Overpay the mortgage VS saving

[BrilloPad]

If I'm married with kids and were to die in two years, I'd want to make sure that those left behind are best looked after, whether that be in a house that they don't need a mortgage on or whatever. If you dying invokes life insurance that pays the mortgage off, then why bother overpaying?

Overpaying will reduce your interest bill.

Personally I would save the money and get a BTL. It will only go up in value.

And you can move into it when the lovely, nice wife you married decides she wants to sh4g the tennis coach all day while you pay for it all.

For women to get equality in work there will need to be equality at home.

[LondonManc]

Overpaying will reduce your interest bill.

Personally I would save the money and get a BTL. It will only go up in value.

And you can move into it when the lovely, nice wife you married decides she wants to sh4g the tennis coach all day while you pay for it all.

For women to get equality in work there will need to be equality at home.

I know that, I was more talking about the scenario of the OP being brown bread in a couple of years - overpaying won't make much difference if the mortgage gets cleared off due to a life insurance payout.

[BrilloPad]

I know that, I was more talking about the scenario of the OP being brown bread in a couple of years - overpaying won't make much difference if the mortgage gets cleared off due to a life insurance payout.

The chances of that are small. In absolute terms that is, not relative to winning the lottery.

[WTFH]

If you have a wife/kids and you don't have life insurance big enough to pay the mortgage off, then my attitude would be to overpay the mortgage.
Now, is it an offset mortgage or just one that allows overpayments? If it's an offset, then I'd definitely go for putting the cash in there. That can then be your war chest.

If you have a BTL with a mortgage on it and your own mortgage, while your "profits" might seem great, to me the risk is too high if you are considering the welfare of your family.

...but that's just me, and many on here would do the exact opposite.

[northernladuk]

...but that's just me, and many on here would do the exact opposite.

Doesn't that tell you something

[WTFH]

Doesn't that tell you something

Different strokes for different folks, as NLyUK says.

It's all about what you know, what you have learned and what you have experienced (also one I've heard NLyUK come out with)

[d000hg]

Short answer is that paying off debt is nearly always your best investment, or at least your best safe investment unless you're into the stock market.

But if you pay off debt you might struggle to get the money back if you need it in a hurry unless you have a flexible mortgage.

Overpaying a mortgage is a great idea in my view but you could split your extra cash 50:50 between that and savings if you do not have substantial cash in the bank to begin with.

[vetran]

My priorities
Pay off expensive debt (Cards / normal rate loans) - done we had very few being tight.
Warchest 3-6 months - done could survive a year on my immediate savings.
Mortgage until you can pay it & living expenses on 1 average wage (just in case you lose your high powered job & the wife (or poorer paid partner) needs to work or one of you falls sick. - pretty much there on our largest ever house.
save for improvements - should be able to afford the new wing on the house next year.
Investment - some.
investment debts - BTL. not yet.

Though paying the primary house mortgage off by 40 felt great and made life more relaxed we then bought a much more expensive house

[scooterscot]

Again. Simply don't agree with that. If you do have that future you, your family and future generations will be comfortable.

It's a noble gesture for sure. I certainly wasn't left anything and I think you'll have less to gain in life you're handed an option where you don't have to try. Somehow it's more rewarding earning it.

Laterally in another part of our family who just inherited an estate, they've just had to sell to pay death duties. The family home gone. Nothing about that was comfortable.

[vetran]

It's a noble gesture for sure. I certainly wasn't left anything and I think you'll have less to gain in life you're handed an option where you don't have to try. Somehow it's more rewarding earning it.

Laterally in another part of our family who just inherited an estate, they've just had to sell to pay death duties. The family home gone. Nothing about that was comfortable.

there is a slight difference between being handed a family estate and having some money towards your University fees.

My parents weren't exactly rich and my upbringing was not exactly a featherbedded one. My Kids are much more comfortable and their grandparents are now much more wealthy (my side the business they started has paid off) my father in law is a renowned expert in his field & charges accordingly.

The kids will have money to go towards a car, university fees & habitation, they will probably have a contribution towards a deposit on their first house. This I hope is reasonable.

If I die & leave the wife a paid up house & a few quid then great she can survive until the kids are grown fully without killing herself working.