Paid The Mortgage Off Early! ADDENDUM

[quikdraw67]

We were able to pay our mortgage off 8 years early. Mrs. QD67 figured we were saving 15 thousand in interest And that was on a 3% loan!

So at soon to be 55 and 56 respectively (yeah, I'm younger), we are pretty much debt free.

The deal I made with her is that if she pays off the house, I'll pay off the cars. So there is some motivation to start culling the accumulation.

So by the end of June, beginning of July, the only bills we'll have are utilities, tax, grocery, and gas. And the way things are going, the extra $$$ will come in handy.

It's a good feeling.

See post #36 07/01/22

 

[NYlakesider]

GOOD MOVE!

That the advice I always give to people approaching retirement, do all in your power not to have a mortgage. Make things much simpler without having to pay that large mortgage payment each month.

Works for me!

 

[Kevin J.]

Congratulations on becoming a free man. Because as my father always said " your not really free if you owe money".

 

[Faulkner]

Congratulations quikdraw67. That is a significant accomplishment and certainly a financial load off your shoulders.

We paid off a 30 year note on our homestead after 15 years and burned the note on my 50th birthday. Was a good thing too, seems health care premiums have pretty much eaten up what I was paying in a mortgage.

 

[Golddollar]

Congratulations on becoming a free man. Because as my father always said " your not really free if you owe money".

Congratulations on paying off your house. It's a great feeling.

It was a great day for me when i paid off my house. It's amazing how little you need to live on when you don't have that big house payment going out the door.

One reason I've heard for not paying off the mortgage is losing the tax deduction. Dave Ramsey had a great response to that, saying, "Why do you want to pay the bank a dollar in interest to save 28 cents on your income tax?"

 

[jag312]

Feels good, doesn't it.

 

[Valmet]

That has to be an amazing feeling (that I hope to experience myself someday!) Big congrats!

 

[robvious]

CONGRATULATIONS... I know it is a challenge to achieve but SO WORTH IT...
the next few months will feel odd.. where did all this money come from kind of weird.. but eventually you will acclimate to the new status.. invest the old payments in your retirement plan and finish in financial happiness sliding into retirement..

 

[.38SuperMan]

That's excellent! My wife and I worked our butts off and paid our house off in 4 years and 10 months. We didn't do anything but work and put every penny on the house. No vacations, no nothing. Now we're 100% debt free and have retired very comfortably. We bought the last 8 cars with cash and another house and never buy anything we don't have the cash for.

You'll never regret sacrificing to get to this point.

Well done!

 

[old bear]

quickdraw, Good for you and your wife. Being debt free is one of the best if not the best feeling anyone can have. It opens a whole new world of nice options.

 

[rockquarry]

Congratulations on paying off your house. It's a great feeling.

It was a great day for me when i paid off my house. It's amazing how little you need to live on when you don't have that big house payment going out the door.

One reason I've heard for not paying off the mortgage is losing the tax deduction. Dave Ramsey had a great response to that, saying, "Why do you want to pay the bank a dollar in interest to save 28 cents on your income tax?"

Good post. Many fail to understand this simple concept. They continue to think the 28 cent deduction is something worthwhile but don't consider the dollar that it cost.

 

[Tom S.]

It's a great feeling! I had to delay paying mine off while I put two kids through college, but still managed to get it done before we retired at age 57.

Even 15 years later, it sure is nice getting up in the morning with the knowledge that the place is mine and not the banks!

 

[crstrode]

Dave Ramsey had a great response to that, saying, "Why do you want to pay the bank a dollar in interest to save 28 cents on your income tax?"

The mere fact that a fellow like Dave Ramsey can become rich and famous by beating this drum attests to the undeniable fact that the public education system in this country has failed - and failed absolutely.

 

[crstrode]

It is hard to understand why so many folks believe that saving your money BEFORE you spend it is not a good policy.

On the other hand, it is an undeniable fact that half of the people on earth have a substandard IQ.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Good job!
Paid my house off about 15-16 years ago with the 401k money.
Was loosing money every quarter on it.
Owe nothing to any bank.
Only thing is the taxes on the house keep going up! Don't pay that and
the County owns your house!

 

[Bald1]

Good post. Many fail to understand this simple concept. They continue to think the 28 cent deduction is something worthwhile but don't consider the dollar that it cost.

Well…….. the flip side is , if u have a low interest rate in the neighborhood of 3% or less and something as simple and safe as an i bond is paying almost 10% plus u write of part of the 3%. Maybe not paying it off is an option. I understand the feeling of paying off a mortgage is wonderful. But even in these times of turmoil there's other places to put money. It's not a one size fits all, so let's not be to hard on the people who think having a mortgage is ok………. I don't think there's a person reading this that would lend me money at 3%. So why give that up. Just my thoughts.

 

[fiasconva]

Congrats! I lucked up and did the same thing years ago using a home equity loan. It allowed me to pay it off 14 years early, the year I retired, and saved me over 100k. Great feeling, isn't it?

 

[Rustyt1953]

Congratulations qd. We live on a budget but have no mortgage payment and the car is almost paid off.

We are blessed that we can comfortably support the boys and keep them in chicken tenders and tater tots but I shudder to think of how we would fare if we still had a mortgage payment.

 

[Onomea]

Congratulations, quickdraw27, to you and your wife! Well done!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Excellent! The day you become debt-free is a major event in life. The weight of the world is removed from your shoulders.

Most of us become so accustomed to debt loading that we don't really think about it. Only when the load is gone do we really experience a sense of freedom that many others will never have.