Mortgage is paid off... Now What?

[Captain Save]

You're a great candidate for Cash value life insurance .. despite the fact that all other members here would probably disagree ..
especially since you're not bullish on the market ... you could park it and take advantage of the market when there's a correction .. again most here don't like timing the market so they would probably disagree.
You guys seem to make a decent amount of money? Do either of you own a business? If so what is your return .. Can you earn more by investing more in your business?
What's your area of expertise? Can you turn that into a lucrative business. Most entrepreneurs will tell you that Cash is King.. and you have the capital, most struggle with that part.

[Milly]

You got a new fridge for $600? How did you manage that? I think ours was $1,200 and we bought a pretty basic model - no ice maker, no in-door dispensers, etc.

It wasn't new, we got 2 fridges from a used appliance store. $400 for large one inside the house $200 for a garage fridge. We learned that week to never put your eggs (and other perishables) in one fridge, especially if it is used. The guy said he relplaced or made as good as new all the normal failure parts, Hopefully they last longer than half a new fridge.

[Milly]

You're a great candidate for Cash value life insurance .. despite the fact that all other members here would probably disagree ..
especially since you're not bullish on the market ... you could park it and take advantage of the market when there's a correction .. again most here don't like timing the market so they would probably disagree.
You guys seem to make a decent amount of money? Do either of you own a business? If so what is your return .. Can you earn more by investing more in your business?
What's your area of expertise? Can you turn that into a lucrative business. Most entrepreneurs will tell you that Cash is King.. and you have the capital, most struggle with that part.

We don't make a ton of money, but we use it VERY carefully (see my other thread).

The reason I even posted this thread is because I want a full year to research what to do next. I don't have a clue except dumping more into IRA's (which a lot of people think is the best and definitely sounds simple). I don't have something driving me to get a cash value life insurance loan. That is what I'm searching for: my next big goal.

Both my husband and I have mechanical engineering degrees. He works with airplanes. I work with my 3 toddlers. This year I started a blog, but it is too early to tell if it will make money. My goal is to pay income taxes on it for 2017, and make $500/month 2018. Ultimately, I want a buisness (not just my blog) that can suport all of our expenses and just do side gigs (make log furniture, sell welding plans, etc.) to pay for extras. What I am not willing to do is put more money into the blog until it creates some income.

[Like2Plan]

I agree with the others-
2-Roths X5500 (invest in a low expense target fund like Vanguard offers until you get enough to invest in admiral class shares--research the 3 fund portfolio https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio). Roths are very versatile. You can remove your contributions at any time for any reason with no penalty or taxes. It's helpful to know the money is there if you get into a pickle. Don't let that tax advantaged space go to waste.

Beef up the emergency fund to a year of expenses (there are banks that offer higher interest rates from time to time--be on the lookout for these. I found one about a year ago that is a 3% add on--for 3 years, so that is where is where some of my EF is for now)

Do you plan to fund any college savings accounts for your children?

Do you plan to take a vacation?

BTW, I really like your blog.

[scfr]

Do you have term life insurance for your husband?

[tqf258]

Im interested if anyone has done the HELOC as suggested earlier for an Emergency Fund?

I keep about 30K EFund and the HELOC would give the me the option to use a good portion of that (still like to keep a cash cushion) to pay off vehicle or pay down the mortgage. Both of those or low interest loans but higher interest then the EFund is making me.

[Fishindude77]

Im interested if anyone has done the HELOC as suggested earlier for an Emergency Fund?

I keep about 30K EFund and the HELOC would give the me the option to use a good portion of that (still like to keep a cash cushion) to pay off vehicle or pay down the mortgage. Both of those or low interest loans but higher interest then the EFund is making me.

Used to maintain a $100K line of credit. Used it multiple times for remodeling and large purchases when first opened it up. Dropped it a couple years ago, as we hadn't used it for probably ten years.

I deal with a small local bank and know everyone there. Could walk in and get a loan in pretty short order if necessary.

[Singuy]

Im interested if anyone has done the HELOC as suggested earlier for an Emergency Fund?

I keep about 30K EFund and the HELOC would give the me the option to use a good portion of that (still like to keep a cash cushion) to pay off vehicle or pay down the mortgage. Both of those or low interest loans but higher interest then the EFund is making me.

As long as you have a good amount of equity and can get your HELOC for free(Suntrust provided me a Heloc with 0 closing cost), then go for it.

The risk is actually pretty minimal.

Say you lost your job and you need to take out 30k out of your 120k Heloc asap. Your interest is 100/month on the 30k. You then use the remainder of the money to stay afloat, paying back your heloc and mortgage...when you are getting close to 0, withdraw another 30k. Keep going until you find yourself a job.

The cost is pretty low in my opinion. Risk wise, it's not everyone's cup of tea. Some people love the idea of having an EF. But I think if you were in a car accident and can't work for 2 years...the HELOC way is much safer than draining your EF that is only good for 6 months worth.

I don't know..I started a thread about this and got flamed for it. I specifically said it should be used in this fashion and not go out and buy lambos with your Heloc but people still flamed me.

Personally I have a 250k HELOC open with a balance of 0. Probably will never need it but it's there if I want some liquid cash real fast since 99% of my money are invested.