Should we put more toward our mortgage?

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Turtlemilk
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Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Turtlemilk »

Hi all,

My wife (age 35) and I (32) currently owe $390,363 on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.625% interest. Assuming we pay only the minimum of $1,607 per month we’ll be debt free in January 2051.

I realize it makes little sense mathematically to put more toward low-interest debt when that money could likely be invested (even conservatively) for higher returns. But then I played around with a debt payoff calculator. We could add just $16 to our monthly payment (1% more) to enjoy being debt free six months sooner. An $80 increase (5%) would save over two years.

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

My wife and I are on track for a comfortable retirement, but we still have tax-advantaged space available. We have approximately $85,000 across all our retirement accounts and 11% of our $133,000 gross income is going into them. Assuming static incomes (don't know why they would be) and an average 7% return we should have close to $3 million by the time we retire. We’re also both government employees and thus guaranteed pensions and pursuing master’s degrees (tuition paid in full by the government).

We have about $40,000 cash, a 65% Loan-to-Value ratio and a minimum monthly PITI payment of $2,232. All told our net worth is roughly $335,000.

Should we pay off the home early? What factors should be considered?

Thank you for your help.
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Watty
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Watty »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am My wife and I are on track for a comfortable retirement, but we still have tax-advantaged space available.
A lot of what to do is personal preference since no one knows the future.

I am usually in the "pay it off" cheerleading camp but even I would suggest maxing out all your tax advantaged accounts before paying down a mortgage unless you are in a 0% tax bracket and even then maxing out Roth accounts would come first. The tax advantages are too great to give up when interest rates are so low. If you could totally pay off the mortgage then that would be a different situation.

Once you are maxing out all your tax advantaged accounts then I would suggest that you then save up money in a taxable account until you have 10% or more of the loan amount in addition to your emergency and car replacement funds. You can then check with your lender to see if they will allow you to "recast your mortgage".(Google this) They usually will for a couple of hundred fee or even for free. The advantage to this is that it will reduce your required mortgage payment by the same percentage. The length of the loan and the interest rate will stay the same but the required monthly loan payment will be reduced by the same percentage as the prepayment. This can be important if something happens like you are disabled, laid off, or interest rates go up a lot. If you just send in extra money without a recast then that just shortens the length of the loan.
Last edited by Watty on Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
MrJedi
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by MrJedi »

You have a low rate and your net worth is largely from your home and not liquid assets. I would still focus on maintaining and building liquidity. Once the debt becomes a small portion of your liquid assets I think it can make sense to pay down for simplicity.
KlangFool
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by KlangFool »

OP,

A) Do you have kids? Do you plan to pay for their college education? Many folks regretted paying off their mortgage and then take a more expensive student loan for their kids.

B) Why would you pay down the mortgage when you can put more into your tax-advantaged accounts? Use the tax savings to put into Roth IRA and pay for the college education.

C) Why would you choose to pay 10+% to 20+% taxes in order to save 2+% mortgage interest?

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exodusNH
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by exodusNH »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Hi all,

My wife (age 35) and I (32) currently owe $390,363 on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.625% interest. Assuming we pay only the minimum of $1,607 per month we’ll be debt free in January 2051.

I realize it makes little sense mathematically to put more toward low-interest debt when that money could likely be invested (even conservatively) for higher returns. But then I played around with a debt payoff calculator. We could add just $16 to our monthly payment (1% more) to enjoy being debt free six months sooner. An $80 increase (5%) would save over two years.

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

My wife and I are on track for a comfortable retirement, but we still have tax-advantaged space available. We have approximately $85,000 across all our retirement accounts and 11% of our $133,000 gross income is going into them. Assuming static incomes (don't know why they would be) and an average 7% return we should have close to $3 million by the time we retire. We’re also both government employees and thus guaranteed pensions and pursuing master’s degrees (tuition paid in full by the government).

We have about $40,000 cash, a 65% Loan-to-Value ratio and a minimum monthly PITI payment of $2,232. All told our net worth is roughly $335,000.

Should we pay off the home early? What factors should be considered?

Thank you for your help.
Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.

There are two reasons you don't want to aggressively pay down a low-rate mortgage.

It ties up cash that you won't see for decades. Paying extra now does lower your mortgage term but does not lower your monthly payment. You'll hear this as "you can't eat your home."

You can get a better return in the market. In your early 30s, you want to take advantage of compounding that growth. You can't do that if you've tied up your extra money in principal repayments.

My recommendations are

- Max out your work retirement accounts
- Take advantage of the backdoor Roth
-Plan on saving about 1% of the real (not crazy market pricing) value of your house per year in a safe vehicle -- savings account at first, then as that balance grows, transitioning to a short term and maybe intermediate term investment grade bond fund.
-Set up automatic investments into a taxable brokerage account
-Pay extra on the mortgage

Your house will eventually have maintenance costs. You're going to need a roof at some point. You'll need a new HVAC system. Painting, etc. You'll see that number as about 1% of the value of the home. In my experience, that's about right, even if it seems crazy right now. The challenge is that you often go many, many years before something big hits. $20k-$30k here would let you pay for most expenses without hanging to scramble to get a loan to cover the costs.

This is not even taking into consideration children. I have no advice here.
GP813
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by GP813 »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Hi all,

My wife (age 35) and I (32) currently owe $390,363 on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.625% interest. Assuming we pay only the minimum of $1,607 per month we’ll be debt free in January 2051.

