Paid off mortgage today

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inbox788
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by inbox788 »

ALinLI wrote:
Getting less than 2% on a cd just isn't satisfying and market feels too risky
This sounds like market timing. If your IPS spells out your asset allocation and that new funds should just be invested into your portfolio in correct ratios then that should "feel" right for all markets. How do you know market will not go much higher from here soon?
Yes and no. IPS generally refers to long term retirement plan, and short term spending with no wiggle room, like down payment on house and college tuition, are sent to CDs. This 10k is for short to medium term spending with some wiggle room (I.e. buy less expensive car, wait a little longer to save a little more, or tap other funds to make up difference, inc. lease or loan).
camaro327
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by camaro327 »

WorkToLive wrote:I wired the payoff amount to the mortgage company today. The balance started in 2008 at $300,000 at 5.25% and we re-fi'd to 3.25% in July 2011. Our gross income varied from ~$90,000-200,000 during that time. We never touched our 6 month emergency fund and continued sending ~20% to retirement and funding college towards the end. We are 39/38. I still can't quite believe it. I just logged onto the servicing website and it says "Paid in Full." Unreal!
Hell Yah! I want to join this club. Paying off your mortgage under 40 is awesome! Next goal two comma club?
dergon
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by dergon »

camaro327 wrote:
WorkToLive wrote:I wired the payoff amount to the mortgage company today. The balance started in 2008 at $300,000 at 5.25% and we re-fi'd to 3.25% in July 2011. Our gross income varied from ~$90,000-200,000 during that time. We never touched our 6 month emergency fund and continued sending ~20% to retirement and funding college towards the end. We are 39/38. I still can't quite believe it. I just logged onto the servicing website and it says "Paid in Full." Unreal!
Hell Yah! I want to join this club. Paying off your mortgage under 40 is awesome! Next goal two comma club?

Awesome work! I got my (pretty inexpensive) mortgage out of the way at age 42. Still feels good even though you beat me by a few years. :)
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runner9
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by runner9 »

Congrats! We have 45K left and should be done in a couple of years, at mid 30s in age. Looking forward to it :D
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stemikger
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by stemikger »

WorkToLive wrote:I wired the payoff amount to the mortgage company today. The balance started in 2008 at $300,000 at 5.25% and we re-fi'd to 3.25% in July 2011. Our gross income varied from ~$90,000-200,000 during that time. We never touched our 6 month emergency fund and continued sending ~20% to retirement and funding college towards the end. We are 39/38. I still can't quite believe it. I just logged onto the servicing website and it says "Paid in Full." Unreal!
Congratulations!!! You are so young. What a bright future you guys have.
Choose Simplicity ~ Stay the Course!! ~ Press on Regardless!!!
Murdoch
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by Murdoch »

Congratulations. A solid and encouraging achievement. :sharebeer
epictetus
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by epictetus »

congratulations!!

you will never regret it.
Focus on what you can control
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WorkToLive
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by WorkToLive »

A few days in and there hasn't been any feeling of regret so far. Actually, it feels better and better every day. It will be weird not seeing that payment come out every month. Next up is my spouse's Roth and our daughter's 529 and Coverdell accounts.
Greenie
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by Greenie »

I paid my mortgage off three years ago this month. A lot can go wrong in life. Having a roof over my head that is paid for is reassuring for me.
MIGIHIDARI
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by MIGIHIDARI »

Toons wrote:
WorkToLive wrote:I wired the payoff amount to the mortgage company today. The balance started in 2008 at $300,000 at 5.25% and we re-fi'd to 3.25% in July 2011. Our gross income varied from ~$90,000-200,000 during that time. We never touched our 6 month emergency fund and continued sending ~20% to retirement and funding college at $7,000/year the entire time. We are 39/38. I still can't quite believe it. I just logged onto the servicing website and it says "Paid in Full." Unreal!
Congratulations!
Start investing that money now the Boglehead way.
We paid ours a few years back and never regreted the decision.
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Watty
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by Watty »

Congratulations,

I would give it a few months for all the paperwork to be processed but then it is good to double check with the county(or whoever records the mortgage liens in your area) to make sure that the mortgage was removed from your property title. I would do this even if you at a letter saying that it was removed.

