For the third time since I took out my mortgage at the age of 53, I have just paid back an extra 10% of the initial sum! Ouch indeed. My poor savings account looks very sad, I can tell you! Under the terms of my mortgage, the only time I can pay an additional amount is if I pay a minimum of 10% of the initial mortgage (they obviously don't want people doing this), so since I took out a mortgage of 321,000 Swiss francs, that means I have to save up around 33,000 Swiss francs - and it's bloody hard going obviously.
Even though I live in France (think euros), my mortgage is in Swiss francs, since the French banks want to get their hands on that lovely, stable currency! When I first signed on in order to buy my ex out of the house I couldn't put much extra away since my overheads were pretty high and I didn't know what my new "solo" overheads were going to be. Turns out he was one helluva drain (and not only emotionally)! In very short order I was able to knock around 1,000 euros off my monthly bills without noticing any discernible difference in my and my kids standard of living. It's absolutely ridiculous to live the way we (he) lived - I have been so much better off in so many ways since he has been gone. Ha! Anyway, three years ago I was able to pay my first extra 10%, then the following year the same, and now the same again for the third year in a row. I'm a bit miffed in a way because over three years I have "only" paid off an extra 99,000 Swiss francs - not that I'm knocking that of course - but an extra 1,000 Swissies would have put me at 100,000, which kinda has a magic ring to it don't you think. Still, I have been working on the assumption that I will be able to pay off my 17-year mortgage in nine years, but looking at it now it may even work out at around eight years, if I have done my sums right! And that sounds pretty darn good to me. So I am on schedule to pay the whole thing off in under three years and then I can retire. And that sounds even better! So in my depleted state, if anyone can throw me some breadcrumbs and a little gruel it would be gratefully received (just kidding - "let them eat cake" - said Marie-Antoinette never!). I calculated (haphazardly) once that I reckoned it would save me around 40,000 Swissies in interest. Not sure if that's correct - I will probably have to wait until the end to see how much I have saved - but either way I'll take that!
In other news, "ouch" was also the way I felt when I came back from Greece. I was down 7 lbs in weight but when I got back had pretty much put it all back on. Aaaarghh!!!! That Steve was a bloody bad influence, I can tell you. So, it's nose back to the grindstone and on to the serious business (yet again) of trying to shift the blubber. Oh dear! How come I can do it with money but not with the weight? Beats me!
Wow, well done, that is excellent, and to do it 3 years running! Such a massive amount to save and yet you still are doing it and living a good life. It probably helps you to know you can retire sooner if you pay it off sooner
ReplyDeleteI had considered asking to work 80% but I know the boss is very much against it (which is stupid because I can get my work done in 80%) but looking on the positive side, it is that extra 20% which will allow me to retire earlier.
DeleteAwesome job paying down your mortgage! I don't think most mortgages here in the US have that clause where you can only pay down a certain amount at a time.
ReplyDeleteI think in the UK also for most mortgages you can overpay on every mortgage payment. Not me. That's a bummer because I could (obviously)easily more than double my mortgage payment every month. Truth is they don't want you to pay it off early though do they (especially if my calculations are right - or even close - and I will save myself something like 40,000 Swiss francs in interest)!
DeleteFantastic news about your mortgage!
ReplyDeletePre-vacation weight and post vacation weight is like comparing apples to watermelon.
Fantastic effort! What will you live off if/when you retire early?
ReplyDeleteMost mortgages in Australia allow you to pay extra whenever you want. As long as you pay the minimum required. So I vary my repayments regularly depending on what we have going on. To save for my trip to France, I reduced my monthly repayments for most of this year. I've just popped them up by $1,000. My goal is to have the mortgage gone by the time I retire. Which will be around 60-63, depending on how I feel. I'm 51 now.
In 12 months I will reduce payments again as I am planning on visiting southern Germany, Zurich (we have a friend who is working there for three years) and Italy. Another long haul flight!
As to weight ups and downs, I came back from France pretty much the same as I left. I think it was the lack of snacking. The past two weeks at work, I've been snacking on shit again.
I have a private pension paid through my employer (I don't have either a French or a Swiss state pension), and I will have a very small UK pension as I made voluntary payments over the years. I could have taken early retirement at 57 or I can work till 65 (that's not gonna happen) but if I get this house paid off I should have a very comfortable retirement at 62 (3 years from now). Since I don't want to move (even though the house is too big for me) I will stay till then. I mentioned in another post that they are putting a through rail line from Geneva airport to Chamonix, Mont Blanc (eventually) and that line will come through my local town in about 2 years, so ideal for commuters into Geneva. Whatever happens I will sit tight and hope to take advantage of the interest in property round here then. There is already more demand than supply anyway. So less than three years to go for me! I don't hate my job anyway, my colleagues are nice but the 3-hour daily commute is exhausting.
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