House Mortgage -- Countdown

[james.hendrickson]

tfq,

You know...a lot of Americans seem to have found themselves deep in the hole when it comes to debt. Its really nice to hear about someone who is doing a good job paying off their mortgage.

[greenskeeper]

$2000 additional principal payment this month, good to knock out 4 more amortization payments.

[james.hendrickson]

Nice job bro!

[Randomsaver]

Made last scheduled payment of the year today.
New Balance $79990.37
Something about getting under 80K makes me smile!!!

Many people including me profess about breaching down the 80K-mark as being financially manageable.

Congrats for reaching this stage!

[Randomsaver]

$2000 additional principal payment this month, good to knock out 4 more amortization payments.

Awesome gk. Keep at it!

[greenskeeper]

Many people including me profess about breaching down the 80K-mark as being financially manageable.

Congrats for reaching this stage!

I think a big morale boost is when you look at your statement and you are finally putting more towards principal than interest with each monthly payment.

[Randomsaver]

Mortgage Principal : $115K

Mortgage Principal : $112K

[MooseBucks]

Mortgage Principal - 178,500
Payments Left - 190

[disneysteve]

Prior to the January payment, our balance is 36,651.12. About $540 will come off with the payment I just scheduled.

[Randomsaver]

Mortgage Principal : $112K

Closing the 2016 Book with this last payment.

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to y'all!


Mortgage Principal : $111K

[Guppy Tender]

Extra payments

I have an extra payment that I have already scheduled($1000), that I have no idea when it will be applied, this one will reduce my mortgage by about 7 or 8 weeks.(No idea when this will happen, this week, or early January)

Then I have a $4000 dollars I am planning to transfer from one area of my system to another area, in early January. Planning to put half of this towards my mortgage, the other half into my emergency fund. What do any of you think? Is this a good plan?

My other issue is that over the last couple years I have not put any money into long term savings. I have been putting all of my extra towards paying off my Mortgage and improving my home.

I do not have any debt other than my mortgage. At some point I have to consider putting some more towards the idea of future need. I do have a decent amount set aside in this area, just nowhere near what people would tell you is needed for retirement. If my house is paid off my monthly expenses will go way down, so I will not need as much.

Boy this idea of balancing things out is so hard. I really want to get my mortgage paid off(No where close), so that I have a roof over my head that I own. I also know I should be saving more towards retirement(outside of 401k, I am putting away 10% through work). I would like to be able to call it quits on work by the time I am 55(43 now), planning to have part time work at that point to cover daily expenses.

Sorry for the rambling, I sorta just wanted to write down things.

[Nutria]

Then I have a $4000 dollars I am planning to transfer from one area of my system to another area, in early January. Planning to put half of this towards my mortgage, the other half into my emergency fund. What do any of you think? Is this a good plan?

How can we know if adding $2K to your EF is good or not if we don't know how many months of EF you already have?

My other issue is that over the last couple years I have not put any money into long term savings. ... I am putting away 10% through work).

Which is it?

I would like to be able to call it quits on work by the time I am 55(43 now)

Having a paid-for house is a Good Thing in a situation like that.

But if your mortgage is 3.5% and the stock market is returning 6%, paying down the mortgage might not be the best strategy. Of course, it's a guaranteed ROI...

So, you might want to think about stretching the mortgage out 12 years (instead of paying it down ASAP) and putting that cash in medium-term investments.

[Jluke]

I do not have any debt other than my mortgage.

I really want to get my mortgage paid off(No where close), so that I have a roof over my head that I own.

I also know I should be saving more towards retirement(outside of 401k, I am putting away 10% through work). I would like to be able to call it quits on work by the time I am 55(43 now), planning to have part time work at that point to cover daily expenses.

These are the sentences that stood out to me. Based on the limited information provided (actual numbers would help), I think you need to be saving more for retirement.

Yes, you can still chip away at the mortgage over the next 12 years, but since you are nowhere close to paying off the mortgage you really need to put yourself in a position where you have ample "cash" savings as a safety net too (cash including taxable investments).

download an amortization schedule if you don't already have one and set it up for your mortgage. play around and see what impact extra payments have versus your 12-year timeline. will it be paid off in time? how much in interest savings? what is your current Principal and Interest amounts? how much will you need to set aside for property/school taxes?

if you really want a hard look at your financial picture maybe you could start your own thread.

[Nutria]

Mortgage balance $11,350. On target for payoff in October 2016.

[tripods68]

I'm on 12-13 year plan to pay off our Mortgage $459,900 as of 12/1/16.

2017 plan to pay extra mortgage between 800-1300 a month.