Curious how many still have a mortgage? If not how old were you when you paid it off? I'm 53 and thinking in the next 5 years I want our house paid off. Still owe 70K on a $350K property but with no other debt I should be able to do it. Don't want to be 70 (or even 60) and still have a mortgage. How about you?

Been clear for years.

No, but should be by the time I am 55 in 3 years.

Job loss and divorce.
Yeah, i got one.
Am livin cheap though.

Hopefully pay off before 65.

Give it to my disabled kid.

I was 50 when mine was paid off. I think anyone's goal should certainly have it paid off before retirement.

About 2 yrs to go on this one.

Paid mine off Jan 2012 when I retired at 49.

Never had a house note. Started small, With cash and upgraded and profited, etc... remodels all done by saving cash etc. Don't much believe in payments if we can avoid them. instead we wait.

59. Two paid off. Been that way since 2005.

No idea.

Never asked.

Have a mtg, but am growing cash in an “offset” savings account. When the accumulating cash equals the declining mtg balance, BAM! I’ll pay it off. Sure, I could just put the extra cash against the debt and save some mtg interest expense, but I just don’t think now is a good time to lose that liquidity. YMMV.

Paid the last one off in 14 years, been totally debt free for 12 years, I'm 63.

Kent

I can relate to your thinking. About 10 years ago I set a goal to payoff the mortgage in five years. It was our last debt to pay off. Five years later, we paid off the mortgage. Two years later I retired. Great peace of mind for me seeing that the little wifey will have no worries about shelter, should I pass suddenly. I think you are on the right tract. If I could recommend anything that has worked for me it would be to stay on a strict payment timeline that ensures you are 100% debt free before you retire.

Yep

Yes. Totally debt free and well stocked with ammo.

That'll work!

Best way to do it!

at the moment I have the cash to pay it off in various accounts but I'm scared to empty out my savings, so I probably have maybe 2 more years.

I have the itch to move but I don't want to move in a sellers market as odd as that sounds, since I wouldn't have to sell my home,at least not right away I want to wait until there are a bunch of houses on the market then buy.

I think a mortgage at today's interest rates is a hedge against inflation.

Dave Ramsey says it best. "The paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."

Nope.
I have a mortgage on the condo I'm living in. This will eventually become a rental property.
Also have a mortgage on the 25 acres I bought last that I eventually plan on building in.

Absolutely. There's a difference between being leveraged to the hilts and hedged.

At least two ways to look at a mortgage. One is objectively as a mathematics' formula. The second is subjectively looking at real life possibilities that would affect one's ability to make mortgage payments, resulting in the loss of one's home and the resulting living situation.

We have three properties, a home, a lake house and a hunting property, the lake house and hunting property are paid for and we have about 1/8th of the homes value left on the mortgage. I could easily afford to pay it off, but its at 3.125% and the real estate and investments average a lot more than that. In fact last April I was thinking of mortgaging the lake house to invest and I really regret not doing it now.

I paid one off. Other people are paying the other two off.

Yep paid for 2 times over just about had it paid off and got a set of divorce papers from.ex to be , had to buy and pay for it again plus child support.you have to pay extra every month on the principle. The banks don't set it up to raise your std of living but to maximize their profit. You need to increase your equity every month as much as possible to decrease the amount of interest you pay. Works for anybody except married people who have spouses allways spending on rubber dog sh*t from wallyworld and trying to keep ahead of the jones. EAT AT HOME save money make enough for next days lunch save.more money. Never ever buy 3-5 dollar coffees , espresso' s, latter's etc. Huge waste of money ,.you smoke ? quit
All this money you piss away or run thru your lungs is a total waste Drink alcohol? Do it at home and in moderation kids and wife don't never need to see you sheeit faced or even under the influence. Shop for the best deals on the stuff you gotta have. Need a newer vehicle? Buy a Toyota in the long run they are the least expensive vehicle to own low maintenance, good mpg, and last 2-3 times longer than the others. You asked. Mb

I’m 56 debt free for 10 years now.

paid as we built, ourselves when we were 19,20 years old. Had a termite control business. Do 15-20 jobs in a month, plop down $5k on several units of lumber. Store it in the our Burley barn. Do another batch of jobs, repeat.

Pick out a spot on the farm, set up batter boards, david white transit, start digging a footing with pick and shovel. Call ready mix.

Go do a few more jobs, save up money for couple months, buy all the blocks and brick.

