Mortgage Payoff Club!!

[TomTX]

Do you ever lie awake at night thinking "I wish I owed JP Morgan money still and had tens more shares of VTSAX?"

I'm perfectly happy having an additional $150k invested instead of paying down a ~3%, 30 year mortgage early. I certainly don't worry about it, much less lie awake at night.

[grantmeaname]

Congrats?

[Money Badger]

ROFL!

[talltexan]

Going half in for the year. We had planned to snowball our mortgage since we paid off a couple things, but given the looming recession, and a likely war over the debt limit in Congress, we're going to split in half what we we're going to put in, and save the rest in cash. We'll only lose a couple hundred in interest long term, but it'll beef up our war chest incase things get wonky this summer and fall.

 Heck, search under your sofa cushions and the ones at your friends house to find shekhels that drop that principal balance!   

I know you were saying this in the spirit of exaggeration, but taking money out of your friends' furniture may have legal consequences that offset the benefits of a paid-off mortgage.

[nereo]

Going half in for the year. We had planned to snowball our mortgage since we paid off a couple things, but given the looming recession, and a likely war over the debt limit in Congress, we're going to split in half what we we're going to put in, and save the rest in cash. We'll only lose a couple hundred in interest long term, but it'll beef up our war chest incase things get wonky this summer and fall.

 Heck, search under your sofa cushions and the ones at your friends house to find shekhels that drop that principal balance!   

I know you were saying this in the spirit of exaggeration, but taking money out of your friends' furniture may have legal consequences that offset the benefits of a paid-off mortgage.

the amount of overlap with antisemitic tropes here makes me uncomfortable.

[Money Badger]

My mother's last name was Karesh.  I wish you peace.

Back to the point of the comment to Proxy, whatever the currency, thinking in terms of years to pay off a mortgage or setting aside sidepots of funds is not a successful mindset to becoming debt free.   As any windfall comes through (incuding the sofa cushions ;-), applying that cash to the debt earlier in the amortization period to avoid paying interest on those early years is key.  Eliminating debt has to be intentional every day.  Doing so will be called "weird" to others who think "some debt is good" who will challenge you.   But it transforms your life to accumulate personal assets that pay you returns every month instead of being  psychologically influenced by debt over one's head and financially "owned" by one's lender.   

[Must_ache]

Happy New Year Everyone! I am joining this thread to track my mortgage pay down. I currently have a 15 year loan with ~13 years remaining at 1.75%. Due to the super low interest rate, I typically don't make large additional payments towards principle, but I may in the future depending on market conditions and/or personal finance conditions (I would like to have my mortgage payed in full before my future retirement).

The most recent 52-week T-bill yielded 4.617%.  Suppose you start the year with $1,000 and have a $1,000 mortgage balance.

1) Put $1,000 toward 1.75% mortgage immediately = finish with $0
2) Buy T-bill, end the year with $1,046.17, pay taxes on the interest (let's say 12% fed, exempt from state) so $5.54, left with $1,040.63.  Pay down mortgage balance of $1,017.50, have $23.13 left over.

So under these assumptions you lose $23.13 for every $1,000 prepayment vs investing in something risk free for a year.

To be fair, interest rates are 3.875% for 2-yr, 3.625% for 5-yr, 3.500% for 10-yr so if you wanted something risk-free, there is more benefit to delaying now and taking a 17-week or 26-week bill, those are north of 4.8%.  Longer-term the benefit is less but it obviously still exists - and compounds.

[grantmeaname]

Edit: paying off your mortgage early compounds at whatever rate the debt you are paying off carries (4.99% in my case, or a much less attractive 1.75% for TyGuy who you quote above). That's the whole reason that paying extra in month one brings the mortgage final payoff date in from the original mortgage term. In fact, the mortgage compounds at a certain rate, while the reinvestment rate you will get on a short-term treasury is uncertain and in this case forecasted to drop by the bond market participants.

It does still seem like if you've got a much lower rate than the post-tax 1y treasury rate, it's a no-brainer to take a free year at 4.617% while you can get it and pocket the spread between that and your rate, but it's not like compounding only helps you on interest income and not interest expense.

