Paying off home loan

The year 2021 was special. As a single woman, I had bought my first home. It was a proud achievement for me. But it came with a burden of loan.

After self funding, I required to take loan for 50% of the purchase amount. I knew this was going to be not easy on the pockets, but I knew it was an investment for my future. While signing the documents for the loan, I remembered the loan manager asking me, "the EMI is going to be around 40% of your salary. Are you comfortable with that?" I swallowed hard and nodded.

Every month it was heartbreaking to see the EMI auto deducted from my account. After seeing the EMI deducted, I would evaluate each purchase. I would see a nice dress and would think, "do I really need it?"

Once at office, a friend was showing her new phone. After she told me the cost, I made a mental calculation to check how many EMIs I would have paid with that amount. Every expense would feel unnecessary. I had just one aim - to clear off the loan as soon as possible.

After every few months, I would transfer additional funds to my loan account so that it would get cleared faster. This method was working. My outstanding amount had been going down rapidly. Within a span of 3 years I was halfway through with the loan amount. My dedicated banker too had been guiding and appreciating my efforts towards clearing the debt.

I was stuck in a dead end job but I knew I had to survive till I clear my home loan. In December 2021 the job had become beyond tolerance. I checked the outstanding amount in my loan account. The amount had been surprisingly low. I verified it with my loan manager, who confirmed that the amount had been correct and it was a result of my consistent and additional repayment transfers. I checked the possibility of closing the loan with a one shot payment. The loan manager confirmed that it was possible.

That weekend I went to the bank. I completed the documentation and formalities to complete the loan account closure. The loan manager informed that the closure formalities would get completed within a week. After that the documents would get released.

After I left the bank, I felt a strage kind of peace. As if I had been free from the burden I had been carrying for years. Suddenly the world started looking colorful. The birds started singing songs. I felt like I was in a dance sequence from 90s Bollywood movies where suddenly people start dancing. I felt alive and free.

When I returned home, I had been smiling from ear to ear. My mother said that this was the first time in years that she had seen me not worried about the future and relaxed. I was feeling relaxed because the dead weight that had been holding me back was gone. I had the freedom to take risks. I had the freedom to leave the job that had been draining me. I decided at that moment to leave the job and start working as a freelancer.

And just like that I felt I transformed into a different person. I felt like my metamorphosis got completed with the closure of home loan.