Pay as you build

Get it dried in and, roofed, doors and windows and family/friends help walk away. We can do the rest. Have uncle so and so drop in once a week see how the rough in wiring is going. Make sure it aint gonna be a code inspector’s wet dream


A few delays, like stopping on your house to help a cousin work on his for a few days. Need all hands u can lend when someone trying to get one decked in or rafters set.


When youre done, it’s yours.

Been completely debt free since 2012.

Yep, paid off.

I had a lot of fun & blew a lot of money when I was younger, but had at least one promise to myself. Have my own home & it paid for by the time I was 60. I kept it.

We bought our house in 2010, shortly after the big economic fiasco.

Got a good deal on it and had it paid off in 2019(I was 41 years old). Keep in mind that we reside in one of the cheapest places to live in Montana.

Could easily sell it for over twice what we paid so that's my big brag for the day. That and we are debt free.


We were thinking about buying another house for my SIL and her kids to rent.. But I would rather her buy and get the equity ball rolling.


I think I will just continue to buy my way into the ranching side of our operation. Now is a great time to not be saving money....IMHO.

Paid off in 2003, when I was 50.

I don't think I'll retire in this house so I've been holding the cash. I'll probably build another house cash and sell this one to fund a early retirement. it's my only debt and it's small, paying it off saves me ~$600 a month.

I am an independently wealthy adventurer.

In order to blend in with the masses...I maintain a high level of debt.


I feel it makes for an easier connection with the peasants.

Built mine with cash, don’t owe cshit to no MFer. I was 46 when I finished it, took three years. The trailer house I had was paid off. Paid cash for it so I’ve never really had a house note, paid cash for property. I paid rent for about 3 years.

I’m lucky, had good job that paid OT, Wifey makes a lot since she completed her engineering degree. I’m the only uneducated person in the family. My two older kids have their homes paid for also. House notes suck!

I enjoy buying vehicles. When they ask how I’m going to finance, I like telling them I’m not, gonna pay with a check.

Paid if off before I retired. Best decision I ever made.

I like that quote and that's exactly what we have done. Have paid off the last three houses early.

Yes, paid off 15 months ago.

Have 20% left on my house. Bought it in 2013, put 20% down. House down the street sold for double what we paid for ours this summer. Could pay it off, but my 2.85% rate is cheap money...

I'm 36.

I've paid for 3. Pissed one away by making the dumbest move of my life, evil wife #2.

Paid off in 2008.

I should note that I am easily in the black with the number of primers I have in my house.

What Night Owl said

No, but my ex-wife's house is.

I have a friend, ( AC man), sold his for 750,000, found another place for 400,000. He enjoyed writing that check.

I would have been an AC guy if I had to choose a profession again, not no damn plumber.

Conrad-Branson International

Yep.had a 30 mortgage paid it off in 14 years at age 47.Debt free is a great feeling..

Paid ours off at 45.

Hell no. It’s almost like free money. In certain cases and for some people some debt is prudent

I could pay it off any time I want to, but when I’m paying like 1.5% after tax the only reason I’d do that was if writing the check every month somehow became a hassle. If mortgage interest suddenly wasnt tax deductible I MIGHT pay it off. But 30 year money at roughly 3% pre tax is stupid to pass up if you’re fiscally responsible

I'm 40 now, and have 3 years left on the mortgage as is.

Bought at 23 paid off at 43 ..

By age 48 the residence won't be debt anymore.

A few rental props are still owned by the bank, but that's the way I designed that income.

Most of mine are paid off, but still carry paper on two.

Interest deductions can be helpful sometimes.

YUP

Been debt free at least 20 years.

Paid off, due to 2 years of sweat equity. I built it myself.

No kidding. And for me, forget being a Paramedic or an over the road truck driver, my two careers. Take the other course at the VoTech school, heat and A/C tech.

Sold our old house and paid cash for the new one. I hate owing people money.

No mortgage payments since age 36.

I don't have a house note and am building a house now with cash.

Paid mine off 1.5 years after moving in. I was 37 at the time, and thats the last time I ever owed anybody a dime.

Wow. And you have the nerve to run your mouth about me and others. How Fuggin stupid could you be not to take advantage of tiny interest rates and write off interest on taxes.

Instead you take cash reserves and pay 1:1 with no leverage and weaken your own position in a scenario like we have going on today politically.

Add to that the fact that you are paying cash for jacked up priced construction materials. Wow.