[Must_ache]

Your point is well taken.  I wasn't about to make the case that you can outdo paying down a 5% mortgage without significant risk, but 1.75% seems sure enough.
In my youth I would probably expect to do better long term, but in my 50's I would certain not turn away a certain 5% rate of return in this murky environment.

[TyGuy]

Currently, with the high interest rates (4.2% for a savings account), I am keeping any extra money I may want to contribute to the mortgage invested there for the foreseeable future. Once I get a sizeable amount of money in the savings account (i.e. >$5,000) I will make a decision as to how to proceed with it. There are a lot of moving pieces to think about, but I definitely lean towards having a portfolio with a lower risk profile.

[Dutch Comfort]

Update on our mortgage#1 (we have 2 mortgages, but want to get rid of this one ASAP!):
   
Original: 120,000 repayment date 06/01/33
October 2021: 67,000 repayment date 12/01/32
January 2022: 64,000 repayment date 10/01/32
March 2022: 60,500 repayment date 04/01/32
April 2022: 60,000 repayment date 04/01/32 - HALFWAY MARK!!!!!
October 2022: 56,000 repayment date 02/01/32
December 2022: EUR 53,000 repayment date 10/01/31
April 2023: EUR 49,000 repayment date 06/01/31

2 milestones! Below EUR 50K AND we managed to get the repayment date to 2 years earlier than the original mortgage.
Now waiting for the tax refund to take some more months off.......

Also did some calculations and our stretch goal is to have it repaid before end of 2027 (which is 5.5 years ahead of the original schedule)! This is a goal that needs a lot of dedicated savings, no major life events, keeping our jobs and it a stretch, but a nice one to work towards! There, I said it....... now, let's go!

[jnw]

Currently, with the high interest rates (4.2% for a savings account), I am keeping any extra money I may want to contribute to the mortgage invested there for the foreseeable future. Once I get a sizeable amount of money in the savings account (i.e. >$5,000) I will make a decision as to how to proceed with it. There are a lot of moving pieces to think about, but I definitely lean towards having a portfolio with a lower risk profile.

Doing similar thing but with Vanguard personal brokerage account.  The settlement account is Federal Money Market and I'm earning currently 4.75% APR, which beats my mortgage APR.  Rather have lots of cash vs. tied up in equity if I am not losing any interest.

[monarda]

We have 3 mortgages.
Two won't be paid off for a while, (one is at 2.25%, one is at 3%)
but one... now the balance is now $49,435.

Less than 5 years to go. :-)

Almost a year later, mortgage balance for the rental is $43,515  (at 4%)
and the credit card balance we're holding is $45,917  ("0% credit cards"- balance transfer 3% for an additional 18 months, so basically 2% for year).  We'll pay both down, but not so aggressively, ... like the last couple of posts say, we will hold some in savings and stay steady paying the minimum or a bit more now and then.

[Dutch Comfort]

Update on our mortgage#1 (we have 2 mortgages, but want to get rid of this one ASAP!):
   
Original: 120,000 repayment date 06/01/33
October 2021: 67,000 repayment date 12/01/32
January 2022: 64,000 repayment date 10/01/32
March 2022: 60,500 repayment date 04/01/32
April 2022: 60,000 repayment date 04/01/32 - HALFWAY MARK!!!!!
October 2022: 56,000 repayment date 02/01/32
December 2022: EUR 53,000 repayment date 10/01/31
April 2023: EUR 49,000 repayment date 06/01/31
May 2023: EUR 45,500 repayment date 12/01/30

Stretch goal: full repayment in 2027!

Tax refund came in and was directly put against the mortgage. 6 months shaved off! Next milestone: under EUR 40K......

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

[LeftA]

I haven’t posted here in a few months. As of today, we have $4,947 left to go on our mortgage.

[jnw]

I haven’t posted here in a few months. As of today, we have $4,947 left to go on our mortgage.

