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I hear you BG, same here. I love the Dave Ramsey slogan "Where the paid off home mortgage is replacing the BMW as the status symbol of choice." It was different when I was a kid though, had to have those Nike leather high tops. I wish I had bought one share of Nike stock instead each time I shelled out for Nike sneakers throughout the 1980s and early 90s, lol.
Dave's on the right track but is wrong on the execution. With ~3% rates on mortgages, it's not a great financial move to pay it off early as opposed to investing that excess in securities with a >3% return.
That said, one who has a brokerage account with balances such that they could pay their home off tomorrow is certainly a more financially impressive person than one who's living paycheck to paycheck and burning a substantial percentage of their take-home on car lease payments.
Dave's on the right track but is wrong on the execution. With ~3% rates on mortgages, it's not a great financial move to pay it off early as opposed to investing that excess in securities with a >3% return.
That said, one who has a brokerage account with balances such that they could pay their home off tomorrow is certainly a more financially impressive person than one who's living paycheck to paycheck and burning a substantial percentage of their take-home on car lease payments.
I get what you're saying, but I can tell you this - I will never regret paying off my mortgage, not one little bit. We paid the mortgage for years, and always added a little extra every payment, and when we got the principal balance down to around $30K, we looked at each other and said "let's do it". We drew down the cash reserves quite a bit at the time to do it, but without the monthly mortgage payment, were able to build it right back up very quickly, and we've never for one minute regretted doing it. We have no mortgage, no car loans, no student loans, and zero credit card balances. Any credit card usage is solely for larger purchases we'd pay cash for anyway, just to get cash back points, and then paid off immediately. Life with a fully owned home and ZERO debt is different in a very, very good way.
To each his own, but I'll never regret paying the mortgage off early.
most home buyers do not realise if they just add $25-$50 to their monthly mortgage payment,they are reducing the principal amount of the mortgage outstanding.
It is not too difficult to cough up an extra $5,25,50,75,$100 from time to time.
most home buyers do not realise if they just add $25-$50 to their monthly mortgage payment,they are reducing the principal amount of the mortgage outstanding.
It is not too difficult to cough up an extra $5,25,50,75,$100 from time to time.
And do you know why they don't realize that? I'm on to another one of my favorite rants...
It's because high schools find it more important to have people read Shakespeare and nonsense like that, than to teach personal finance. I am beginning to think it's a big conspiracy to keep most of the population without important skills.
I mean, why do younger people insist on spending hundreds of dollars on Nike sneakers when you could get a perfectly good pair in another brand for half the price on Amazon or at the local mall?? I don’t get it either, but they do, they just have to have that Nike swoosh.
This certainly isn't a new thing. In college I was studying marketing techniques, psychology, behaviors, branding, all the things. As one example, in the '70s Vidal Sasson hair care products (and design studio) was a premium brand. In the '80s Calvin Klein jeans, Jordach, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Polo were the hot labels. It's almost cookie-cutter -- a brand is tied to someone famous or an activity (like sports) or a lifestyle, and endorsements, multi-layered marketing saturation utilizing all visual media.
Bottomline: people are followers, and they tend to derive their identities from associations to something that they believe imbues them with success, appearance of wealth, power, virility, etc.
A 1990 comedic movie starring Dudley Moore ("Crazy People") capitalized on how advertising/marketing and branding can be turned on it's head.
I get what you're saying, but I can tell you this - I will never regret paying off my mortgage, not one little bit. We paid the mortgage for years, and always added a little extra every payment, and when we got the principal balance down to around $30K, we looked at each other and said "let's do it". We drew down the cash reserves quite a bit at the time to do it, but without the monthly mortgage payment, were able to build it right back up very quickly, and we've never for one minute regretted doing it. We have no mortgage, no car loans, no student loans, and zero credit card balances. Any credit card usage is solely for larger purchases we'd pay cash for anyway, just to get cash back points, and then paid off immediately. Life with a fully owned home and ZERO debt is different in a very, very good way.
To each his own, but I'll never regret paying the mortgage off early.
Even if I paid off my mortgage today (I owe less than 22k) I will still be required to pay about half my annual mortgage amount in insurance and taxes. I just don't feel any need at all to pay off early. I owe about 9 grand on my car but other than those 2 things, I am debt free. Eliminating those two debts won't change my life. I have never been one to accumulate debt though. I am pretty debt-averse compared to most of the people I know.
Even if I paid off my mortgage today, I will still be required to pay about half my annual mortgage amount in insurance and taxes.
Ditto. The amount I'd save wouldn't be worth it, compared to not paying off early and instead using that money in investments, which has easily beat the interest rate.
Ditto. The amount I'd save wouldn't be worth it, compared to not paying off early and instead using that money in investments, which has easily beat the interest rate.
lottamoxie, curious - do you live in a high tax state?
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