You're a fool of the highest order. Why not Just insulate inside the walls with cash too while you're at it, idiot.

TGIF

To be clear the guys who are retired and paid off the house...NOT idiots because they need the cash flow of being debt free.

But even they would be silly to begin today by paying cash.

It is now clear that none of us need to worry about bob brown's opinions. He is a retard.

Thanks for the clarification
L
O
L

Its ok. MjFart. Youre in the finance industry and just do and say what you're told.

Hush, retard. Go play with your bouncy ball.

Just stick to your foolproof "plan" . Tell us what that is again. You sold your house and moved into a rental? I hope thats working out for you

Biden will pay off everyone’s debt. We will be living in utopia forever!!!! Free beer too!!!

I’m 38 and had 22 years left as of this past October. I did a refi for 15 years and hope to have it paid off in 10.

1 more payment next month and I'm free of this yoke.

Ron

I moved into a rental I owned. Due to that along with other decisions I am almost debt free now and its going great. Tell us how you plan to heat your house by burning cash, retard.

Youre not even worth conversating with . LOL
Keep on Keepin On Douche Canoe that knows jack schitt about finance

What kind of wheels did you spec out?

Hah. Do you use cash for anything else? Maybe wallpaper? Tell us how you plan to do all this. I bet you're a genius, retard.

Smokepole he isn't going with wheels. Gonna build it right behind mommy's house and run an extension cord...

Nope on my primary residence, intentionally. We paid off our first property in north Idaho in five years (2010) and paid cash for the second one in 2008.

Attacked for having lots of cash and paying cash . Wow

It never fails here , does it? Some tiny weeny jealous person has to derail any thread they feel threatened in.

Re-fied house in Jan 2013 to a 15 yr mort at 3%. Paid it off in 7 yrs and 2 months . . . Feels great to finally be totally debt free. Congrats to all you youngsters under 60 who are, or will be fairly soon, mortgage debt free.

Dave Ramsey is for stupid people who can’t do math! While he does teach some good principles on doing a budget and paying off consumer debt; his “steps” are a good way to screw yourself out of at least seven figures by the time you reach retirement.

Regarding retirement, you should be putting away 10% or more of your money the second you have a retirement plan. To not take advantage of an employer match on your 401k and to lose out on the time value of compounding interest is absolutely ridiculous. To actually advise people not to prioritize this is borderline criminal! Dave’s advise could literally reduce your retirement nest egg by half.

To answer the question, I’ll have this place paid for in about four years. Well, what about security you ask? My investments and retirement are worth 4X the value of the property. I can simply pay the entire thing off if I wish, but my mortgage rate is 2-5/8 but my ROR on my investments is 45% ytd. Why would anyone take away money making 45% in order to pay off money costing a net of only about 2% after deductions? Inflation is higher than the cost to borrowers. Avoid Ramsey retirement planning at all costs!

Well hell bob, you always like to throw in your rude and uninformed mouthy comments in other people's posts. Don't like it so much now huh, retard?

Poor victim. Sniffle.

Precisely why I wrote intentionally.

(insert comment here about how much smarter i am than everyone else and how much better i have it)

Lol rem141r funny how we all get it and he is clueless. His [bleep] behavior probably won't change though. Stupid old guys stuck in their ways are like that

Paid cash for house about 7 years ago. Nothing fancy but no note to worry about. I was 41 when we bought it.

Not a boomer so I don't have 6 decades on this planet....so no, I don't have my house paid off.

With property taxes, do you ever really own your house?

Lets see interest rates 2.5-3%...... inflation 3-5% hmmmm almost like free money and gets cheaper as inflation increases and I have heard "rumors" of possible rise in inflation

Didn't say a word about his steps or the bit about having an envelope for bills and setting that money aside. I've never needed anyone to tell me how to be frugal and stay within my means. I do agree with his statement 100% about the paid off mortgage though. Everyone needs a roof over their heads and not owing anyone for it is great. You're always a slave to the lender if you owe money I'll also add that I don't have the option of employer matched retirement as I work for myself. That makes for a whole lot different ball game that most people.

