I echo OLC's sentiments.

ANY person disparaging your decision is saying that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Well guess what? If I spend $xxxx for (((fill in the blank))), and (((fill in the blank))) isn't absolutely necessary for survival, that money has the potential to be invested and make money.

So next time you see them posting that they bought a new Sig (or, (((fill in the blank))), new car, new tool, new tractor), make sure you tell them they made a very very poor financial decision, because that money could have been invested. And make sure you tell them in very degrading, disparaging terms.

My financial advisor told me I'd be better off investing than paying down my house right now. But he also said that it's hard to put a dollar value on peace of mind.

Given the situation taken as a whole, including his dam job, I think he did well.

I think it is good whenever you can take control of a situation and make your own decisions.

In this example, a good financial case can be made for doing it this way. The stock market has been a good investment in the long run but it can have ups and downs, and the downs can last for a long time! And then there is inflation and its ability to erode any stock market gains.

A positive strategy, with control of the risks, is worth commending.

There are the handful of details to look at. Of course if one paid off the house but then made CC or auto loan payments, that wouldn’t be right.

The other would be if one didn’t fund a retirement plan properly. Of course the savvy saver knows all that.

We can’t be assuming the stock market is a safe 10-12% a year either, never know.

One could mention better places to put money than paying off a mortgage, but I think it’s easier to list WORST places to put that $$.

A paid off house means more piece of mind with some. Then we have those that can’t hardly let $25k in equity sit there without tapping it.

Congrats OP!

We are struggling with paying ours off, we owe 100k both under 55.

I’ve always been able to pick up a rent or flip house pretty cheap, but not these days. Those “cheap” properties are now $250k and need repairs.

Who Knows!

I can understand the thought process of getting the house paid off. Once the whole vaccine mandate talk started last year, I made the decision to sell some investments, not in a retirement account, to pay off the mortgage. The mortgage was my only debt and the remaining amount owed was a small percentage of net worth, due to previous extra payments. The one thing that most people don’t talk about with paying off the mortgage vs investing, is now my decision making is completely changed. I paid the house off on my 40th birthday, 8 years after purchasing.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Lets guess that youll live to 75. That $1000-$2000 camera probably cost you $25,000 in lost interest. Ouch.

My 65 year old mother in law had a paid off house. Enter new loser boyfriend, who talks her into a 100,000 dollar home equity line of credit. His reasoning? Screw your kids and their inheritance. Lets enjoy our later years and spend spend spend baby! She retires in a few months and REALLY could have been all set with that paid off house. Instead, she now has a mortgage again for the rest of her life. Thanks a lot loser boyfriend.

That's a shame. Very sorry for you. My father in law died ten years ago, My Brother in law and I
helped pay her bills. Wife divorced me last year, know idea how she pays her bills now.
I know my exwife doesn't have the money to.

quote:

Originally posted by teombe:
I'm sold. Most of the people I know wouldn't have been able to navigate rough waters while breathing easy, because debt (IDGAF whether you call it "good debt" or not) is an anchor.

I don't remember which of the robber barons it was, but one of those guys (Rockefeller, Carnegie, ?) once said, "The difference between rich people and poor people is the direction of the compounding of the interest."

I must be one of the lucky ones. I bought my house in 1980 and paid it off in 1987 at the age of 41. Of course home prices were a lot lower then. Prices of homes these days are stupid ridiculous and I feel very lucky to have bought and paid my home off a long time ago.

The guy next door bought that house for $110k, made a lot of improvements and 8 years later sold it for $469k. My head spins at the cost of housing these days.

Our last two were payed in full..I was 57 when we payed the first one off. What a BLESSING!! My PERSONAL belief is to have as LITTLE debt as you can.. as quickly as you can…..

At the end of the day, only Dave has to live with his choices...

Good for you Dave! There's nothing like being debt free...its something you can't put a monetary amount on but is worth its weight in gold!

Enjoy life...

I see "mortgage interest write-off" mentioned a few times in this thread. The standard married deduction for 2021 is $25,100, correct? Unless your mortgage interest, property taxes (capped at around 10K) and other legit deductions exceed your standard deduction, mortgage interest as a tax deduction is a non-starter for many folks.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
I see "mortgage interest write-off" mentioned a few times in this thread. The standard married deduction for 2021 is $25,100, correct? Unless your mortgage interest, property taxes (capped at around 10K) and other legit deductions exceed your standard deduction, mortgage interest as a tax deduction is a non-starter for many folks.