I realize it makes little sense mathematically to put more toward low-interest debt when that money could likely be invested (even conservatively) for higher returns. But then I played around with a debt payoff calculator. We could add just $16 to our monthly payment (1% more) to enjoy being debt free six months sooner. An $80 increase (5%) would save over two years.

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

My wife and I are on track for a comfortable retirement, but we still have tax-advantaged space available. We have approximately $85,000 across all our retirement accounts and 11% of our $133,000 gross income is going into them. Assuming static incomes (don't know why they would be) and an average 7% return we should have close to $3 million by the time we retire. We’re also both government employees and thus guaranteed pensions and pursuing master’s degrees (tuition paid in full by the government).

We have about $40,000 cash, a 65% Loan-to-Value ratio and a minimum monthly PITI payment of $2,232. All told our net worth is roughly $335,000.

Should we pay off the home early? What factors should be considered?

Thank you for your help.
If you want to play around with a calculator find one that factors in inflation and another that shows what your extra payment would do in a low cost broadly diversified index fund over time.

https://ostermiller.org/calc/mortgage.html

It sounds like you have goods jobs that will provide reasonable cost of living increases during your career and retirement. I wouldn't recommend paying off your mortgage early and instead use that extra money to invest.
Last edited by GP813 on Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sprucebark
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Sprucebark »

Don’t pay a penny early. Invest the extra money.

In 2051 you will have more money if you invested in the market than if you pay off the mortgage early**

You could probably invest in BND and still come out ahead.

** No one knows the future maybe there is a catastrophic collapse, but in that case your mortgage probably won’t matter either.
pizzy
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by pizzy »

We have the same rate/term, a little larger loan, and we do not put any extra.
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Carguy85
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Carguy85 »

I’m in the pay your house off camp...To test my thinking, I recently ran numbers on theoretically taking out a $500k 30 year mortgage on our paid for house at 2% (assuming best case senario tax deductions). Option A was taking out a mortgage and putting the 500k immediately into SP500 Option B put what would be the monthly payment in Sp500 every month for 30 years. It’s interesting the numbers that u get. The significant risk doesn’t quite seem to match up to the reward. MUCH more risk choosing option A. More realistically one would invest the $500k in more stabile/ less return investments to help manage risk. Max tax advantaged accounts and get a match if offered. Have a decent emergency fund, and pay off your house. The only thing that really makes any financial sense is to live in a home that costs minimal amount that still keeps you/family “happy”.
Last edited by Carguy85 on Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
MathWizard
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by MathWizard »

I did pay off my mortgage early, 17 years into a 30 year mortgage,
but I never paid it down. The problem with paydown is that you still have the same cash outflow each month, but the paydown has moved liquid assets to illiquid assets .
If you can pay off the home, this is still true,but since cash outflow is less, you build up liquid assets quickly after payoff.

There is a great relief in having paid off your home, but you may be surprised at how much large your housing expenses still are: you will be paying for
Property Tax
Home Insurance
Maintenance

Maintenance is the highest,but I estimate
about $600/ month for these items, and they will go up with inflation.

Since your mortgage amount does not go up with inflation, but these other expenses do,you may find that after a 20 or 30 year payoff that your housing expense is nearly as high as your original mortgage payment.

Maintenance will have gone up, since the house is older, and inflation increased everything but the mortgage payment.

My original mortgage payment which included insurance and property taxes was a bit over $700/ month , and I paid 20% down so no PMI.
Maintenance was less, both for materials, and because I did most of the work myself, which will no longer be the case soon. Back then, it was less about $2K per year after some initial upgrades needed.

So back then figure $867 with mortgage, and now about $600 without mortgage 25 yrs later.
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JoinTheLocalizer
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JoinTheLocalizer »

Sprucebark wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:30 am ** No one knows the future maybe there is a catastrophic collapse, but in that case your mortgage probably won’t matter either.
Why would a mortgage not matter then? If anything it would matter a lot more if we had a massive deflationary period. It sure seemed to matter to people who had to leave their house after 2008. Banks don't forget or forgive mortgages just because there's a depression.
exodusNH
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by exodusNH »

JoinTheLocalizer wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:09 am
Sprucebark wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:30 am ** No one knows the future maybe there is a catastrophic collapse, but in that case your mortgage probably won’t matter either.
Why would a mortgage not matter then? If anything it would matter a lot more if we had a massive deflationary period. It sure seemed to matter to people who had to leave their house after 2008. Banks don't forget or forgive mortgages just because there's a depression.
I think they're taking more about a "beans, bullets, and bandages" situation.
exodusNH
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by exodusNH »

MathWizard wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:50 am I did pay off my mortgage early, 17 years into a 30 year mortgage,
but I never paid it down. The problem with paydown is that you still have the same cash outflow each month, but the paydown has moved liquid assets to illiquid assets .
If you can pay off the home, this is still true,but since cash outflow is less, you build up liquid assets quickly after payoff.

There is a great relief in having paid off your home, but you may be surprised at how much large your housing expenses still are: you will be paying for
Property Tax
Home Insurance
Maintenance

Maintenance is the highest,but I estimate
about $600/ month for these items, and they will go up with inflation.

Since your mortgage amount does not go up with inflation, but these other expenses do,you may find that after a 20 or 30 year payoff that your housing expense is nearly as high as your original mortgage payment.

Maintenance will have gone up, since the house is older, and inflation increased everything but the mortgage payment.

My original mortgage payment which included insurance and property taxes was a bit over $700/ month , and I paid 20% down so no PMI.
Maintenance was less, both for materials, and because I did most of the work myself, which will no longer be the case soon. Back then, it was less about $2K per year after some initial upgrades needed.

