Comments on: Why I’m paying off my mortgage before investing

By: Interview #2 – Mrs Money Hacker – Paying off mortgage before investing! | FIRE Dave

Fri, 07 May 2021 19:03:58 +0000

[…] us, our current strategy is to pay off our mortgage as soon as possible and then to invest heavily in ETFs. We currently have about 2-3 years before we […]

By: Meagan

Meagan — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 13:14:57 +0000

In reply to paul. Hi Paul, I've looked at this myself recently so should be able to put this together in an article :) I'll add it to the to do list

By: paul

paul — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:50:56 +0000

Interesting, I’d love to see a buying vs renting + heavily investing for an Irish scenario.

By: Meagan

Meagan — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 13:42:07 +0000

In reply to JimmyJ.

Hi Jimmy, Thanks for the feedback, fair point. I do actually have a post on what we spend in a year here (but take your point that I should cross-reference), https://mrsmoneyhacker.com/what-we-spent-in-the-last-12-months/ – I am due an update for 2020. It’s in the works.

By: JimmyJ

JimmyJ — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 08:49:03 +0000

Hi,
Just started reading your blog and subscribed to your youtube channel.
I think you are doing a great job on it.
However, just one point i think which might improve it.
Most other blogs get people really interested when they use real numbers.
When they say their annual expenses are x, they will have a link to a breakdown of their actual annual expenses listed out, along with what city they live in etc.
Just a minor point, but these things get far more engaging when real numbers and experiences are posted. And then that link, when followed by the curious person who wants to know how you get to €40k annual expenses, would generate even more traffic to your blog/youtube video.
But keep up the good work. I am really impressed and will definitely follow.
J

By: Meagan

Meagan — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:58:00 +0000

In reply to Pavel. Hi Pavel, Thanks for reaching out. In terms of getting a mortgage, we are indeed in a cheaper city and as we were second-time buyers we required a 20% downpayment which limited what/when we could buy. I also was newly self-employed at the time and didn't have the necessary paperwork required by most banks. We managed to find a broker who knew which banks were more likely to consider our situation. So long story short, try to get a broker who specialises in tricky situations. In terms of renting, yes it can be a smarter choice. Especially if you are not planning on living long term in Dublin. Homeownership is expensive and you will likely spend a lot more on a house in the long term than you would on rent in terms of maintenance, renovations, upgrades, decorating etc, all things you don't need to worry about with rent. Also if you don't yet have a family and are up for living with other people, renting can again be cheaper in that respect. You have to look at the big picture in your own circumstance to figure out what's right for you. Are you tied to Dublin or could you move to a cheaper location if homeownership Is something you long for? As long as you are investing in something that's keeping up with inflation, then you will reach your FI goal eventually.

By: Pavel

Pavel — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 22:08:25 +0000

Oh, sorry, I think I have found an answer to one of my questions here (year 12). 🙂
https://mrsmoneyhacker.com/financial-independence-with-a-partner-who-spends-more-than-you/#First_home_%E2%80%93_Year_6

By: Pavel

Pavel — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:54:30 +0000

Hi Meagan!

Thank you very much for your article and for your blog. Really interesting.
Just in case if I didn’t find – was there any story here how did you actually took a mortgage?

It seems very hard especially in 2020… with these insane prices (and current salaries and taxes). Especially in Dublin. (do you live in Dublin by the way, or another Irish city? you could skip and don’t answer that if too personal). The trickiest part is this 3.5x(annual salary) rule IMHO…

What do you think about category of people who do not take mortgage at all (even if they can afford it), rent for entire life and invest anywhere else instead? Could it be a smarter financial choice?