Save Money by Giving up Work!

In “Mortgages, Money and Magic” I relay a plan where anyone on an average wage can pay off their mortgage within 10 years. As a mortgage (or rent for those who let) is one of life’s biggest costs it makes sense to shake off the debt as soon as possible. Once the mortgage has gone it could create the freedom in your life to:

Spend quality time with your family and friends.
Be more full of life as opposed to living Groundhog Day.
Follow opportunities that you wouldn’t have time for before.
Make a contribution to the world.
Take on a job which reflected your values or interests as opposed to being a wage slave.


For me, being Mortgage free would mean the end of the 9-5 routine. I could get up when I wanted, read the books I wanted to read, participate in hobbies, and most importantly spend time with my loved ones. Live would be for living!
However, there are still bills to pay when your mortgage is finished. There is still council tax and utility bills. Insurances and food. I have dealt separately with building residual income streams, but in this article I wanted to show that ending your job can actually free up cash. Look at it this way:

Commuting – by not working we no longer have to indulge in the tedious daily pursuit of commuting. The average distance traveled by UK workers is 8.5 miles to work making a round trip of 17 miles. At 15p a mile that makes the weekly petrol cost up to £12.75 or £55.25 per month. We should also take into account wear and tear, road tax, car insurance and parking. Therefore by giving up work you could save roughly £100 per month on traveling.
Work clothes – if you no longer work, or work from home there is nothing stopping you staying in your pyjama’s for the whole day. There’s no need to get a new suit every six months, makeup, fancy shoes, briefcases or even shaving foam! In total, another saving of at least £25 per month.
Meals – it’s hard to get away from shelling out at least a couple of quid on meals everyday but if your no longer in the rat race you’ll have had such a healthy breakfast you’ll no longer need the midday sugar rush.
Childcare – if you are no longer in full time work you’re going to make a saving in Child Care cost. Remember the Golden Rule with Kids – Presence is more important than presents. A day spent having fun with your kids is worth a million nights of coming home knackered and slumping in front of the TV, irritated by the children’s noise. £140 per month saved for those with kids.
Escape Costs – if you day is spent doing worthwhile and rewarding activities they’ll be less need to “treat yourself” with escapist activities such as boozing, meals out, cinema trips, ten pin bowling etc. We shall quantify this as a saving of £50 per month.
No more daily grind – we refer to work as the daily grind because that is exactly what it is. By avoiding it our health will naturally improve. When others are in their 1m x 1m cubicle you could be in the park with the kids, down at the sauna or hiking round your local hills. Which do you think is healthier? It’s hard to put a monetary value on your health but it’s obvious that savings are there to be made. Prescriptions and medicine are the obvious ones. Let’s average it out at £10 per month.
In “Mortgages, Money and Magic” I recommend avoiding Foreign Holidays as a means to making overpayments on your mortgage. This sacrifice is easier to make if you no longer have a 9-5 job – every day is a holiday! Save yourself £100 per month easy.
There are numerous over little savings that can be made too: reduced mobile phone bills, less mileage to Conferences etc, trade magazines no longer required, less need to buy raffle tickets/ sponsor workmates. The list goes on.

In summary if you need £1000 to live on when you are a worker; this could easily be reduced to about £750 when “work-related” costs are removed. Think about these when planning your future after your mortgage is paid off.