So back then figure $867 with mortgage, and now about $600 without mortgage 25 yrs later.
I just refied my modest mortgage. New P&I payment is under $900. Taxes and insurance are about $500/mo. Throw in the 1% maintenance and my housing payment is roughly 50% mortgage and 50% all that stuff.
stoptothink
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by stoptothink »

exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:12 am Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.
This. We paid off our mortgage about 1.5yrs ago (4.5yrs in). Wife and I agree that we would max out all retirement vehicles and then put everything else towards the mortgage, basically delay starting a brokerage account until all our debt was taken care of. We don't regret it, but in hindsight it was a really really poor decision from a wealth-building standpoint; easily a six-figure "mistake" in a matter of less than 5yrs. In this environment, with extremely low mortgage rates and high inflation, I wouldn't even consider it before maxing tax-advantaged retirement space.
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JoinTheLocalizer
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JoinTheLocalizer »

exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:25 am
JoinTheLocalizer wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:09 am
Sprucebark wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:30 am ** No one knows the future maybe there is a catastrophic collapse, but in that case your mortgage probably won’t matter either.
Why would a mortgage not matter then? If anything it would matter a lot more if we had a massive deflationary period. It sure seemed to matter to people who had to leave their house after 2008. Banks don't forget or forgive mortgages just because there's a depression.
I think they're taking more about a "beans, bullets, and bandages" situation.
Yeah, the Mad Max strawman came to mind.

There are many shades of grey between anarchy and totalitarianism when it comes to deflation. Crash of 1873, 1920 "depression", and of course 2008. If you held cash and no debt you were sitting VERY pretty scooping up deals on houses, cars, planes, boats, everything!
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by willthrill81 »

The mortgage interest rate is almost 1% higher than what bonds are paying these days. All else being equal, it would make sense to pay down the mortgage before buying more bonds. This would not be true if you would stocks with the funds; over the long-term, stocks should return far higher than your existing mortgage rate.

As some have noted, taxes can play a significant role in this decision. For instance, if your existing marginal tax rate is 22%, and you expect that to be 12% when you withdraw the funds (e.g., in retirement), then paying down the mortgage early makes less sense.
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willthrill81
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by willthrill81 »

stoptothink wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:32 am
exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:12 am Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.
This. We paid off our mortgage about 1.5yrs ago (4.5yrs in). Wife and I agree that we would max out all retirement vehicles and then put everything else towards the mortgage, basically delay starting a brokerage account until all our debt was taken care of. We don't regret it, but in hindsight it was a really really poor decision from a wealth-building standpoint; easily a six-figure "mistake" in a matter of less than 5yrs. In this environment, with extremely low mortgage rates and high inflation, I wouldn't even consider it before maxing tax-advantaged retirement space.
Don't beat yourself up. You would have felt great about that decision if stocks had done a repeat of 2000-2009. We paid off our mortgage a couple of years ago, only five years after taking it out, and have no regrets, certainly no more than those who held bonds for the last 10 years rather than being 100% stock.

I agree that it makes a lot more sense to pay down a mortgage after first maxing out all tax-advantaged accounts.
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sureshoe
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by sureshoe »

In your 30s, unless you're vigorously trying to FIRE, it really makes no sense - particularly if you have tax advantaged space.

Even Dave Ramsay, who is hyper conservative and says "the paid off home is the status symbol of choice", does not advocate paying off a house until you are saving 15% of your income for retirement.

Once you've maxed our 401k, HSA, IRA, etc. then you can entertain paying off the house, but I'd consider your risk tolerance and AA before doing that.
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Que1999
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Que1999 »

That's a great rate; I'd ride that pony into the sunset and not pay one more cent than necessary. Max out retirement accounts, fund taxable, get some work done on the house to increase it's value maybe?

I paid my 30-year fixed 4.375% mortgage off in 8 years, and even that to me was a tough decision since I knew at the end of the day I'd come out ahead if I just invested in index funds. Let time & inflation decrease the value of that mortgage payment over 30 years until it's inconsequential, all while increasing the value of the property. At a 3% rate of inflation, a $1600 monthly payment would turn into an $885 payment after 20 years, and by the time you're paying the mortgage off it would have turned into a $659 payment in today's dollars.

Wonder what all that invested money over 30 years would look like, especially if you invested in stocks?
LittleMaggieMae
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by LittleMaggieMae »

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early?
I think you need to define what "early" means.... cutting a couple of years off a 30 year mortgage - probably isn't really "early" - because odds are at some point near the end of your mortgage - you are just going to see the balance of 20K (or some other amount) and you are going to go "Why don't I just finish this... I've got 20K sitting here in checking doing next to nothing for me..." Yes, the mortgage got paid off a year early but that late in the game it probably doesn't really matter much in the big picture.

I think you also need to consider the trajectory of your income in comparison to your mortgage - as in how big a bite will your mortgage (and keeping your house habitable) be in comparison to your income... if you can build up to maxing out your retirement accounts, provide financial help for your kids education, do some fun things in life - and if you still have some $$ left over - why not pay down the mortgage? There are a lot of American households that cannot contribute the maximum amount to the tax advantaged accounts offered to them along with all their other expenses (even if they are living frugally and have a very manageable mortgage payment)... they should NOT be paying down their mortgage. Their mortgage is allowing them to build wealth by being able to put more of their income towards "building wealth" via investments (retirement or otherwise).