Wewt! That's pretty sweet :)  $37.5k for me.  Which I guess I'll pay off all at once (in about a year) since I am saving the money in federal money market & t-bills for now.  In about 3.5 months, the sum of my liquid assets will be just greater than my debt -- which includes mortgage and about $6000 on 0% APR credit cards.

[Dutch Comfort]

pdate on our mortgage#1 (we have 2 mortgages, but want to get rid of this one ASAP!):
   
Original: 120,000 repayment date 06/01/33
October 2021: 67,000 repayment date 12/01/32
January 2022: 64,000 repayment date 10/01/32
March 2022: 60,500 repayment date 04/01/32
April 2022: 60,000 repayment date 04/01/32 - HALFWAY MARK!!!!!
October 2022: 56,000 repayment date 02/01/32
December 2022: EUR 53,000 repayment date 10/01/31
April 2023: EUR 49,000 repayment date 06/01/31
May 2023: EUR 45,500 repayment date 12/01/30
June 2023: EUR 44,500 repayment date 11/01/30

Stretch goal: full repayment in 2027!

Got a nice refund from our insurance and could shave another month off! It feels so good throwing windfalls to our goal. We're getting closer and closer.......

[LeftA]

Thanks @jnw !

We now have less than 1 payment to go - I paid enough so the last mortgage payment EVER, will be less than our usual payment amount.

Have been working on this financial goal for years, and the day is so close now!

[jnw]

Thanks @jnw !

We now have less than 1 payment to go - I paid enough so the last mortgage payment EVER, will be less than our usual payment amount.

Have been working on this financial goal for years, and the day is so close now!

I am SO happy for you!  So exciting! Look forward to your reply to this thread next month :) It will be a great feeling to be 100% debt free :)

[LeftA]

@jnw , thank you for sharing in my excitement! Well, you don’t have to wait until next month.

TODAY was the day!!! I called my bank and arranged the last payment. They took it within an hour, and closed the mortgage account. Now, when I log in all I see is assets!!

Oh happy day!

[iluvzbeach]

It was six years ago this week that we paid off the mortgage on our home. Our TNW has increased significantly since that time; of course market gains play a large part in this increase, but our ability to save ratcheted up significantly once we no longer had a house payment. No regrets at all in paying it off.

On the other hand, we bought a second home (that a close family member lives in) in 2021 and we will not pay off that one early. It has a 2.375% rate for 30 years, so we make the minimum payment on it each month while earning more on a savings account at today’s rates. That said, I’m still a fan of paying off a mortgage as quickly as possible.

[Trifle]

@jnw , thank you for sharing in my excitement! Well, you don’t have to wait until next month.

TODAY was the day!!! I called my bank and arranged the last payment. They took it within an hour, and closed the mortgage account. Now, when I log in all I see is assets!!

Oh happy day!

Huge congratulations @LeftA!!!!  You did it!

[Dutch Comfort]

@jnw , thank you for sharing in my excitement! Well, you don’t have to wait until next month.

TODAY was the day!!! I called my bank and arranged the last payment. They took it within an hour, and closed the mortgage account. Now, when I log in all I see is assets!!

Oh happy day!

VERY HAPPY DAY!!!!!! Congratulations on this HUGE milestone!

[LeftA]

Thanks so much @Dutch Comfort !

[alcon835]

@jnw , thank you for sharing in my excitement! Well, you don’t have to wait until next month.

TODAY was the day!!! I called my bank and arranged the last payment. They took it within an hour, and closed the mortgage account. Now, when I log in all I see is assets!!

Oh happy day!

Let's gooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations! That's HUGE!!!! Come back in a month or two when it really starts to sink in and let us know how it feels!

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

[alcon835]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

That's huge!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!

[alcon835]

As an update, DW and I decided we are going to move next year. Where we end up is still a bit undecided but I've pivoted hard from paying off the house quickly to saving up a down payment. Most likely we will buy a house, move, clean up our current house a little (some half-done projects need to be completed) and then drop the house on the market. All of this will probably go down next summer.

