Mortgage Free Diaries with Emma from Bee Money Savvy
Today we hear from Emma who went from mortgage rejection to mortgage-free in just 2 years! How did she pull off this financial magic trick? Keep on scrolling to uncover her secrets………..
Location: Sheffield (England)
Occupation: Staff Engagement Officer (NHS) & Money Blogger (@beemoneysavvy)
Mortgage Free age: 27
Time taken to pay off mortgage: 2 years
Mortgage/Cost of home paid off : Cost of home - £80,000, deposit - £36,000, mortgage - £44,000
Natural spender / saver or investor: Saver
Where did your inspiration of becoming mortgage free come from? My parents spent most of my childhood in debt and when I was at university my mum involved me in the conversation around their mortgage. They had around £10,000 left until they were mortgage free and I offered to lend them the money to pay it off. They were reluctant to accept the offer but once they did I could see the relief being mortgage free brought them.
What was your main motivation for becoming mortgage free? I like to keep my outgoings as low as possible. My financial goals aren’t about money, it’s the freedom I want and there’s something freeing about not having to make a monthly mortgage payment.
What was your biggest challenge during your journey and how did you overcome this? I was originally rejected for a mortgage. At the time of applying for my mortgage I was working part-time earning around £12,000 a year and despite having a £36,000 deposit (on a £80,000 property) I failed the affordability check. I secured my mortgage a few months later thanks to a brilliant mortgage broker.
What lifestyle has being mortgage free early given you? It’s given me the confidence (& extra money) to begin investing. I’m very risk averse and investing always felt risky, now instead of making a month mortgage payment, I invest a large chunk of that monthly payment. With the rest of the money I save a portion towards my ‘fun fund’ which I use to do nice things throughout the month and another portion towards my ‘travel fund’ which I used to go traveling around Southeast Asia this year.
How do you feel about getting another mortgage? I don’t want one. It’s tricky because my partner and I met while we were both in the process of buying our first homes and our approach to money is very different (I’m a saver and my partner is a spender). At some point in the not too distant future we’ll look at buying a house together and I’ll have to be open to having a mortgage again. But for now I’m enjoying being mortgage free.
What kind of conversations did you have about money growing up? Do you remember being taught about money by your parents? My parents were very open about how we needed to be careful with money. I remember being told on multiple occasions that we couldn’t afford any luxuries. We were never given pocket money but often had the opportunity to earn small amounts of money for doing extra household jobs; which I believe helped to install a level of work ethic in me and my brother.
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’m very comfortable talking about my mortgage free journey and money more broadly with friends and family, they’ve always been very supportive - in fact some of them have asked for advice on how they can pay their mortgage off quicker. The only negativity I’ve received has been from strangers on the internet (who have made comments about it not being the smartest financial decision).
What was a non-negotiable cost that you did not give up during your mortgage free journey? I have lots of non-negotiable costs now (like healthy food, events with friends, and travel) but honestly while paying off my mortgage nothing was off limits. I would say that I previously had an unhealthy relationship with money which negatively impacted my social life, health and life experiences and reflecting this is something that I regret. Compromise is an important part of the mortgage free journey, you can still do the things that are important to you but they need to be budgeted for.
Do you feel different about money since becoming mortgage free? Absolutely, like I mentioned I used to have what I would call an unhealthy relationship with money. I lived off cheap food, kept socialising to a minimum and would work every hour possible. My priorities are completely different now, I see money as a tool to buy time, convenience and experiences, and I feel so much happier and healthier for it.
Did you invest outside of superannuation whilst paying down your mortgage? Why? I didn’t. Aside from workplace pensions nobody in my family has ever invested and up until recently I was too scared to invest. It was paying off my mortgage that gave me the push to learn about investing and now I invest 25% of my income every month.
Do you have joint or separate finances? How important do you think this is? (If applicable). Right now my partner and I keep our finances separate. While we’re still young, have no big financial ties to each other and have different financial priorities we’ve agreed that this is the most sensible approach. Eventually when we have a house together or kids, we’ll reassess what the best approach is as a household. Personal finance is personal and the best way to manage household finances is in a way that works for everyone involved.
What is the best money advice someone has ever given to you? It wasn’t given as specific money advice but I have a colleague at work who is incredibly wise and I am constantly learning from her. She once said something along the lines of “are you hitting the target, but missing the point?” and now I use this in all areas of my life. I have many financial targets and they’re great for providing direction & motivation but I won’t forget what I’m trying to achieve - freedom.
What are your top 3 tips for becoming mortgage free?
Start with a big financial review (break it down into smaller chunks if it feels overwhelming), review each of your outgoings to see where you could be saving money. Cancel subscriptions that don’t offer value for money. Switch to cheaper broadband, mobile and insurance providers. Find your spending triggers and create a plan for overcoming them.
Talk to your mortgage provider to see what you’re allowed to overpay without incurring a fee - this is usually 10% of your remaining mortgage per year. After saving a small emergency fund, set up an affordable monthly overpayment (the emergency fund will act as a financial buffer in the case that you have any unexpected costs and will reduce your reliance on credit).
Use extra income to make more overpayments. There are 100’s of ways you can make more money including: applying for a better paid role at work, working overtime, online surveys, pet/baby sitting, bank switching, referral offers, freelancing. I did a combination of all of these to build up my savings and pay off my mortgage.
A big thank you to Emma for generously devoting her valuable time to share her unbelievably inspiring journey towards achieving a mortgage-free lifestyle. Make sure you check out her awe-inspiring journey:
Website: beemoneysavvy.com
Instagram: @beemoneysavvy
Twitter: @beemoneysavvy
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 is all about personal preferences and thoughts. Soak up the fun, get inspired but remember, it's only for entertainment and educational purposes. This is not financial advice!