If you need the "feel good" of prepaying for the biggest bang for your "prepayment" money - I would do it in the early years of your mortgage - especially if you anticipate staying in your house for the long haul. You'll save on interest and maybe cut a few years off the end of the mortgage (and then when you decide to just lump sum end the mortgage - it will be even a little bit sooner).

What I've done with my mortgages was to add some amount (in my case $100 to $200 depending on the mortgage/house/area) to the principle payment right out of the gate. Since I knew my property tax would go up and my insurance would go up over the years - I would just 'redirect' money from the $200 principle payment as my "required mortgage payment" went up. This bought me (usually about 5 years sometimes more) of a truly fixed never changing mortgage payment for a fixed period of time AND I got to pay down my mortgage in the early years when it made the most difference in the amount of interest I would pay over all. When doing my "monthly" or "yearly" spending plan - I didn't have to worry about how much extra I would need to allocate to my mortgage payment (when it changed). I could focus on the other areas of my finances.

I prepaid monthly on various mortgages when perhaps I should have been putting that $100 pre payment a month into a Roth or my 401k. My current hindsight shows that since once I set up my "steady never changing mortgage payment amount" that I did pay more attention to aggressively increasing my contributions to my Roth/401K as my income grew (and as I saved by being frugal in some areas of my life) that the steady $100/$200 a month to the mortgage didn't make that big a difference in the total amount I was able to accumulate. I have a big income and small mortgages. The mortgage prepayment didn't effect my "fun money" either - I wasn't really hurting for spendable money. It took me about 5 years to successfully max all the tax advantaged accounts available to me... while still maintaining a reasonable life style... on my income. And by then my actual mortgage payment "caught up" with amount I was already paying...
Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

I've had paid off houses (and rental properties) I have never experienced any sort of "accomplishment" from paying them off - the only thing that changed was that the monthly expense for that property went down a little bit. Having a paid off mortgage didn't make me feel like I "wouldn't lose the house" - I still have to pay taxes and insurance(s) and I still have to maintain the property - all of which are ongoing expenses. (my lack of emotion might also be due to the fact that I look for sad sorrow neglected houses to buy as rentals/investments. I have seen first hand what happens to a paid off house when the owner doesn't (or can't pay for) the typical maintenance things a house needs. Houses loose value when they have old roofs, really old unmaintained HVAC systems, haven't been painted, have lots of small (and sometimes large) DIY repairs/improvements that need to be made, etc... a paid off house can become worthless and maybe even uninhabitable fairly quickly... :) )

Since my mortgage payment (the PI part) was so small in comparison to the other expenses for the property - not having to pay the PI part didn't seem be much of a "WoW!!! I've got so much more money to save or spend on other stuff!!! woo hoo!!".

I mostly have purchased inexpensive houses - (my current PIs are $400 and $700 a month -- the other expenses for these properties are larger than the PI part... not having to pay the PI part would be nice - but it's not life changing in my big picture.)

ADDED: despite my "meh" response to a paid off house - I will NOT rain on someone's parade if they let slip they paid off their house OR if they happily announce it. I will congratulate them and wonder about how fast the time goes! And say positive things about having a home.
Last edited by LittleMaggieMae on Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:46 pm, edited 4 times in total.
exodusNH
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by exodusNH »

stoptothink wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:32 am
exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:12 am Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.
This. We paid off our mortgage about 1.5yrs ago (4.5yrs in). Wife and I agree that we would max out all retirement vehicles and then put everything else towards the mortgage, basically delay starting a brokerage account until all our debt was taken care of. We don't regret it, but in hindsight it was a really really poor decision from a wealth-building standpoint; easily a six-figure "mistake" in a matter of less than 5yrs. In this environment, with extremely low mortgage rates and high inflation, I wouldn't even consider it before maxing tax-advantaged retirement space.
I just signed my refi papers this morning. I'll be paying ~$75/mo extra to keep the same term, since I went from about 13 years left to a new 15. But I don't anticipate paying much extra over the life of the loan. The opportunity costs seem to high. Even factoring in property taxes, insurance, and maintenance, I'd only be able to rent an OK place for the combined total.
sureshoe
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by sureshoe »

willthrill81 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:47 am
stoptothink wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:32 am
exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:12 am Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.
This. We paid off our mortgage about 1.5yrs ago (4.5yrs in). Wife and I agree that we would max out all retirement vehicles and then put everything else towards the mortgage, basically delay starting a brokerage account until all our debt was taken care of. We don't regret it, but in hindsight it was a really really poor decision from a wealth-building standpoint; easily a six-figure "mistake" in a matter of less than 5yrs. In this environment, with extremely low mortgage rates and high inflation, I wouldn't even consider it before maxing tax-advantaged retirement space.
Don't beat yourself up. You would have felt great about that decision if stocks had done a repeat of 2000-2009. We paid off our mortgage a couple of years ago, only five years after taking it out, and have no regrets, certainly no more than those who held bonds for the last 10 years rather than being 100% stock.

I agree that it makes a lot more sense to pay down a mortgage after first maxing out all tax-advantaged accounts.
Look, nobody is going to go broke paying off their mortgage, but there is a lot of lost opportunity. This is particularly true for people entering their prime earning years in a period with historically low interest rates.

It's not just the cashflow, but the fact that locking up a 2.5-3% rate for 30 years is powerful. That's what makes mortgages great. If rate go down, you refi. If rates go up, you hold. Let's say rates jump 3% over the next 10 years. Having a 2.75% rate on $300k would be a fantastic differential. For all the talk of inflation, this is a great hedge. Same way with taxable accounts, they create a lot of tax flexibility and cashflow. If my stocks go up, I can hold. If they go down, I can sell and take the loss. Part of wealth building is using all the opportunities.

