quote:

Originally posted by VANQUISH:
Congrats, you will now sleep better! You can't put a price on how much healthier you will be with less financial stress in your lives.

Most people don't factor that in while weighing investing vs. being debt free.

Totally agree. I didn’t realize what a mental difference it would make.

Congrats to what is one heck of a Christmas present and a great way to start the new year.

Mrs DF and I are very private people. We also are Dave Ramsey enthusiasts. So when we paid off our mortgage, we went out to dinner and whispered to each other WE’RE DEBT FREEEEE! That was a wonderful feeling. I’m happy for you. Now you can change your family legacy.

Just another thought that many have smaller mortgage balances with interest rates in the mid 3% range or lower. And their payments are mostly principle and choose to not pay them off in this environment. Which is not a bad deal either financially.

I would not want a big, long mortgage these days.

Congratulations, great milestone.

Welcome to the club! It's nice to know that as long as you can pay the taxes, the place is yours.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Mrs DF and I are very private people. We also are Dave Ramsey enthusiasts. So when we paid off our mortgage, we went out to dinner and whispered to each other WE’RE DEBT FREEEEE!...

Should have called in to his show and do the scream.

BB61, congratulations! And welcome to Club Debt Free.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Just another thought that many have smaller mortgage balances with interest rates in the mid 3% range or lower. And their payments are mostly principle and choose to not pay them off in this environment. Which is not a bad deal either financially.

Even then, you can be paying it down early, indirectly.

You take the money that you'd be prepaying on the mortgage, and you invest it in a safe investment whose returns after taxes are at a higher rate than the interest rate on your mortgage. Which is now possible, considering some folks got 2ish percent mortgages over the last couple years, and safe investments like CDs and I-Bonds are currently capable of earning 4%-7%.

Eventually, you'll hit a point where these investments are worth more than the remaining mortgage principal, then you can cash some of them in to pay off the rest of the mortgage in one fell swoop, and either pocket any additional profit for other uses like home improvements, or keep the remaining investment rolling along.

When we got the letter from the mortgage company stating that it was paid , I took a picture of it . I still have it on my phone and I look at it every now and then . Feels good ...

Are mortgage burning parties still a thing? Back in the early 90's I worked with some older guys who paid off their mortgage and threw a big BBQ party to celebrate and burned a copy of their mortgage.

I always thought that was cool and was thinking about doing the same when I pay mine off in a few years.

Welcome to the club! A wonderful feeling indeed!