The average Brit could pay off their mortgage ten years early by abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes
According to ONS and NHS data, the average person in the UK spends £787 a year on alcohol and £2,555 on cigarettes. Over the course of a decade, that amounts to £33,420.
The average house price in the UK is nearly £217,000, and assuming a 10% deposit payment, an average mortgage is around £195,000. At this price, a monthly mortgage would £875 on a 30-year repayment plan.
Eliminating alcohol and cigarette consumption would allow the average Brit to add £278 to that monthly payment, meaning that the typical mortgage could be paid back in 19 years and six months instead of 30 years.
Here's what the figures look like:
Based on a typical mortgage interest rate of 3.5%, the move could also lead to a saving of £46,214 in interest payments.Given that only 19% of UK adults smoke, the savings for smokers would be significantly higher than the annual average saving, and significantly lower for non-smokers.