Using the 2000-2009 example, you'd still be ahead. Let's say you pay $30k/year extra to burn off $300k of extra mortgage, so you paid it off in 2010, but had no surplus savings. You effectively have $300k of equity, not earning anything.

Flip it and you invested that $30k. 2000 is down, 2001 is down, 2002 is down... we have a run up until 2008 punches us in the face. But you still end up with over $300k in the market, heading into one of the best bull runs in history. Keep putting that $30k in the market, and by 2022 you're worth well over $2.5M. Wait until 2010 to start putting that 30k in, and you're only worth about $1M (While saving a few hundred thousand on interest). That's a big diff.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I'll first point out that there are 2 famous people who are on the 2 sides of this argument.

Dave Ramsey: "You'd be an idiot to not pay off your mortgage. It's just a debt. Pay off your debts"

Ric Edelman: "You'd be an idiot to pay off your mortgage when you can get more from investing that money in the market"

You can decide for yourself. I paid off my mortgage in 2002 after paying extra on mortgages of 3 houses we owned. We paid all our debts, avalanche style (highest interest first) and when everything was paid but the mortgage felt that the mortgage was nothing but the last debt. We have no regrets. I've talked with others who have paid off their mortgage and have never heard of anyone regretting the mortgage payoff. Contrary, most people I've spoken to get giggly and it's almost like a huge inside joke where we've found a huge advantage financially. Part of this is that when you're not paying that $1600 for your mortgage, guess what? You can spend that $1600 on other things. Education for the kids, investments, savings bonds, whatever.

How did we pay off the mortgage? We were in a higher interest environment and would refinance only no cost when there was an opportunity to do so. We tended to put a chunk of extra money towards the mortgage when refinancing. We dropped the years from 30 to 15. Eventually, we got under $100k owed and nobody would take the refi because there isn't enough in it for them to bother. We continued paying down and at $70k, I got a windfall from stock options vesting and payed it off. I love having no monthly mortgage payment.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by willthrill81 »

sureshoe wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:45 pm
willthrill81 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:47 am
stoptothink wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:32 am
exodusNH wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:12 am Until you're maxing out your retirement accounts, I wouldn't pay down the mortgage. Even then, I'd look at making some taxable investments before paying down the mortgage. If you can do that and still have money available, there's certainly nothing wrong with paying down the mortgage if that gives you peace of mind.
This. We paid off our mortgage about 1.5yrs ago (4.5yrs in). Wife and I agree that we would max out all retirement vehicles and then put everything else towards the mortgage, basically delay starting a brokerage account until all our debt was taken care of. We don't regret it, but in hindsight it was a really really poor decision from a wealth-building standpoint; easily a six-figure "mistake" in a matter of less than 5yrs. In this environment, with extremely low mortgage rates and high inflation, I wouldn't even consider it before maxing tax-advantaged retirement space.
Don't beat yourself up. You would have felt great about that decision if stocks had done a repeat of 2000-2009. We paid off our mortgage a couple of years ago, only five years after taking it out, and have no regrets, certainly no more than those who held bonds for the last 10 years rather than being 100% stock.

I agree that it makes a lot more sense to pay down a mortgage after first maxing out all tax-advantaged accounts.
Look, nobody is going to go broke paying off their mortgage, but there is a lot of lost opportunity. This is particularly true for people entering their prime earning years in a period with historically low interest rates.

It's not just the cashflow, but the fact that locking up a 2.5-3% rate for 30 years is powerful. That's what makes mortgages great. If rate go down, you refi. If rates go up, you hold. Let's say rates jump 3% over the next 10 years. Having a 2.75% rate on $300k would be a fantastic differential. For all the talk of inflation, this is a great hedge. Same way with taxable accounts, they create a lot of tax flexibility and cashflow. If my stocks go up, I can hold. If they go down, I can sell and take the loss. Part of wealth building is using all the opportunities.

Using the 2000-2009 example, you'd still be ahead. Let's say you pay $30k/year extra to burn off $300k of extra mortgage, so you paid it off in 2010, but had no surplus savings. You effectively have $300k of equity, not earning anything.

Flip it and you invested that $30k. 2000 is down, 2001 is down, 2002 is down... we have a run up until 2008 punches us in the face. But you still end up with over $300k in the market, heading into one of the best bull runs in history. Keep putting that $30k in the market, and by 2022 you're worth well over $2.5M. Wait until 2010 to start putting that 30k in, and you're only worth about $1M (While saving a few hundred thousand on interest). That's a big diff.
I don't dispute the math involved, but your argument is very close to saying that it's an equally bad choice to buy bonds during accumulation, especially since bond yields are virtually always lower than prevailing mortgage rates are at whatever time.
Last edited by willthrill81 on Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JDave »

I paid off my 30 year mortgage in 5 1/2 years. That was about 30 years ago, and I've never regretted it. It has given me great peace of mind, especially during the 2000 stock market crash, and especially during the 2008-2009 Great Financial Crisis, when people were losing their homes left and right.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JupiterJones »

