How Single Mom, Megan Nickson, Paid Off Her Mortgage in 6 Years

Today we are joined by guest writer and web enthusiast, Amy Nickson from Working Moms Word, who shares an incredible story about how her single mom paid off her mortgage in 6 years! You do not want to miss Amy’s story about determination, goal setting, sacrifices, and celebration.

 

This is my mom, Megan Nickson’s, success story of how she was able to pay off her mortgage loan in 6 years. During my early 20s, my mom and I used to stay in a rented house. Since she was a single mom, so she always wanted to buy a house to secure my future. She always wanted to see me as a real homeowner. Honestly, that time I didn’t even realize the value of her thoughts.

I still remember the weekend when she shortlisted some houses and told me that she is about to buy a small house so that she can pay off the mortgage faster.

My mom bought a house that she could afford.

My mom planned a lot before, for instance, where to buy the home, choosing a reliable broker, affordability, saving enough money for down payments, and so on.

She used to tell me that there are plenty of things to take into consideration when buying a home. However, at first, she started hunting for a suitable house. Finally, she selected a house that matched her all criteria. Finally, she decided upon buying a house in an area where she could easily access to her office.

My mom talked to the owner as well as the broker and finalized the price to $354,000.

She used her savings for making a down payment.

At that time, I understood how much she determined to get a house of her own. My mom started saving money for buying the house when she decided to raise me as a single mother. That money helped her to make a down payment of $140,000 on the house and take out a mortgage loan of $204,000.

After completing some formalities, the buying process was done. After one month, we moved into our new house in Atlanta, Georgia.

How my mom successfully paid off her mortgage early

She planned everything beforehand. She just needed the right time for buying the house. Everything was done smoothly. Below are some steps that helped her to make some extra payments toward the mortgage loan.

1. She shopped around for an affordable mortgage loan. 

Her intention was to get a loan at a lower interest loan. Thus, she made a huge down payment of at least 20%. She successfully took out a mortgage loan at 3.57% annually.

2. She discussed the matter with me.

I was totally a spoiled child of my mom. My mom loved me more than anything. Honestly, this is the one and only flaw of her. She never burdened me with family issues, money stress etc. However, I was focused on my studies and wasted money on friends and Starbucks.

One day, my mom told me, “Baby, buying a house needs money, but to maintain a property, we need to have more money”. That day, she asked me to save extra dollars for the first time so that we could pay off our mortgage loan faster. She also asked me to find a part-time job to fund my further studies.

3. She formulated a suitable budget.

She was always a big fan of a budgeting and frugality. This time, she also planned a new budget thinking on what items we could save.

4. We reduced credit card usage.

She restricted the credit card usage to the minimum. She even told me to use the credit card as little as possible.

5. She worked overtime a lot.

She used to work extra time after her regular office hours. Thus, she earned some extra every month. I started working at a small firm. I really feel sorry that doing too much work led to a bad health condition for my mom. But, she was determined and worked hard for earning even a little extra.

6. We sold our old car.

We had an old car. My mom decided to sell it to save on fuel. Since her office was near our location, she took public transport. I was angry at the time, but soon my boyfriend picked me up from my home, so it was all set.

7. We rented the garage.

To earn extra money, my mom decided to rent our garage to a colleague who lived in our neighborhood.

 

The day when we finally became real homeowners.

All those extra efforts helped us to pay an extra $1400 per month towards the mortgage loan. It took almost 7 years of time to pay off the mortgage debt in full.

I still remember the day – It was 29th June 2008. My mom told me to meet at a restaurant. I was quite surprised. She told me with her graceful smile, “Baby, we have a house now. Let’s celebrate!” I will never forget that evening.

What we learn from Megan’s mortgage story

Each story has a lesson. This story is not an exception. We learn:

• The importance of saving

I must admit the fact that saving a big amount of money is the key to reducing the interest rate. My mom saved as much as possible and made 20% of down payment. It helped to pay off the total mortgage very fast.

• You must be focused toward the goal.

I came to know that my mom always dreamt about her own house. She took every step keeping that in mind. This makes me feel that you should be focused toward the goal. Otherwise, you may not achieve it.

• Determination

Life has many ups and downs. Sometimes, you’ll face tough times while some days are heavenly. Your determination helps you stick to your ambition. If your dream requires hard work, then you should do it to achieve it – just like my mom working really hard to pay off her mortgage early.

• Credit cards are not free money

During my teen years and early 20s, I never realized the importance of saving. I wasted a lot of my mom’s hard earned money by using credit cards. Now I repent a lot because due to the hard work she lost her good health. After a few years, she died. Now, I know when to use credit cards. I am a stable-minded girl who knows the importance of saving and can easily give any kind of financial stress a miss.

Final thoughts

If a single mom can pay off her mortgage early, then you can too. You just need to be calculative. If you can save a decent amount every month, then you can use the extra dollars to repay your mortgage loan faster. This is the key!

 

Are you planning on paying off your mortgage early? What’s one step you’ve taken to achieve that goal?
Amy Nickson is a web enthusiast. She shares her expertise through her crisp and well-researched articles based on money management, money saving ideas and so on. You can follow her blog Working Moms Word where she shared her expertise on personal finance field. She is also associated with ovlg.com and contributes articles.

Photo Credit: Jon Ottosson (UnSplash)