Which means, I won't be paying off our house any time soon. The new house is going to be more expensive than the current one, but the current one likely has $200k in equity, so once I do it sell it, I have a significant chunk of money to either invest or put towards my house. Interest rates don't seem to be dropping (nor house prices) but ideally the market will be in a better state next year.

It's somewhat of a bummer to stop racing towards this goal, but I'm ultimately happier this way. This house just doesn't meet our needs anymore.

[grantmeaname]

That makes good sense.

For my part, I'm about to get laid off and it was well signposted, so after filling the 401k with my $60k for the year I am piling up cash until I have my next gig lined up. I have a HELOC that covers ~18 months of expenses and expect a big severance, so this is ultra conservative, and I expect no gap in employment that would let me push this whole pile into my mortgage when the next job is lined up.

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

That's huge!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!

Thank you & same to you. :)

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

Am on a relatively low-paid 6-month contract, so the big swings at the mortgage didn't happen. That said, I've just wrapped my taxes for my side hustle company and put most of the profits/dividends into the mortgage. We're now at £8,000. I may land a highly paid 6-month contract in today's job interview, at which point we'll kill the rest by end of the year. The end is very much in sight. We may take on a small (i.e. 50-60k or 10% of the value of the house) loan against the house to get the loft converted (which should very much increase the value of the house and also have a huge benefit in terms of quality of life), but all of that depends on how the chips fall.

For the moment, I can smell mortgage freedom.

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

Am on a relatively low-paid 6-month contract, so the big swings at the mortgage didn't happen. That said, I've just wrapped my taxes for my side hustle company and put most of the profits/dividends into the mortgage. We're now at £8,000. I may land a highly paid 6-month contract in today's job interview, at which point we'll kill the rest by end of the year. The end is very much in sight. We may take on a small (i.e. 50-60k or 10% of the value of the house) loan against the house to get the loft converted (which should very much increase the value of the house and also have a huge benefit in terms of quality of life), but all of that depends on how the chips fall.

For the moment, I can smell mortgage freedom.

I did land the highly paid contractor role and we're now at £7,000 balance outstanding. Definitely killing the rest by year-end.

[Trifle]

That's fantastic @Vashy!   The end is sooooo close.   

Say, what's the "Mercenary FI/RE" in your signature line?   

[Vashy]

That's fantastic @Vashy!   The end is sooooo close.   

Say, what's the "Mercenary FI/RE" in your signature line?   

I’m currently working a contract, but the work/schedule is too intense to call it “Barista” FI/RE. I think I’m made for short, intense gigs, and I’m finally over my unfortunate tendency to feel “loyalty” to any corporate, so “mercenary” hits that note for me. Also, it’s badass. :)

[Trifle]

That's fantastic @Vashy!   The end is sooooo close.   

Say, what's the "Mercenary FI/RE" in your signature line?   

I’m currently working a contract, but the work/schedule is too intense to call it “Barista” FI/RE. I think I’m made for short, intense gigs, and I’m finally over my unfortunate tendency to feel “loyalty” to any corporate, so “mercenary” hits that note for me. Also, it’s badass. :)

Love it!

[couponvan]

Mercenary - I like that idea.  I sadly have too much loyalty and not enough mercenary.  I can practice though!  @Vashy color me impressed.

[markbike528CBX]

That's fantastic @Vashy!   The end is sooooo close.   

Say, what's the "Mercenary FI/RE" in your signature line?   

I’m currently working a contract, but the work/schedule is too intense to call it “Barista” FI/RE. I think I’m made for short, intense gigs, and I’m finally over my unfortunate tendency to feel “loyalty” to any corporate, so “mercenary” hits that note for me. Also, it’s badass. :)

To further your mercenary endeavors, I present to you :  https://schlockmercenary.fandom.com/wiki/The_Seventy_Maxims_of_Maximally_Effective_Mercenaries

[Vashy]

That's fantastic @Vashy!   The end is sooooo close.   

Say, what's the "Mercenary FI/RE" in your signature line?   