Watty wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:45 am I am usually in the "pay it off" cheerleading camp but even I would suggest maxing out all your tax advantaged accounts before paying down a mortgage
I basically agree. I'm a big fan of having "pay off the mortgage" somewhere on your list of financial goals, and I'm mortgage-free (and lovin' it) myself. But it usually works best near the bottom of the list, after several other goals are taken care of, such as:
  • Having a fully-funded emergency fund
  • Paying off basically all other debt first
  • Maxing out your tax-advantaged investing
  • Having money set aside for other planned, upcoming financial events (a car sinking fund, a vacation fund, a regular home maintenance fund, tuition, etc.)
But if you've got all that knocked out and still have some "extra" money floating around? That's the time you start weighing the "mortgage vs. extra investing" question, IMHO.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by drk »

Watty wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:45 am I am usually in the "pay it off" cheerleading camp but even I would suggest maxing out all your tax advantaged accounts before paying down a mortgage unless you are in a 0% tax bracket and even then maxing out Roth accounts would come first. The tax advantages are too great to give up when interest rates are so low.
I'm usually in the "don't pay it off" camp, and I agree. :beer
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by willthrill81 »

drk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:16 pm
Watty wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:45 am I am usually in the "pay it off" cheerleading camp but even I would suggest maxing out all your tax advantaged accounts before paying down a mortgage unless you are in a 0% tax bracket and even then maxing out Roth accounts would come first. The tax advantages are too great to give up when interest rates are so low.
I'm usually in the "don't pay it off" camp, and I agree. :beer
While I'm a very aggressive investor in the accumulation phase, I don't regret paying off our mortgage two years ago. Leveraging our investments by putting our home at risk, however small that risk may have been, never sat well with me. I fully admit that it may be little more than mental accounting, but beyond the peace of mind, it got my DW on board with increasing our saving rate above 50%, where it remains as the funds that once went to our mortgage now go to our portfolio.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Hyperchicken »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am [...]

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

[...]
Seems like more of a questions of feelings rather than finances.

It is interesting to see how so many replies in this thread revolve around feeling good and minimizing regret as opposed to, well, actual financial wellbeing.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Carguy85 »

It’s incorrect to think the home value is just locked up not doing anything given that money is fungible. I fell into this trap for a while until I realized that I’m not appreciating the repeated investing of what would be mortgage payment and compounding interest. Do the math taking into account everything and you will see that it’s nonsense.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by drk »

willthrill81 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:19 pm While I'm a very aggressive investor in the accumulation phase, I don't regret paying off our mortgage two years ago. Leveraging our investments by putting our home at risk, however small that risk may have been, never sat well with me. I fully admit that it may be little more than mental accounting, but beyond the peace of mind, it got my DW on board with increasing our saving rate above 50%, where it remains as the funds that once went to our mortgage now go to our portfolio.
All that is fair. I'm not zealous about this question because I understand that some people do get emotional value out of being debt-free, but that's not how I'm wired.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by GP813 »

I don't agree with the nobody ever regretted paying off their home line. A lot of real estate is a terrible investment. There are really only a few real estate markets that are constant winners. Also as wealth building assets home buying depends on your location, class, race, etc. I know people who have paid off homes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana in deindustrialized towns and those homes are essentially worthless. They're not worth the taxes and maintenance to upkeep them. You will see this if you drive around the country, abandoned homes everywhere many of which were fully paid off by a previous generation. Do you want to leave your family assets that produce income or potential headaches.

Buying a home if you look at the data is usually a so-so investment. I think what gets conflated is that a lot of people who have financial success are homeowners, some also enjoy the privilege of race or class that makes their home purchase a great and at times historically(their ancestors) guaranteed investment. Much of Americans present wealth was built on the foundation of homeownership but it was also done going back to times when whole groups of people were essentially not allowed to buy homes. So that data is very skewed with a terrible historical exploitation.

When you purchase a home, you should think of all the things that could go wrong, look for a great deal, look for an area that you can reasonably expect people will always want to live in and has some future proofing, etc. You should take advantage of a 30 year mortgage if you can get a low interest rate. You should remember that your home will cost you money and appreciation is not a given.
Last edited by GP813 on Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JoeRetire »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am My wife (age 35) and I (32) currently owe $390,363 on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.625% interest.

I realize it makes little sense mathematically to put more toward low-interest debt when that money could likely be invested (even conservatively) for higher returns. But then I played around with a debt payoff calculator. We could add just $16 to our monthly payment (1% more) to enjoy being debt free six months sooner. An $80 increase (5%) would save over two years.
So you understand the math but want to do it anyway? Then it comes down to how much the "enjoy being debt free sooner" is worth to you.
Assuming static incomes (don't know why they would be) and an average 7% return we should have close to $3 million by the time we retire.
So how much of that 7% return are you willing to give away?
Should we pay off the home early?
I wouldn't. Your mileage may vary.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by manuvns »

i never put more into my mortgage , instead take more mortgae everytime market tanks or interest drops.
Thanks!
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Drew31 »

I'm starting to really struggling with this question myself. We're presently maxing all retirement and putting a good chunk into taxable savings and still paying extra on our mortgage. We refinanced last year to a 30 year at 2.75% but I'm making payments to essentially turn it into a 15yr. I like the idea of having the mortgage gone at 55 and do not like the idea of having a mortgage to near 70, but also can't dislodge myself from the math that technically I'd be better off taking that extra into my taxable. I've not changed anything yet, but these threads are continuing to make me sit back and question what I'm doing.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Silverado »

We max all tax advantaged accounts possible, and are fortunate enough to also be able to put a large amount into a taxable account each month. We have moved several times over the years (corporate) and always roll equity forward for smaller mortgages, or in two cases, no mortgage from day one. I look at the growth of those taxable investments and don’t even worry how the balance would look if it started with a lump sum. No more than regretting not buying whatever investment five years ago. Our current home has a mortgage at 2%, and it didn’t bother me a bit to recast it after our old house sold, leaving $75,000 on it. We are coasting towards retirement at 53/47 years old in a couple years, and will be starting to add more and more bonds to the portfolio so even 2% was too expensive for us.