It is rare that it would not be correctly removed but it is much easier to clear up any problem now then in twenty years from now when you are trying to sell the house.
rr2
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by rr2 »

Congratulations. Great job.
We just bought our first home a couple of years ago when in our mid 40s. Often I'm tempted to pay it off in 6-8 years. Unfortunately, if I did that I would have to sacrifice a significant amount of tax advantaged space (almost 35% of gross income). So my first priority is to max out this space and only then pay extra towards the mortgage. Our tax bracket is almost 33% including federal and state.
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LH
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by LH »

congratulations : )
feh
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by feh »

TomatoTomahto wrote:I know it feels great today, but we paid off our mortgage around a decade ago, and it still feels great. Congratulations and enjoy the buzz :beer
We paid ours off about 10 years ago also, and frankly, I've forgotten what it's like to have a mortgage. It has simply become the new normal.
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by TomatoTomahto »

feh wrote:
TomatoTomahto wrote:I know it feels great today, but we paid off our mortgage around a decade ago, and it still feels great. Congratulations and enjoy the buzz :beer
We paid ours off about 10 years ago also, and frankly, I've forgotten what it's like to have a mortgage. It has simply become the new normal.
I know it's the new normal, but I think it's important to every now and then celebrate what you've turned into normal. For me, it's the rainy windy days when I'm warm, dry, and snug in my house (not the bank's house).
:beer
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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WorkToLive
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by WorkToLive »

I guess I don't feel too differently. I do feel more satisfaction when I clean the countertops and I think, "I own these countertops." That's about it. We have so many savings goals that sometimes I just feel overwhelmed. Private school for our daughter, fun vacations, college, early retirement--whew! But we did reach the first step of all those plans, which was to pay off the mortgage. I am reminding myself that it is a huge accomplishment.
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runner9
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by runner9 »

WorkToLive wrote:I guess I don't feel too differently. I do feel more satisfaction when I clean the countertops and I think, "I own these countertops." That's about it. We have so many savings goals that sometimes I just feel overwhelmed. Private school for our daughter, fun vacations, college, early retirement--whew! But we did reach the first step of all those plans, which was to pay off the mortgage. I am reminding myself that it is a huge accomplishment.
Postby WorkToLive » Mon Dec 07, 2009 1:40 pm
I have been going back and forth with the issue of paying off the mortgage vs. investing. We are one year into a 30 year fixed at 5.25% with a balance of about $300,000. After considering multiple options, we are going to max out my 401k (husband is not eligible) and both of our Roth's, plus put a bit into kiddo's college fund each year, and then use any surplus to pay down our mortgage instead of investing it in taxable accounts. Our hope is to pay off the mortgage in about 15 years so that when our daughter starts college, we will be mortgage-free or nearly there. I feel this plan gives us a balance between investing and getting us the "guaranteed" return of paying the mortgage off early.
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... =1&t=46577

From a hope of 15 years to 3.5 years is certainly a huge accomplishment, especially if you've been maxing a 401k and 2 Roths each of those years!
leonard
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by leonard »

Absolutely great not to have to deal with a mortgage company anymore. Even better to never have to think about mailing a check or otherwise getting a payment in on time OR whether the payment was applied appropriately. It is great to eliminate that headache from life.
Leonard | | Market Timing: Do you seriously think you can predict the future? What else do the voices tell you? | | If employees weren't taking jobs with bad 401k's, bad 401k's wouldn't exist.
Default User BR
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by Default User BR »

leonard wrote:Absolutely great not to have to deal with a mortgage company anymore. Even better to never have to think about mailing a check or otherwise getting a payment in on time OR whether the payment was applied appropriately. It is great to eliminate that headache from life.
Sheesh. You make is sound like breaking rocks on a chain gang. It's a bill. No more troublesome than the credit cards or utilities.


Brian
OnBoard
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by OnBoard »

Congrats! Huge accomplishment. Take a moment to let it sink in... then celebrate.
StaTiK
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by StaTiK »

Default User BR wrote:
leonard wrote:Absolutely great not to have to deal with a mortgage company anymore. Even better to never have to think about mailing a check or otherwise getting a payment in on time OR whether the payment was applied appropriately. It is great to eliminate that headache from life.
Sheesh. You make is sound like breaking rocks on a chain gang. It's a bill. No more troublesome than the credit cards or utilities.
Valid point, but if I could get rid of the credit card and utility bills I would celebrate that too!
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stilts1007
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by stilts1007 »

Thanks for posting this and bringing up the topic of what to do with extra income (taxable investing vs. mortgage payoff). Prior to starting a taxable account we sent a little extra money toward the mortgage every month which felt good. Since opening up a taxable account a year or so ago, most of the extra money has been going there. While the run-up has been good for that account, I do like the idea of splitting the extra money 50-50 between taxable and mortgage. A sort of extra form of diversification, if you will.
I hate the feeling of being in debt to anyone, financially or otherwise. We've already taken advantage of low interest rates and extra cash lying around to refinance, and what started out as a 30-year mortgage now has about 14 years left, with no increase in required monthly payments. Hopefully in 3.5 years or so I can be the one bragging on here about having a mortgage paid off!
scrabbler1
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Re: Paid off mortgage today

Post by scrabbler1 »

Congrats, WorktoLive. I paid mine off in 1998, just when I turned 35, after 9 years. Lowering my monthly expenses was a key step to being able to semi-retire (i.e. switch to working part-time) in 2001, and that led to my being able to retire in 2008. Losing this big tax deduction of mortgage interest also made doing my taxes a lot easier over time. :)
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