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Hill Family Spring 2018 (95) (1)
Andy and Nicole Hill, who paid off their mortgage in four years, with their two kids.

Courtesy of Andy Hill

  • Andy and Nicole Hill paid off a $195,000 mortgage in about four years with income  from $150,000.
  • The money they are saving on housing is going towards their children's college educations. 
  • Andy Hill shared a budget sheet with a dollar-by-dollar breakdown of their spending in one month.

In 2013, Andy Hill and his wife, Nicole, decided to move from a small bungalow to a 2,600-square-foot, four-bedroom home in the Detroit area. 

The couple bought the $350,000 house by putting $155,000 down and taking out a $195,000 mortgage. At the time, Andy was a sales director. Nicole became a stay-at-home parent shortly after they moved. They settled on a 15-year mortgage with a 3% interest rate and set a goal of paying the whole thing off in less than five years.

They ended up being debt-free in just under four years.

No longer burdened with a mortgage, the couple were able to set aside thousands of dollars for their children's college educations in the five years since they paid it off. Andy also left his day job and launched his own business as a part-time personal-finance coach, while Nicole went back to school to become an esthetician.

The Hills' annual household income ranged from about $150,000 to $180,000 during the years they were paying off the mortgage. Andy told Insider that the journey to becoming debt-free — while being self-employed, too, for some of the time — required maintaining a strict "zero-based budget." That means every dollar of their monthly income was assigned a purpose.

By budgeting and reducing their expenses, Andy and Nicole were able to make additional principal payments each month that varied in amount.  Any extra money the couple came into — whether it was a bonus at work, a tax refund, or money made by selling things around the house — went toward the mortgage. 

The couple has been writing about their experiences since 2016 on the blog Marriage, Kids and Money. They've earned income from the blog since 2017.

Andy gave Insider an exclusive look at a monthly budget sheet from May 2016, when the couple was paying off the mortgage in earnest. On the spreadsheet, the couple divides their income across nine expense categories.

Keeping reading for an inside look at how Andy and Nicole rationed their monthly income while paying off their mortgage.

Do you have a similar story or budget you'd like to share with Insider? Get in touch with reporter Alcynna Lloyd at alloyd@insider.com.

When Andy and Nicole decided to move, they had one child under 2 years old and another on the way.
Hill Family Spring 2018 (857)

Courtesy of Andy Hill

They were determined to pay off their mortgage as soon as possible and created a system that allowed them to do so. 

"Make a plan, write it down, and make sure your partner is on the same page as you," Andy told Insider.

However, even with this plan, Andy questioned whether or not paying off a mortgage in 2023 would be as easy. When he and his wife purchased their home in 2013, their mortgage rate was around 3%. Today, the rate for a comparable 15-year mortgage has climbed to 5.14%, according to Freddie Mac.

"If I were to buy a house with today's high interest rates and home prices, I think it would have been a lot harder for us to do," he said. "The timeframe with which we did it was very quick and intense, and it would have been very difficult to do."

On the first day of every month, Andy and Nicole Hill had a "budget party" to tally up expenses from the previous month. On this budget sheet from May 2016, they established nine clear categories to sort their monthly income.
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Courtesy of Andy Hill

They divided their monthly income into nine categories: home; transportation; kids; financial; food; bills & utilities; gifts & donations; shopping; and entertainment.

Note that all expenses on the budget sheet were rounded to the nearest $50 and all percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number.

Home-related expenses accounted for nearly half of their monthly income.
Screen Shot 2019 12 27 at 12.58.31 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Home" in May 2016: $3,200

Percentage of budget accounted for: 40%

By budgeting and reducing their expenses, Andy and Nicole were able to make additional principal payments. For example, in 2016, these additional payments ranged from as low as $500 to as high as $4,000.

Andy said in February 2023 that he looks back at this period of his life with mixed emotions.

On one hand, he is grateful that the savings plan has allowed his family to thrive, but on the other, wonders if the sacrifices he made initially diminished their quality of life. 

"After the pandemic happened, it was a time of reflection for a lot of people about life and work," Andy said. "Having money socked away in a home feels great, but also having money to enjoy life is also very important."

When it came to transportation, Andy and Nicole Hill made sure both cars were accounted for. They even set $50 aside for service and parts.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.40.43 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Transportation" in May 2016: $350

Percentage of budget accounted for: 4%

To make extra income, the couple sold things around the house using Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. One of the biggest things they sold was Andy's moped.

