I want to pay off my home mortgage

[PEC59]

I'm a 59 year old male, single, and hope to retire in 2-5 years (at 62 or 65), more likely in two years.
I have 8 years left on a 15 year mortgage.
My payments are about $800.00 with included taxes, ins, int, and principal.
My APR is 4.87
I presently pay $2,500 a year for Home Owners Insurance.
Last year I paid about $2,300 in interest fee's
And $925.00 in taxes

I have about $100,000 in savings that pays only about 2% APR
I have no other debts, and live a frugal lifestyle working a part-time secure job that earns me about $30,000 a year.

So it seems logical to just pay my $40,000 mortgage off.
Remove the Home Owners Insurance, and save myself a lot of money.

Then pay myself back (Deposit) about $600.00 a month to my savings account.

I will have paid myself back the $40K in just 5-1/2 years
and saved myself 8 years of interest and insurance payments.

The only downside I see is the possible risk of the house in the even of hurricane or fire, etc..
But, I am willing to take the risk..

Any thoughts, or ideas most welcome.. Thanks

[Ima saver]

I think it would be smart to pay off your house. I don't think it would be wise to drop the insurance on the house. Couldn't you raise your deductible to get your rates down? My insurance is only $1100 a year on my house and it is a large house.

[disneysteve]

Paying off your home before retirement is a very good idea. Dropping your insurance is a HORRIBLE idea. Why would you even consider that? What good is having a paid-for asset of such substantial value and doing nothing to protect it?

How much do you have saved for retirement in addition to the $100,000 you mentioned? And what savings do you have outside of retirement? Is the $100,000 all you have for an emergency fund and other short-term needs?

[greenskeeper]

PEC59 where do you live that your insurance is so high?

Mine is around $550/yr for a $270k house

I would definitely pay off the mortgage, you'd still have $60k in cash left over and then "repay" yourself to build it back up.

[disneysteve]

I'd also shop around and get new insurance quotes.

[PEC59]

I did recently get a new quote for half the price I have been paying, but it requires a Wind Mitigation Inspection first. That will cost $75. But I think my house will pass the inspection as I have a hipped roof, and its only about 5 years old.

[PEC59]

Paying off your home before retirement is a very good idea. Dropping your insurance is a HORRIBLE idea. Why would you even consider that? What good is having a paid-for asset of such substantial value and doing nothing to protect it?

How much do you have saved for retirement in addition to the $100,000 you mentioned? And what savings do you have outside of retirement? Is the $100,000 all you have for an emergency fund and other short-term needs?

Yes I only have about $125K total savings. Planning on retirement at 62 (In two and a half years).
I have zero debts. A Good SUV and a Motor Home. My plan hopefully will include selling my home and just living in a Motor Homes. Not 100% on that yet, but its sounds like a pretty affordable way to live and see the USA on a budget.

My biggest concern about early retirement is that I will have no health Insurance for 3 more years before I can get Medicare. I may consider working another 3 years just to keep my present insurance as I do have some possible health concerns that may be a problem.

[disneysteve]

I did recently get a new quote for half the price I have been paying, but it requires a Wind Mitigation Inspection first. That will cost $75.

That's a no-brainer. Spend $75 to save $1,250/year from now on. Do that tomorrow!

Yes I only have about $125K total savings. Planning on retirement at 62 (In two and a half years).

My plan hopefully will include selling my home and just living in a Motor Homes.

My biggest concern about early retirement is that I will have no health Insurance for 3 more years

How much is your home worth?

It might make more sense to keep the mortgage at this point. Paying it off just to turn around and sell the house 2 years from now isn't going to accomplish much. I'd probably focus on building up a big pile of cash.

If you live in the motor home, what would your monthly expenses look like? How much will it cost to rent a place to keep the motor home when you aren't traveling? How long can you reasonably expect the motor home to last?

I would not consider going without health insurance at age 62 (or any age). One relatively minor illness could wipe you out.

[PatientSaver]

If you want to start living in your motor home and traveling, check out this blog. This guy's been doing it for years.

tosimplify.blogspot.com

[PatientSaver]

If you want to start living in your motor home and traveling, check out this blog. This guy's been doing it for years.tosimplify.blogspot

Add www and .com before and after the phrase above for the urL. Forum isn't letting me post a URL.

[Fern]

To simplify...

Check out this link, if you want to start living in a motor home and traveling the country This guy's been doing it for years and apparently really enjoys it. The blog is quite interesting.

[PEC59]

Thanks for everyone's ideas. So much appreciated.

But there may be a "SNAG" as my savings are an Inheritance from Mother's 401K savings.
It's in my name, but anytime I take out any amount I have to pay income on. :-(
They file a 1099R on it.

So if I took out $40K to pay off the house, would I have to pay income on it ?

That could be a deal breaker for sure.

Hope there is some workaround so I don't to pay income on it.

Any Ideas ??

Thanks again..

[PEC59]

If I pay off house from 401R, do I have to pay tax on it ?

Thanks for everyone's ideas. So much appreciated.

But there may be a "SNAG" as my savings are an Inheritance from Mother's 401K savings.
It's in my name, but anytime I take out any amount I have to pay income on it. :-(
They file a 1099R on it.

So if I took out $40K to pay off the house, would I have to pay income on it ?

That could be a deal breaker for sure.

Hope there is some workaround so I don't to pay income on it.

Any Ideas ??

Thanks again..

[PEC59]

If you want to start living in your motor home and traveling, check out this blog. This guy's been doing it for years.

tosimplify.blogspot.com

Yes, I have been reading up on Living in a Motor Home for awhile now, and it seems like a great way to live. You Do Not pay any taxes other than Annual Tags, and very minor auto insurance.
And so many affordable places to stay while traveling the countryside.

It may not be the perfect solution for my Girlfriend and I but so far seems ideal.

[Petunia 100]

[QUOTE=PEC59;277895] But there may be a "SNAG" as my savings are an Inheritance from Mother's 401K savings.
It's in my name, but anytime I take out any amount I have to pay income on it. :-(
They file a 1099R on it.

So if I took out $40K to pay off the house, would I have to pay income on it ? [QUOTE]

Yes, all withdrawals will be fully taxable, irrespective of what you do with the money.