How to Pay Your Mortgage Off in 10 Years:

by Serina Bird

Would you like to pay your mortgage off faster and have more money to enjoy your life? The ‘ average’ Australian mortgage is $601,797 over 30 years. Not only is this large – more than half a million dollars – but it’ s grown 36% over the past five years. This is daunting. For many people, it can feel like paying it off is impossible. But here’ s the good it is entirely possible to ditch your mortgage in ten years, and this book shows you how. In How to Pay Your Mortgage Off in 10 Years, bestselling finance author, money coach and podcaster Serina Bird presents practical strategies, calculates the savings and shares the steps she has used – and anyone can use – to become mortgage-free. In this life-changing book you’ ll learn how • Hit your mortgage hard – and early • Negotiate a lower interest rate • Use micro-habits to make repayments faster • Cut down your spending with frugalista shopping habits • Use your home to generate an income stream • Keep motivated when the going gets tough. Not only that, but you’ ll also read about people who are actively smashing their mortgage and achieving their dream goals, showing you just how achievable it is.

Genres: Nonfiction, Personal Finance

240 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2023

Reviews

[Kaitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off well. Seeing the numbers run is always interesting. Some great tips on tackling the biggest aspects of finances but for anyone who has read other financial books it won’t be anything new. I felt like it derailed the further into the book it got. The tips for household ways to save money and ways to earn more from side hustles seemed impractical (in my view you’d be very hard pressed to make a profit on selling vegetables from your yard given the amount of money that needs to be spent on fertiliser and pest control). Many of the ideas were also impossible for anyone who has bought within their means (such as renting out a room in your home when you may have already filled your home with your family).
Overall, a few worthwhile ideas but if you already have a good understanding of finances there’s not much here. I would probably sooner recommend The Barefoot Investor but i do like that this book does the maths based on current numbers.

[Shayla Stark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t bother wasting money on buying this book, instead use that and pay it towards your mortgage.

This book offers nothing new, the same old tips that have been around for years.
Reduce spending on non essentials, pay extra on mortgage.

[Sophia Golfinopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that this book covered so many different topics - structuring your mortgage, managing your mortgage in times of financial difficulty, making lifestyle changes to food, travel, hobbies, entertainment etc., and also the emotional aspect - Serina encourages us to have compassion and consideration for people experiencing financial hardship, highlighting the effect stress can have on us physiologically (and encourages us to extend this compassion and consideration to ourselves). After reading, I have increased my mortgage repayments further above the minimum weekly payments (I was already paying more than the minimum, but this made me re-assess and increase it a little more), applied for a mortgage top-up to consolidate the little debt we have but which has a higher interest rate, and cancelled one of my streaming subscriptions (knowing I can get it again if it REALLY affects my quality of life, but fingers crossed I don't notice or miss it!). Even though these aren't super special or groundbreaking tips, this book still gave me the motivation and drive to rethink how I'm managing my mortgage and how I can do better. As to whether it dramatically shortens the length of my mortgage, close to the ideal 10 year timeframe? I guess we'll see! All in all, I appreciated Serina's thoroughness and sincerity. A personal finance book worth checking out.

[Claire (the_reading_apprentice) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't really have a lot to add to the discussion of budgeting and finance. It was written with the tone that everything it was saying was groundbreaking and such a good new insight, but many things were exactly what I'd read in other books (such as The Barefoot Investor which in my opinion did it better), or just downright unhelpful and unrealistic examples.
I appreciated that this book did go into the numbers on expected savings based on paying the mortgage off earlier, with many examples of small changes having a big impact, but overall I came away without feeling like I'd gained much new information.

[Lauren Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone whose goal it is to pay off their mortgage at 40, I was intrigued by this book and the insights it could provide, but she starts by saying she bought her first house in 2003, when houses were at least a third of the prices they are now, and then by about halfway through, I just started to feel guilty for living. She shares an Aldi teabag with her husband each day to save money on her mortgage, need I say more.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part I useful. Part II lost me a little like other reviewers report.
I’d borrow not buy this book. It’s a read once and take what you can type of book rather than a refer back to.
Compound interest principle had some good (visual) examples. Lost me with home cleaning hacks and pet breeding for revenue though.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good tips and nice it’s all in one place. But there’s no breakthroughs and the info is all available on the web. The most helpful this I think Serina did was quantify savings in terms of years off a mortgage ($35/week on coffee = $1825/year = 3 years and 1 month off an average $600k 60% mortgage = $84456 interest saved)

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, Australian perspective but most of the advice is general. If you've read any financial books before there is unlikely to be anything new in here. Be conscious of your spending and goals, get the best deals for your rates and insurances, and if it's only a want get rid of the coffee and entertainment subscriptions.

[Foul mouthed book worm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good one to read just before you buy a house. Nothing new here for me in terms of how to save money and manage it effectively, but there are some good explanations on how making extra repayments in the first few years of a mortgage can make a huge difference to the amount of interest you pay overall. Then again, it's not rocket science either.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book and a great resource. I’m glad I found out about it online and have had a chance to read it.

[Roxy Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great tips!

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started ok but I didn’t really enjoy the switch to frugal.

[Smitchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this age of inflation and prices going up everywhere paying off your mortgage early might seem like a fairy tale but Serina Bird is here to tell you it is possible!
There is no single earth shattering secret in this book but there are multiple small ways to make a dent. While not every thing will be for you there will be some tips you can take from this book that will make a financial impact. What I liked most is the break down of what impact a seemingly small action can have on a mortgage when viewed through the lens of compound interest and the 30 year term. For example: you get take out once a week and it costs $40 - over a year that equals $2080 - if you took that 40 each week and put it on your mortgage instead you would take 2 years and 2 months of your mortgage and if you had a $600,000 loan at current rates that would save you over $59,000 in interest payments over the life of the loan (p 86).
When you combine all these little things it is possible to make a big difference on your mortgage. Is it enough to pay it off in 10 years? That will depend on you and how committed you are to your savings / loan payment goal.