugal and I knew that, but they never talked about why, or investing or gave me any advice.  I was expected to work and pay for my own stuff (mostly) by around age 14.  So I definitely understood that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.

Did you/do you feel comfortable discussing your mortgage free journey/becoming mortgage free with friends and family? Did you receive any unexpected responses?  I do tell people about it. Most people are shocked, like this is a completely foreign concept.  And a lot of people are like "How did you do that?" and then when I tell them I had no life and cashed out all my PTO for a few years they are like "no thanks".  Which is fine.  I'm happy with my choice, but it isn't for everyone.

What was a non-negotiable cost that you did not give up during your mortgage free journey? My house cleaner!  I have three kids and I work full time.  Having my home cleaned was worth every penny.  To save money I just have them clean the bathrooms and kitchen because those are the spaces I hate dealing with the most.

Do you feel different about money since becoming mortgage free?  Just more secure, which is the best feeling in the world, in my opinion.

Did you invest outside of superannuation whilst paying down your mortgage? Why?  Yes.  We didn't do a ton, but we did both max out our Roth IRAs and do a little bit to our 457 plans and we both had mandatory pensions.  We probably did around 10% during the payoff years.  Now we invest about 40%.

Do you have joint or separate finances? How important do you think this is?  We have joint finances.  My husband has always made a good amount more, and now he makes $100,000 more than me.  If we split finances I would be unable to join him on any trips or activities and would be extremely stressed and unable to invest.  I think it's more feasible for people who make similar incomes.  Also we are a team and decided way before getting married that our finances would be combined if we married.

What is the best money advice someone has ever given to you?  Pay yourself first.

What are your top 3 tips for becoming mortgage free?  

1) Believe that you can.  If you don't think it's possible you'll never get started.

2) Celebrate milestones and make mini challenges along the way to stay motivated.

3) Decide that no amount is too small.  I was known to sell an item for $10 and transfer $10 to my mortgage.

What top tips do you have for others who want to become mortgage free but feel like it is impossible to do this with children? Decide that your children are exactly the reason why you should do it.  Our son, who is 6 now, plays hockey.  We knew it would be an expensive sport so that motivated me to get it done before he got serious about it.  When my kids go away to college I want to be able to fly them home or go visit them.  So that motivated me.  Also, get them involved.  Let them color in the chart and help do a garage sale.  Raising kids is expensive and stressful.  I'm glad I dug deep and paid off the house when my kids were young so we can do more now.

How has minimalism helped with your journey?  It made it easier to sell stuff to put on the home, and easier to avoid buying things.  Also easier to resist buying a larger home.  Embracing less is very helpful when you are trying to pay off debt.

I want to express my gratitude to @mortgagefreeaf for generously sharing her incredibly inspiring journey towards living without a mortgage. She has so much more inspiration on Instagram: @mortgagefreeaf, so make sure to check it out!

If you have also paid off your mortgage early and are keen to spill the tea - flick me an email, I would love to hear from you!

 Friendly reminder: The above reflects personal choices and opinions. As always all my posts and content are for entertainment, inspiration and education purposes only and is never financial advice.