Backtracking 2016 & 2017; paying off the mortgage

With both of us working 4 days a week we had found a nice balance between family and work life and more than enough money was coming our way. 

How low can you go?
Our mortgage interest rate had a risk increase of 0.4% because of our loan to value (LTV) of 90%. Inspired by Gerhard Hormann it seemed silly to be considered a risk by the bank and we started using our savings to pay off the mortgage. Helped by the booming housing market our LTV decreased below 67.5% in mid-2017 which meant the 0.4% was alleviated from the mortgage, leaving us at a handsome interest rate of 2.9%. The urge to pay off the mortgage faster than the annuity vanished (the house will be paid off in 30 years anyway).

The FI journey really starts
At this point in time I had found the FI concept and read everything I could. I am a logical thinker and a number fetishist; finding the stock series by Jim Collins and Karsten’s save withdrawal rate blog posts tools sealed the deal, as  these tools allowed me to do the math to establish the most sensible plan and stick to it. That’s why from now on you’ll find that most of our savings are directed towards the low-cost exchange traded fund VWRL.