My only debt is my house. I am wondering if those out there think it is a good idea to really attack this debt aggressivly and pay off the house.I go back and forth. I did put extra money on the principal last month...... the first time I have done that. Part of me wants to get it paid down as fast as I can. My mortgage is ridiculous as far as monthly payments. When I say ridiculous I mean vey very reasonable. My ex is in the motgage industry so we had the best deal possible. He was very shrewd and knew how to get the best rate going. I just think I would like to try to sleep at night knowing that the house is paid for.
I have read many web sites and blogs and I see that half the folks say pay it off and the other half say.....stupid idea.I know as a single mom I watch for tax issues too----again...not sure what to do.
I was curious to know what your feelings were on this. I don't want to bore you with details....maybe I am intersted to see what people think about house payments in general. I also do not mean pay it all off on Saturday......I am thinking ----adding a little extra money here and there when I can.
My youngest one graduated from Kindergarten tonight. It was a nice ceremony. There are only about 14 kids--we have a small school.The teacher is retiring....so of course she as crying a flood and so were the parents. The kids thought we were all strange I guess!
Eveyone enjoyed the ceremony and all the special words of love and encouragement. My daugher looked cute in her cornflower blue dress. Her sis (Happy 14th Birthday) did her hair....curled with a rhinestone barrette. What a wonderful night of memories.
Mortgage
June 6th, 2006 at 01:47 am
June 6th, 2006 at 04:25 am 1149567902
June 6th, 2006 at 10:54 am 1149591268
I also have a religious conviction as well that I am not to be a slave to the lender. That tends to weigh deeply on my mind and spirit.
Thank you for the words of wisdom......it helps to hear them.
June 6th, 2006 at 12:05 pm 1149595524
You will still be paying for property taxes, which you will get to use as a tax write-off. There are other ways to get tax credits and sometimes using those credits actually brings you less money back in a refund. Example: My husband's car is used for work, we had over $2000 coming to us until I used my husband's car as a write-off with mileage and gas, brought us down to $0 dollars refunded. You can bet we didn't claim that deduction.
So, with that said, pay down your mortgage and invest that money in other areas like mutual funds, stocks, vacations, ING and IRA's. Good Luck.
June 6th, 2006 at 12:57 pm 1149598631
But what about a compromise. 1/2 of any savings where you normally put it these days but change and put the other 1/2 on your mortage. Then after 6 months re-evaluate.
My suggestion still allows you to build savings but also to tacke the mortgage and get it paid off earlier. Sometimes its fun to play with one of those mortgage calculators an see the effect of paying off $100/$500/$1000 early. Quite often it can take months of payments off you mortgage over the years.
June 6th, 2006 at 01:44 pm 1149601444
June 6th, 2006 at 02:12 pm 1149603171
Tax benefits are fine, but i don't think they should be the driving force by which you make your decision.
June 6th, 2006 at 02:44 pm 1149605093
My divorce decree never stated or required me to re-finance. My husband did not care because he (and she) had moved on and purchased a new home one town over. He wanted me to "have the house"-no questions...he was happy to unload it and be done with it. His name remains on the mortage. I was OK with that. He wanted the kids to stay stable and stay in the home they grew up. So my lawyer advised me to not do a thing and perhaps pay off the house sooner then later. I had called this bank before hand and asked the rate they would of perhaps offered me. It was much higher of course ---plus they frowned on me "not working" for 16 years. I would be considered a risk I guess.
I think my interest rate is pretty good.
June 7th, 2006 at 04:31 pm 1149697917
If your lawyer thinks it's OK, then it wouldn't hurt pay it off early. Actually, I would've done that if I was in your shoes. My only advice is to be sure you get his consent in writing (and preferably certified), as there isn't any legal consequences to him if he should change his mind.