Even if it is a "starter", you're ONLY writing off 12 to 37 cents of every dollar expended on mortgage interest. Getting rid of the recurring interest payment as soon as practicable (e.g. while maxing out 401k and maxing IRA contribution w/o taking on debt) makes the most financial sense.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was when I was in my 20s:

quote:

You'll have a lot less stress and problems if you give your first 10% to church, save 10%, and live off the 80%. Even better if you can save more than 10%.

Tator is right but the important thing he said is pay it off WHILE maxing out retirement contributions.

Robbing from your future retirement funds to pay off credit card bills is unwise except in the most extreme of cases.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Tator is right but the important thing he said is pay it off WHILE maxing out retirement contributions.

Robbing from your future retirement funds to pay off credit card bills is unwise except in the most extreme of cases.

Step off Skippy.

I still have the government's matching contributions of 34k in my TSP, and I still contribute the 5% so I get matching funds.

I also rathole money in other interest bearing accounts, and I have my own business that isn't associated with my bread and butter 9-5 employment.

What is a correct decision for me may not be your preferred decision, and that is part of what makes this country great... the fact that each of us has a freedom to choose. You may choose an expensive Italian sports car to own, and I may prefer a 10,000.00 bicycle. You see we are different people with different goals.

What have you purchased on credit that you didn't need? Was it wise of you to pay the interest on the item you bought?

It was refreshing to sit down to pay bills this morning as it is payday and take over half of what would have been my mortgage payment and put it in a savings account earmarked for my escrow needs. The other half of that mortgage payment went to my final credit debt. I still was able to pay my water bill, and pay myself 400.00 (100 for emergencies, 100 for auto insurance, 100 for fuel, and 100 to build up until I can make a purchase of a camera lens that will cost 5k and be a business expense that will earn me 15k over the course of a year in the sales of the wildlife portraits I will be able to capture with this lens.

I have never maximized contributions, but I have always kept my head above water or lived in the woods when I was out of work so I didn't have any bills (yes I had permission from the land owner to pitch my tent where I did in exchange for manual labor.

By paying off my house mortgage it quits being a liability of 70k (purchase price) plus interest owed, and becomes an asset worth 200k. With the housing market in my area I can sell this house right now and get bids over what it is valued as there are more people wanting/needing housing due to Amazon building server farms and other industry in our desert area (cheap electricity, very cheap land).

So again since you have chosen to ignore my question directed toward you I ask "how much is my peace of mind worth to you?".

lizardman_u

Completely off topic - but which camera system did you go with? I'm assuming Fujifilm GFX?

Congrats Dave, its a good feeling to have no recurring debts. Been here for a few years now and I am fitty3.

I wouldn't have taken the money out of retirement as I can make more investing that money than the interest I was paying on the mortgage. Simple math, backed by results driven data. I try not to let irrational fear alter my long term investment strategy. However, everyone's situation is different. People can be more risk averse than others. If the OP has reduced his anxiety level and truly feels that the peace of mind is more important, then great for him.

quote:

Originally posted by dave7378:
I wouldn't have taken the money out of retirement as I can make more investing that money than the interest I was paying on the mortgage. Simple math, backed by results driven data. I try not to let irrational fear alter my long term investment strategy. However, everyone's situation is different. People can be more risk averse than others. If the OP has reduced his anxiety level and truly feels that the peace of mind is more important, then great for him.

But past results are not an indication of future returns. Honestly, I think the OP did well. The $6,000 paid in taxes and penalty isn't going to make or break anyone's retirement, and he would have had to pay tax anyway at some point in his life.

And now he can wake up and yell, "I'm Debt Free"

Oh, one more thing:

Prov 22:7: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender.”

quote:

Originally posted by teombe:
lizardman_u

Completely off topic - but which camera system did you go with? I'm assuming Fujifilm GFX?

I shoot Pentax. I purchased the Pentax 645Z (used) and a 50mm 1:2.8 Pentax lens (used). I also added three SD Cards, two batteries for a total of 3500.00. I shoot Pentax, primarily with the K-1 body, but have collected bodies over the years. I learned on a Pentax Honeywell Spotmatic (K-1000 with screw mount instead of bayonet mount lenses).

with an adapter I can use the 645 and even 6x7 lenses on the DSLR body.

Medium format is maybe not optimal for some wildlife photography, but is awesome for landscape and portraits... I make my money with portraits, and selling some of my prints of landscape and wildlife.