You can borrow $250,000 at 2.5%, and have the tax-deduction for the mortgage interest. Then you can take the $250K and invest it in something that has a return greater than 2.5%. Over the course of our generation, that has not been hard to do. In a short-term context, I could point to phenomenally huge returns in the stock market which you could conservatively invest in through mutual funds or index funds. Because the stock market is presently driven by quantitative-easing-driven speculative trading, it's easy to see how it may not continue to be a good counterpart to a mortgage. The ugly fact is that we have these conditions because the government and the Fed are incredibly scared of debt deflation. For the time being, anyone who borrowed against their house to invest in the stock market or bitcoin is doing very well. If inflation happens the way the Fed is determined to make it, they will continue to be better off than those without debt. Not surprisingly, the government's policies are going to continue to be favorable to debtors because it is a big one itself. Consider however, just how radical its actions are to this point in an effort to avoid debt deflation. If they fail to stop deflation, the calamity could be worse for debtors than hyperinflation would be for savers.

A house with no mortgage is a type of "savings" and the government and Fed have made it abundantly clear that they're going after those savings through inflation, which is a tax on savings. While an unleveraged real-estate asset without a mortgage is better than cash in an inflationary economy, the winners will be the ones that leverage their assets with dollar-denominated debt. This is if the government gets its way. We'll see.

Good post W.Juniper, thing is saving and paying off the mortgage is a low risk proposition. Speculative debt carries risk no matter how you slice it

Our house is paid for, except the yearly insurance and property tax.

Paid off 5 years after we built it. Just sold it after living in it for 30 years(Calif home). So I was 43 when it was paid for.

Lotta smart guys here getting out of debt. In my case though i am going to hang onto the mortgage a while longer since its at 2.62%

Pay for one house. Pay 20% down on a second and the rent from the first pays for the second. Pay 20% down on a third. Half the rent on the third pays the mortgage on it,..add the other half to your monthly income.

Meanwhile all three are appreciating.

The magic 20% down.

The day my farther died.

You’re talking specifically about you and I’m rebutting Ramsey’s retirement planning. We’re not exactly talking about the same thing. Instead of borrower/lender; the conversion and bigger picture should be about how to become the master and make your money work for you instead of against you. Net worth is the goal with me. That’s not really aligned with ol Dave’s philosophy. There’s several good posts here already about this so no need for me to rehash it all - have a look at what W. Juniper and EdM said.

Yeah? But you still gotta pay the 'property taxes' (RENT) ..... Don't? And the gov't owns yer house...


No more - gettin' rid of all property in 2-3 years.. Eff this..

Basically, if you're living in a house that's paid off, you're turning down whatever it would rent for.

The first house will buy a second house.

And this is the path to being a real estate mlllionaire...

Been debt free for 20+ yrs. Also happy with the 401K. Being 73 and required to take withdrawals, I was blessed with a $3 decline last year as interest and dividends came real close to offsetting outlays.

I owe no one on earth a nickel.

It can be, I suppose. If you can keep coming up with all of those 20%s down.

I've managed to come up with 2 and have enough for a 3rd if I stretched. But I'm not comfortable with having no cash on hand. Things come up.

Living rent free in the minds of many.

🦫

Some of us prefer to invest in the marker instead of real estate.

I could give two farts what your dumb, fat azz thinks. Who has cash to buy whatever they want and who is pissing and moaning about their miserable life (your post history) ? Laughing here on the way to pay cash for anything I need. Youll never get it

A lot of people are successful playing the stock market. But I've never been a successful gambler.

Since I can do nothing right, I have 22 years left to pay on house. Being 65 it will probably never be payed for.

Keep the majority of your money in index funds and it's not really a gamble...no more than real estate. Everybody gets scared when investors mention "risk" because they don't know the word has more than one meaning.

20 year fixed rate home mortgage @ 2.62% on $250K home.

240 monthly payments of $1339.42

240 × 1339.42 = $321,460.80

321,460.80 - 250K = $71,460.80 interest

If the housing market crashes, it means the economy has crashed *big* time.

The stock market crashes on a regular basis.

But, like I said,..many people are successful playing the stock market. I just don't like how it's manipulated. The fat cats on Wall Street can crash a stock anytime they choose.

With real estate, low interest rates makes it appreciate, high interest rates increases the competition for rent and pushes the price up.

That's good math but I bought this house very cheaply and since the 2.62 percent is on a balance of 28k I don't mind paying it.

House, farm, all vehicles, kids student loans and all cards. All before age of 65. Only debt left is to Jesus.