Notably, transportation — gas and servicing for their two paid-off cars — was one of the two lowest-budget areas of the family's financial plan.

For camps, field trips, swimming lessons, and baby supplies, they set aside $500.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.59.24 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Kids" in May 2016: $500

Percentage of budget accounted for: 6%

At the time, Andy and Nicole's children were under the age of 6, so their monthly budget included things like baby supplies and activities like camps and field trips.

They also set aside $500 each month for their kids' 529 college savings plans.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.42.13 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Financial" in May 2016: $700

Percentage of budget accounted for: 9%

Andy's advice to those looking to pay off their mortgage as quickly as possible is to have a clear-cut reason. One of the couple's reasons was to have the financial ability to help their kids graduate without student debt.

It's a mission that they are on track to achieve. According to Andy, the couple has saved about $40,000 to $50,000 in their 11-year-old daughter's 529 college savings account, while amassing around $30,000 to $40,000 in the one for their 8-year-old son. 

"I think with time and compound interest that's going to allow us to at least pay for half of an in-state public school by the time they get to be 18," Hill said.

He hopes that he and Nicole can teach their children personal-finance lessons that help them graduate from college debt-free. 

The family saved about $300 a month by shopping for groceries at Aldi, a discount supermarket.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.37.19 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Food" in May 2016: $900

Percentage of budget accounted for: 11%

On his podcast, Andy said that food-related spending also included groceries that allowed him to pack a lunch for work.

Other money-saving strategies included getting rid of cable TV and negotiating down phone and insurance bills.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.43.26 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Bills & Utilities" in May 2016: $650

Percentage of budget accounted for: 8%

"Since we were young parents, we weren't really watching a ton of TV on cable, so we got rid of it," Andy said.

The couple also put money toward gifts and donations.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 12.46.27 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Gifts & Donations" in May 2016: $600

Percentage of budget accounted for: 8%

The couple set aside funds for charity and their church as well as wedding and birthday gifts.

The couple gave themselves a $350 budget each month for clothes and toiletries.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 1.33.33 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Shopping" in May 2016: $350

Percentage of budget accounted for: 4%

Shopping accounted for a mere 4% of the family's budget this month, meaning it's tied for the smallest part of their budget, along with transportation.

The couple also took advantage of travel rewards. This helped them keep their entertainment expenses relatively low — without having to sacrifice all the fun.
Screen Shot 2019 12 18 at 1.31.51 PM

Courtesy of Andy Hill

Amount budgeted for "Entertainment" in May 2016: $750

Percentage of budget accounted for: 9%

In a blog post, Andy stressed the importance of remembering to have fun during the money-saving journey.

"In 2016, we traveled to New York for a romantic getaway weekend on travel rewards. Flights and hotel would have cost us $1,500. We paid $0," he wrote.

Creating a monthly budget sheet allowed Andy and Nicole Hill to keep a close eye on where their money was going. Every dollar was allocated to spending, saving, investing, or paying off the mortgage.
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The full budget the family used in May.

Courtesy of Andy Hill

The couple made their first mortgage payment in January 2014 and their last payment in November 2017. According to Andy, creating a strict and detailed zero-based budget was a crucial step to paying off their mortgage in under four years.

"If we didn't tell those dollars where to go, they'd magically float away. You know what I'm talking about, right?" he wrote in a blog post.

Since paying off their mortgage, Andy and Nicole have been able to put more towards their children's college funds — but also go on more family vacations, save up for their first rental property, max out their retirement accounts, and increase their charitable donations. 

Andy said he feels great pride knowing that their investment has been worth it. 

"The house feels permanent," he said. "I think there's a little bit more pride for me, at least in the homeownership." 

Their home is worth more today than they paid in 2013, but they plan to stay put.

"We have been looking at the housing market and seeing how our home value has grown substantially, but at the same time just finding some contentment with where we live," he added. "I think we're going to be here for the long run."

Do you have a similar story or budget you'd like to share with Insider? Get in touch with this reporter at alloyd@insider.com.  

This story was originally published in February 2023. 

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Real Estate, Arts & Culture, finance, Budget, Budgeting, Mortgage, Strategy, Wealth, Housing
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