If we were not able to max everything, the situation may have dictated a different solution. If we were not already well past our goals, the situation may have dictated a different solution.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by vxdx »

We paid off our first mortgage at 3.7% in 6 years, very aggressively in early 2021.

I looked at it as a good guaranteed return at a time when the market seemed overvalued and inflation was low. We already max out retirement accounts and invest significantly in taxable, so this was just a conservative risk mitigation.

It is almost certainly not a mathematically winning strategy, and hasn’t been something that gives me much personal satisfaction beyond the first month, especially because the amount that had been automatically going to the mortgage now automatically goes into the brokerage. That said, given our financial trajectory, this decision won't play a big role in our goals, so mitigating risk has value and I would probably make the same decisions if given the option today.

Overall, I think the decision has to be based on risk tolerance and liquidity needs mainly. It certainly turned out that money invested 6 years ago would have been better in the market, but if the markets had crashed I'd be happy I'd put that money on the mortgage.
Last edited by vxdx on Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by willthrill81 »

Carguy85 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:31 pm It’s incorrect to think the home value is just locked up not doing anything given that money is fungible. I fell into this trap for a while until I realized that I’m not appreciating the repeated investing of what would be mortgage payment and compounding interest. Do the math taking into account everything and you will see that it’s nonsense.
GP813 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:18 pm I don't agree with the nobody ever regretted paying off their home line. A lot of real estate is a terrible investment.
Both these posts make the common mistake of confusing paying down/off one's mortgage early with owning real estate. The decision as to whether one pays down one's mortgage early is independent of owning the underlying real estate. One can own real estate without a mortgage at all, and one can own the same real estate with a 30 year mortgage (or potentially even longer).
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by GP813 »

willthrill81 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:55 pm
Carguy85 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:31 pm It’s incorrect to think the home value is just locked up not doing anything given that money is fungible. I fell into this trap for a while until I realized that I’m not appreciating the repeated investing of what would be mortgage payment and compounding interest. Do the math taking into account everything and you will see that it’s nonsense.
GP813 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:18 pm I don't agree with the nobody ever regretted paying off their home line. A lot of real estate is a terrible investment.
Both these posts make the common mistake of confusing paying down/off one's mortgage early with owning real estate. The decision as to whether one pays down one's mortgage early is independent of owning the underlying real estate. One can own real estate without a mortgage at all, and one can own the same real estate with a 30 year mortgage (or potentially even longer).

nobody ever regretted paying off their home is a nonsensical statement that can not be proven.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Nver2Late »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?
We've owned two homes and they were paid off in 2.5 years and 11 years respectively. I do not regret it one bit.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Carguy85 »

Just ran some calculations based on a 3% 30 year 500k mortgage. Earning 6.8% on the 500k over 30 years and subtracting the mortgage interest is roughly close to earning 8% on investing $2400 a month for 30 years. I’d rather have no debt and minimize fixed costs to have more flexibility in how much risk I want to take. Risk is also fungible.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Admiral »

Carguy85 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:07 pm Just ran some calculations based on a 3% 30 year 500k mortgage. Earning 6.8% on the 500k over 30 years and subtracting the mortgage interest is roughly close to earning 8% on investing $2400 a month for 30 years. I’d rather have no debt and minimize fixed costs to have more flexibility in how much risk I want to take. Risk is also fungible.
The OP is not asking about eliminating the debt. The OP is asking about paying down the debt. The latter reduces the interest, yes, but it does not free up any funds to invest except after the mortgage has been eliminated. In fact, it's the opposite: less money is available to invest.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Carguy85 »

Reducing debt can be thought of as a guaranteed return.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Admiral »

Drew31 wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:26 pm I'm starting to really struggling with this question myself. We're presently maxing all retirement and putting a good chunk into taxable savings and still paying extra on our mortgage. We refinanced last year to a 30 year at 2.75% but I'm making payments to essentially turn it into a 15yr. I like the idea of having the mortgage gone at 55 and do not like the idea of having a mortgage to near 70, but also can't dislodge myself from the math that technically I'd be better off taking that extra into my taxable. I've not changed anything yet, but these threads are continuing to make me sit back and question what I'm doing.
What you should be doing is getting a 15 year mortgage, not paying a 30 as if it were a 15. Use the money that's going to taxable (or some of it) to make the larger payment. If you can afford it, a low-rate 15 year mortgage is usually a great deal.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by JoeRetire »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early?
I can guarantee that some do and some don't regret paying off their mortgages early. I can't give you percentages.

In general, people are happy with whatever decision they make. And in general, they find reasons to justify their decision.

So flip a coin.
- If it comes up heads, pay off your mortgage and tell yourself it helps you sleep better at night. You'll have no regrets.
- If it comes up tails, don't pay off your mortgage and tell yourself it was the financially better decision. You'll have no regrets.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by nolesrule »

People who regret a decision tend not to talk about it publicly, so you end up with a lot of confirmation bias.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by capran »

For perspective, our first 30 year mortgage was in 78, at 9 1/2%! Took just under 10 years to pay it off, because we were still in school and getting started. Next house, in 89, almost triple the price of the first, still interest was 6%. Paid it off in less than 4 years, having made down payment of the entire proceeds of house #1. House #3, 1993, interest rate was 5 1/2% on a 5 year lock. Paid it off in 4, after large down from proceeds of house #2. Great mortgage burning barbeque party. Still in house number 3. We always figured have a house debt free was our life insurance. If something happened, a surviving spouse had the house and their job to build a future for themselves and kids. We continued deferred comp contributions throughout, and have no regrets. We printed up an amortization schedule and back then were amazed at how much interest it was saving us.