Yes, I am. Dave Ramsey's plan never would have fit into my plans for building my business as some debt was needed and at times it was a no brainer, especially after those Bush tax breaks. Some of my money and a loan saved me big time in taxes and allowed me to invest in my business in such a way as to make for a better future. Working for the other guy never allows that. I'll also say that we all have different desires for retirement. Mine started 20 years sooner than most of my age group and it began with becoming self employed. For me borrowed money on something that makes a steady income is better since I never plan to sell my home so for me I want it free and clear. Some of us just have different situations. My needs are pretty basic too.

Mine's been paid for since 2001.

We sold our rentals, one of the happiest days of my life when we closed on the last one. Rentals are the biggest PITA imaginable, with the possible exception of owning a restaurant or bar.

IMHO, You should try to have a paid-for house by age 55. Makes life much simpler and makes you much more independent.

not yet.....bought current property late in life........

2 greedy ex wives didn't help either

Doing OK.......healthy....good #3 wife---------

House and land paid for by 60.

So you are like Dale Gribble

One of them is

as in an earlier thread.......2.25% mortgage is C H E A P

Like one of my buddies says "You mite pay off that house someday but you will never pay off the taxes."

They're not bad if you buy good houses that will attract good renters. The last house I bought was fairly immaculate and in a nice, yet fairly low cost neighborhood.

I'll admit, it's a bit tricky to find a rental property that's low enough in price yet still decent enough to attract good renters. You have to keep an eye out for the right one.

I got a decent deal on one I bought in October. I paid a bit under $150K for it. With 20% down I'm renting it for 2X the mortgage payment. If I put it on the market today I'd price it at $170K.

Those deals don't come along every day, though. The market is so hot around here right now for any house under $300K that any with an appropriate price will have 5 offers on the table 24 hours after it's listed.

It's a big plus to have 20% down on hand. A lot of people looking for a nice, starter home (the kind that make good rentals) will have 5% to 10% down and looking for a FHA loan.

Sellers don't particularly like FHA loans. Someone with 20% in hand and planning on financing with a conventional loan will have an edge over those other 4 offers that are on the table.

Sure.
But it's not necessarily the best for everyone.

If a man has the capability to make early payoff the savings may be the cost of a truck or even allow for another mortgage on a vacation home or the like.

Having more cash on hand for savings could pave the way for a early retirement in some cases.

A lot of peace of mind comes with just being debt free and that can be priceless.

That's what others so often forget. Different people have different comfort levels with different things. Investing in the market doesn't bother me but house rentals would. I'd rather pay cash for most things because owing money bothers me. Different people, different tolerances...

You are absolutely correct.

Only reason i attacked bob is that he is a loud mouth a hole who needs to be shown how his behavior sounds to everyone else

Exactly. For me it's #1. Cash flow everything. I'd love a new truck but will not borrow. Don't even have credit cards.

I can't tell the future. I'd rather just have utility bills only in case something happens to my job. I hope it stays that way.

Writing the property tax check pisses me off though.

Could be paid off any time I want but a 2.2% mortgage fixed for the next 17 years is a pretty damn good hedge against inflation. I’m certainly glad I had that money in the market for the past few years instead of tied up in a house, but I’ve got very tight stop losses now and if they get triggered I may pay it down.

Which is exactly why we paid off our house early. My wife and I are both freelance writers--and not having a mortgage meant we had more flexibility in our careers--including telling some company that started screwing us to stuff it.

Still paying the County of Siskiyou 150 a month for the privilege of living in my own home. But, I get services I think...fire protection-no, my kids schools 20 years ago-no, public transport-no, sheriff 40 minute response time-yes maybe, ambulance/EMT 40 minute response-yes, snowplow-no. Helluva deal.

Teamster's/UPS is paying my mortgage......

Go Brown !

But I voted for Trump.......

Lord yes, I hate owing anyone, bought a farm over in Arkansas, paid it off in '93 at 30, still have it, lease it out for cattle, bought this farm in '98, paid off in '03, only way to fly.

GFY you dumb fugk

Great example of proving me right Bob

wow........

51 years old

I own two houses

I tried to build a new one with cash 3 years ago.i went over budget and borrowed a bit once it was done but paid that off the first year. My property taxes and insurance have both about doubled since build. The bank is done but property taxes make me feel like I'm renting from the government. I hate property taxes.

Bb

Bought the home farm from my parents and paid it off in 12 years, but I continue to be in debt as in stead of playing the stock market I buy and sell land.

There's people here with lots of money.

Deep pockets.

