@AnxietyFly , I have to admit, posting about a 2.99% rate is what we like around here.
We wish you success in pursuing your financial goals. If you are open to arguments about putting more money toward investments, and decelerating your mortgage pay-off, please give us a chance.
Talltexan - thank you for the feedback. Right now, I am going gazelle speed on paying down the house. I doubt right now I'll change my mind.
I get that. We did the same with out last house. Got a 15yr mortgage and paid it off in less than 10. Towards the end we were making 3 payments a month. Felt great! Very liberating!
Our current house is on a 15 yr, 2.75% rate. I still remember those feelings. I want to pay it off.
But I've already passed up 4 opportunities to just pay it off in full.
1) We chose to keep our taxable investment account instead of cashing it out to pay off the mortgage. Glad we did, the balance increase over the last 4 years has been about 1/3 of what the mortgage was.
2) Inherited some money from my mom when she passed. We invested that money instead. Glad we did. :)
3) Sold my mom's house. Invested that money instead. One is a rental property whose profit is about 1/3 of the P&I payment on our home each month. One is to help a friend start up their own renovation business. I'll start getting that money back this fall. I'm currently looking for more deals. Put in 3 bids this week. Got outbid on two, one's still active. Looking at a 4th that would do the same. Basically, for the same amount of money I could own my own house in full, or have a mortgage on my house and own 3 rental houses in full, which will pay my mortgage. Used that money to make a charitable house purchase.
4) Sold my old house. Invested that money instead.
And opportunity #5 is coming up this month:
5) We did a charitable house purchase and sold it with owner financing. They're in the process of refinancing this month. Recycling that money into another charitable house and 2 rentals. Looks like I'll have made about $8,000 on my charitable house due to the owner financing. Only 5.33% return on a good deed, which isn't bad. I wasn't even trying to make money on that one. :)
I'm so much better off having invested instead of paying that mortgage off.
I still **want** to do it. I've just learned, thru this thread, that I'm better off not doing it when I have a really cheap fixed rate mortgage.