Recently ran an amortization schedule on a possible HCOL area for our son of 540k at 3.0%. Total interest for a 3% loan of 540k is 279,598.24! How many years work is that? We were moderately paid education staff with a gross of 150k per year, so if we got a 540k loan and made payments for 30 year, that would be working two years to pay the bank. Of course, most people here will say they have beat that by investment return in the stock market. It is true, we have seen nothing even close to the 2000-01 and 2009-10 declines. And maybe it really will triple again in the next 10 years. For us, the home being paid for was a wonderful thing.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by Ron Ronnerson »

You are young, have a very low mortgage rate, a fair bit of equity in the home, only five-figures saved in retirement accounts, and are not maxing your retirement space. You’re expecting pensions so that enables you to take more risk and will provide a continued income stream into retirement. In my opinion, you seem like ideal candidate for not paying off the loan early.

Still, there are plenty of worse things that you could do with your money than pay down a mortgage and it really comes down to your goals and preferences. If carrying this debt is burdensome to you, that is worth taking into consideration. If you’re trying to maximize your wealth over the long run, chances are that over something like 30 years, investing will beat your mortgage rate. You used 7% as a projected return. That’s way higher than 2.62%. While investment returns are not guaranteed like the mortgage rate, over many decades, you probably have a very good chance of beating that rate.

I will share our story as one data point of someone who has done the opposite of paying off our home faster. When my wife and I were 35, in 2010, we bought our house and took out a 30-year loan at 5.25%. Our net worth at the time was $80k and we had almost exactly the same income as you. In 2012, we refinanced and took out a new 30-year loan at 3.25%. In 2020, we refinanced to 2.875% and restarted the 30 years over once again. In 2021, we did a cash-out refinance and took out $150k in equity from the home and restarted the 30 years yet once more so that we’re on track to pay off the house in 41 years from the time of purchase.

We currently owe as much on the house as we did when we bought it. Due to all the refinancing, our mortgage payments have been kept low over the years and this allowed us to put a relatively big percentage of our income (which has fluctuated between $110k-$150k over the past dozen years) into investments. My wife was able to retire at age 43 (we’re both 47 now). Our net worth is now $1.7m and I’m expecting a pretty good pension as well (I’m a public school teacher).

Your results may vary, of course, and the past is no guarantee of the future. However, leveraging a low-interest mortgage can be quite advantageous if you’re so inclined. I have no regrets about not paying down the mortgage; I just wish I’d taken out more than $150k in equity from the home at 2.375% in January of last year. A bunch of that money is currently earning 7.12% in I Bonds, the portion I invested in stocks has gone up 15% in a year, and the extra liquidity has been terrific too.

If rates dropped even an eighth of a percent, I’d refinance again in order to drag out the payments longer. You must account for inflation and not just look at the mortgage rate. Inflation has averaged over 3% over the past 100 years and is currently at 7%. Knowing that inflation has been making a chunk of the payments on my behalf gives me more satisfaction than having a paid-off home. Basically, I like having this debt and, in fact, wish I owed more.

You have to decide if you’re of a similar mindset or feel this is not the approach for you. In the end, only you can decide. Whatever you do decide, there are no bad options. Paying off the home faster is great and investing instead is too.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by cchrissyy »

sorry but if you haven't maxed out your retirement account contributions, and you are in mid-30s with a 5-figure savings, it is premature to debate "pay down versus invest".

you might be ok for retirement, but you aren't in the kind of position you have extra money and need to decide where to stick it.

i suggest these goals instead

1 - increase contributions to tax deductible accounts. every dollar you push there is a dollar not getting taxed

2 - increase savings in roth accounts or in taxable brokerage. you can draw on this for your other long or short term goals. if life throws you a curveball, it isn't locked away like home equity is.
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Re: Should we put more toward our mortgage?

Post by abuss368 »

Turtlemilk wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Hi all,

My wife (age 35) and I (32) currently owe $390,363 on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.625% interest. Assuming we pay only the minimum of $1,607 per month we’ll be debt free in January 2051.

I realize it makes little sense mathematically to put more toward low-interest debt when that money could likely be invested (even conservatively) for higher returns. But then I played around with a debt payoff calculator. We could add just $16 to our monthly payment (1% more) to enjoy being debt free six months sooner. An $80 increase (5%) would save over two years.

How often do people regret paying off their mortgages early? Does the feeling of owning your home in full eclipse knowing that you’ve likely missed out on greater returns?

My wife and I are on track for a comfortable retirement, but we still have tax-advantaged space available. We have approximately $85,000 across all our retirement accounts and 11% of our $133,000 gross income is going into them. Assuming static incomes (don't know why they would be) and an average 7% return we should have close to $3 million by the time we retire. We’re also both government employees and thus guaranteed pensions and pursuing master’s degrees (tuition paid in full by the government).

We have about $40,000 cash, a 65% Loan-to-Value ratio and a minimum monthly PITI payment of $2,232. All told our net worth is roughly $335,000.

Should we pay off the home early? What factors should be considered?

Thank you for your help.
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