Surprisingly, they may not be who you think they are. And people you may think are, may not be.

with the standard deduction being 24K for a married couple, even when I was young and had a big mortgage I wouldn't be able to itemize by todays tax standards.



locals here just passed a levy that goes into effect now that added $400 for each $100K your house is assessed

so then right after , these township sumbitches go around and reassess the value of everyone's homes, so now my local property tax bill went up more than $1K a year.

they've pretty much priced me past my tolerance level. I can move on the other side of this township, be just as close to the shopping and live in a schit school district for about 2/3rd the tax and the same house will be $30K less.

Yep.

Thinking you have a rock solid helper...

Barry this might be worth a thread of it's own?

Proverbs 13:7, Something like, The rich man pretends to be poor, the rich man pretends to be rich.

All 3 paid off and one for sale... I OWE NO ONE!!!!!!!!

Yeah,...my wife is fairly obsessed with real estate stuff. She inherited the practice from her father. Being around her for 20 years has done a lot to clue me in on how it all works.

Real estate investments are for people who can't wrap their minds around the stock market. Stocks are complicated. Real estate is simple.

No, it is my only debt. I am 38 and will have it paid for by 45, well that is the plan anyways.

I made a choice to invest instead of pay off my house, that was a much better choice the last several years when you look at returns vs interest. The next few will be telling...

I'm not gonna fret over the 2.75% interest rate and 400k in equity.

A years worth of property taxes and insurance is vastly different from 12 monthly payments with interest in over 90% of the houses being paid for currently.



I have my personal residence paid for and 2 rentals paid for. Been retired for 8 years.

Absolutely right Barry. All that is needed is that folks are planning and are more than comfortable with their plan.

I had to pay off two houses. One for the ex-wife and one to move into to get away from her. I owe nothing and am still on track for early retirement.

Paid cash in 13

An asset at rest tends to stay at rest. With interest rates as they are today a guy w/ a 1/2 million $ in equity could refi at<3% and invest 1/2 of that. Different folks have different levels of risk tolerance.


mike r

35 here, should be out of payment in next 12-18 months. Plan is to live here for a year while we look for ground/lot in area we like and build. Can use VA so hoping rates stay low and build a home to get us to retirement and rent the current one. Might work, might not, but figure as long as we planning for retirement and can afford to live while kids are little it will be fine. Could get in a crash and be gone tomorrow so we just take it day by day.

I agree. And nope not paid off yet.

Im looking forward to that day. Im trying to come up with a way to have zero monthly payments . NONE .

5 more yrs. Even then I'll never really own anything I'm just borrowing it as I pass through this life.

Paid off the house then borrowed against that to buy a cabin and a few acres. 15 miles from home so get there quite a bit. That will take 10 years to finish up but glad we did it when we did.

Paid my modular, and property off (20 acres). Saved 7 years and built a log house. We did about 40% of the work. Its all paid for. No debt, and no regrets. I am 48. Feels pretty good.

We’re doing the same. We accepted a pre-payment penalty clause for the first 6yrs to get a 2% rate on a 15yr. This year the 6 is up and we have enough cash to get us to about 75% paid down. Hoping to have it done by my 48th b-day in 3.5yrs. In the meantime, House has appreciated by about 40%.

Looking forward to seeing if the grass feels different afterward like D Ramsey’s always saying. 😊 Can’t wait.

Nope, but the current one will be soon. Entering into another 30 years mortgage, for the retirement home. No other debt. With the tax breaks for over 65 and a disabled Vet, It will be the only tax breaks that we can claim. Interest at 2.855% I can live with that and have budgeted for that.

Good for you Sam on having no debt.

Renting to family seems like a recipe for disaster.

>>--->

We've been debt free for about a year and a half now. Awesome feeling.

Recently retired at 59 1/2. Sold a bit of tax advantaged preferred shares and paid off the house and new truck. No other debt. Just insurance and basic expenses now. Been a long time coming but feels good.

Since 1990 at age 45. Thats when I built my second house that I still live in. Retired in 2000 at age 53. Purchased 140 acres of farm land and paid cash in 2010. Never made much money but grew up poor and learned from frugal parents. GW

We paid our house off about 3 years ago. This is the second house we have paid off.

kwg

It was in 2006. Five hurricanes later...it's not.

My dog house is.

😂🦫

Bought it In 2000, at 30, paid off 2016 or 17.
Last car loan was 1996, last loan of any kid was around 2003.

We live modestly, but own e everything we claim.
And have cash.

Often laugh, not much is for show, but we are in much better
shape than most.

I by no means have a $300k home & property but I have 5 acres, a 1000sf shop and all my vehicles, my meager home, and my mother's home is all paid for at 40yrs old. I'm 50 now and love the freedom of knowing it's all mine (as long as I pay the FEDERAL Rent "taxes" yearly)!

I'm with you brother. I have never lived trying to impress anyone (except my 3 ex-wives) but that schiff is all done with as well. I may not have the fanciest things but they're mine and like you I always have cash to buy my toys 👍

I heard it slightly different...poor people stay poor by acting like they're rich and rich people stay rich by acting like they're poor.

I’m in my late 30s and have no mortgage. Bought houses since I was 23 when they would give mortgages to anyone. Flipped a few along the way. Bought a foreclosure in my early 30s. Remodeled it. Rented it for a few years when I lived overseas. And then paid it off. It’s a pretty good feeling. .

I wish I had done mine this way. I dumped money to the house (still funded my retirement) when I could have invested it in mutual funds during the longest bull run in market history. Hindsight makes it an easy decision but I guess I am not complaining to not have the mortgage. Could have had it paid off sooner had I invested the extra instead of just putting it on the mortgage.

Been 25 years since I had a house payment. It sure is a good feeling when you get something paid for. Anyone who has the money to pay their house mortgage off and doesn't is a damn fool. There's nothing wrong with being debt free and owing no one besides the government.

I am 62 & just made my last mortgage payment last Friday.

Call me lucky or hard-working or whatever, but a home and 2 cabins on acreage paid off for the last 16 years. I’m approaching 60yo. But I have 2 aircraft that I owe money on, a Piper Navajo Chieftain and a C185.

Paid it off about 8 ears ago in my mid fifties. I love not having house, car, tuition or credit card debt.

House has been paid off since the mid 90's.

Freed up some money for other things for the family.

The funds were put to use getting a car or 2 over time then it got put up for when something big happens.

It was a great feeling that day.

And i was about 35 years old i think.

Land, cows , equipment, industrial equipment , everything paid for. Operate out of pocket ,great feeling .

Just turned 36. Mortgage is paid off. Working on looking for another.

I paid off my first house at 37

Congrats

House is paid for. No car or truck payments. No balance carried over on credit card. Not rich, but what is mine, is mine.

Congrats!!!

Some day a couple months from now you're gonna have a brief shock of panic thinking you've forgotten to pay the mortgage. Then you'll remember, oh yeah, no more mortgage.

Yes.

I watched my dad go through several years of unemployment/underemployment in his 50’s & 60’s. I paid my mortgage off and was debt free at 50. My car was totaled about three years ago so I had to replace it much sooner than planned. I borrowed some money for the replacement car at 0.99% and have 3 payments left. I hate making a car payment, but at that interest rate I figured it would be good for my credit score to have some activity. Looking forward to being debt free again in May.

No kids, no wife (and therefore no divorce). I got to keep my money. I have always worked. Got laid off once but had another job lined up. Kept my first house and have it rented.

I paid mine off at age 44. Could have done it earlier but at the time interest rates on investments were higher than mortgage rate so I delayed paying it off. Most recent house I paid cash for.

Jim

43 I paid it off. 45 now and given the rona BS.....I've managed to live with zero stress.

Had a "practice" wife. So it took a while. But one paid for and one almost done. No other debt.

yes, both of them. i know some people think dave ramsey is full of schit, but i started following his advice 25 years ago and it has paid off. as he says, once the mortgage is paid off, the grass feels greener under your feet.

well until the tax bill shows up and you realize nobody really owns property in this country.

Paid mine off @ 45

End of this year, God willing.

This is true, we just rent it.

Maybe my hatred of debt is shaded by my Dad suddenly dieing
at 40. I was 3. Mom got kicked off the farm and her only assets
were the beef cattle and his equipment. Other issues made it worse
for her. She got by on grit and help from Dads friends.

When we bought our home a dark cloud formed over my head.
That payment, and the risk of foreclosure, dogged me until
it was over. Every financial decision was focused on my family
having a home if something happened to me.

Dad was just going through a normal day, unloading a tire from
his truck. Then, he was gone and we were left in a bad place.

Yes, I have life insurance.
But everyone isn't lucky enough to die.
Some linger. Keeping life insurance off the table
while putting more drag on the "survivors".

Oh yeah!!!

All them mortgaged escrow mfers don’t know how good they got it.

Easy pay property taxes and insurance coming out like a rent to own couch payment lol

Pay it off then boom, plop down a couple of big fat checks for property tax all at once and homeowner’s policy.

Kiss your stimulus money goodbye, lol

debt freedom is not for the faint of heart 😃

Current home is mine ,I paid cash outright. Bought and sold many over years ,had enough cash equity to pay for this one. Feels good to own my home.

We built a super insulated solar home in 1982 out of pocket.
The land payments continued until 1988.

About 1978. 23

Nope.

But I’m worth 10.2 million in liquid assets, several more in long term investments that I could cash out if I had to. I just keep my mortgage as a write off.

Oh, and I’m 25. I was an orphan, left in the woods. Was bucking hay in diapers, drove semis as soon as I was house trained. Never borrowed a dime in my life.

Show off.


I only got 10.1 million.

Sympathy whore

Post pics of your GTO

I got a 57 Edsel.

Sold my house a bit more than a year ago. Renting now waiting for building prices to drop. I invested the money from the sale of my house last year in the stock market end of March. Bought an acre of land on a local lake with some of the profits last summer, dumped some more in the market. Made enough to cash build a house now. Unfortunately where I chose to live it will run about 400 k or more for a basic 2000 to 2100 sq ft house , plus another 30 k for a shop. Damn expensive.but happen to live in one of the hottest fasting growing realestae markets in the US. Interesting where real estate and building supplies will be in 6 months with Biden. With interest rates so low I'll probably build and take out out a mortgage when done, put 20 to 30 per cent down, and keep rest in investments of course depending on market. A lot of uncertainty with Biden in charge of economy. Would like to have a paid off house but tough justifying if I can get a mortgage under 3 per cent.

Close enough!

No house payments here. Put dollars aside monthly to pay yearly taxes! Building a cabin (house) out of pocket on the recreational land! Sold some timber to do road work, and foundation work! Maybe I will finish it before l croak!

Twice. Second time was to build the garage. Both paid off in 15, rather than the note 30. That's about 200K in interest savings right there.

We mortgaged the rental unit to buy the recently purchased recreation land and cabin. That one will be paid off in 4. Or not- we really don't GAS....

I cleaned toilets all night till the sun came up while taking differential equations and honors physics by day to get my EE degree and work at Rocket Research on the midget man missile design concept and creating Arc Jet.

I live in the hollow of a giant cypress tree.

I might say my mortgage is paid off,

Than I might leave out the details about the single wide,

value of 12k.

But hell, she's paid for, and that was the question.......

Along with my other favorite,,, "I've got enough reloading components to last me the rest of my life"

You 78 or 32?

My parents carved out a few thousand acres for me from the family estate on my 18th birthday. I worked really hard as assistant librarian on the Bookmobile and built a small starter house, about 15,000 square feet, with cash I saved from birthdays and Christmases.

When I turned 21 I wanted a little more room, so the starter bungalow was turned into servants' quarters and I built a proper country farmhouse, about 25,000 square feet, on the edge of the polo grounds near the blimp hangar. It is a cozy little place but I am used to it and doubt I will move.

sounds like me. i mortgaged for 30 years to get a lower payment in case something happened. then i did an amoritization table to figure out how much i had to pay extra every month to pay it off in 10 years. every decision i made was focused on what i needed to do to keep a roof over my families head. still is. always had term life and LTD on me. my parents were born in 1918 and 1922. their stories of the depression and war years were burned into my brain.

that really sucks about your dad. that stuff happens in the blink of an eye.

Is your name Ernie and do you make cookies?

I could pay mine off, but it doesn’t make much financial sense when the interest rate is so low. That cash is doing much better elsewhere.

I’ve thought about the psychological aspect that some have mentioned. But, heck, I’d still be paying hundreds every month for taxes and insurance. So I don’t ascribe much benefit to that.

Paid off when 29 years age!

A recent invention called fire helps a great deal. I got plenty of room, even an upstairs.

Yep, been paid off for many years.

Some are bigger than others.

Less is more and life is short.

I'm debt free because retirement needs to be stress free. I'm not wasting my time fretting over my "nest egg" horde.

I concur with these sentiments.

Pay attention folks, This is how you answer generic questions.

Mortgage free since 2006. Had a few really good years in our industry and was able to do it at 44.

Excellent post and reasoning. If your house is paid for it gives your family time to get back on their feet if something happens to the breadwinner.

paid off in 1989. was debt free and i put it away so i could run around now.