I’m currently working a contract, but the work/schedule is too intense to call it “Barista” FI/RE. I think I’m made for short, intense gigs, and I’m finally over my unfortunate tendency to feel “loyalty” to any corporate, so “mercenary” hits that note for me. Also, it’s badass. :)

To further your mercenary endeavors, I present to you :  https://schlockmercenary.fandom.com/wiki/The_Seventy_Maxims_of_Maximally_Effective_Mercenaries

They're great, thanks for sharing. :)

[grantmeaname]

I had a bit of employment instability that's cleared up so I got to throw a decently sized lump sum I had been holding in my savings account at the mortgage this month. We're at a $324k principal balance now, $33k ahead of where the scheduled payments alone would have gotten us, and I'm hoping I can hit $300k on Jan 1st. Not bad for a 10 month old mortgage :).

[Trifle]

I had a bit of employment instability that's cleared up so I got to throw a decently sized lump sum I had been holding in my savings account at the mortgage this month. We're at a $324k principal balance now, $33k ahead of where the scheduled payments alone would have gotten us, and I'm hoping I can hit $300k on Jan 1st. Not bad for a 10 month old mortgage :).

That's fantastic work @grantmeaname!  I love those dollar milestones.  Excellent for motivation.

[grantmeaname]

Thank you. The markets been bad enough that it's taken away all my net worth gains for ~3.5 months now so it was really a nice reassurance when I went to look at just the mortgage balance.

[channtheman]

A little update since my first post detailing my situation.

My wife and I are in the process of refinancing right now (30 yr fixed, 3.875% with essentially $205 in closing costs through Consumer Direct Mortgage).  We had planned to refi $200,000, but are ahead of schedule and will ref $195,000!

I have run the numbers and if it was completely up to me, after the refi would most likely dedicate my extra dollars towards investments.  However, I've brought this up to my wife on at least 2 different occasions and she is not in favor of it at all.  She does not want to be in debt and is very conservative with investments.  I have finally got her on board with maxing retirement accounts after the mortgage is gone, so we've made some progress.  I don't fault her for wanting to be debt free and paying down the mortgage is definitely better than just blowing our money. 

So, for now the plan is to eliminate the mortgage in about 9.5 years when I am 36 and she is 34.  We'll get where we need to be, albeit a little slower.  I've got a plan to go part time when I'm around 46 that we will probably still be on track for.  Of course, life happens and you can only plan so many details for 20 years ahead.

You sound like us but 9 years ago and the husband was the one who wanted to pay off the mortgage (and he makes the bulk of our money, if that's how he wants to spend it, I'm fine with it!). 

Good luck!

Thanks!   The cool thing about our expected payoff date is that it is basically a "worst case" scenario.  If I get raises or work OT or my wife works more than we think it should all happen sooner and than we can decide where to put the bulk of our savings - either index funds or real estate at this point.

It's kind of fun to go back and look at my old post in this thread.  My wife and I are officially mortgage free as of 9/30/23, finishing years ahead of my estimated pace almost 6 years ago!

Every raise, bonus, extra shift, bank bonus, etc. for the last many years has basically gone towards our mortgage.  My wife and I briefly paused to invest more a few years ago but she was so unhappy with that arrangement that I agreed we could go hard at the mortgage instead.

Early this year my workplace had an abundance of extra shifts and my wife and I decided we would do our best to knock out the mortgage before she turns 30 next year.  We paid over $50,000 this year towards the mortgage on a single RN salary (who also dabbles in bank bonuses to the tune of ~$8-10k per year).  It's hard to believe how much quicker we paid off our mortgage sometimes, but it definitely feels great!

My wife and I are Christians and will give our mortgage payment + the extra amount we put towards the mortgage each month as an offering to our church for this first month with no mortgage payment.  We really have felt God's blessings in our lives in allowing us to do this so quickly.   December 1st will be a fun month when we finally get to decide what to do with all the extra income.

[grantmeaname]

great work :)

[Trifle]

Congratulations @channtheman!     

[Money Badger]

@channtheman  Total commitment and done by 30 with being owned by a banker.   Intensity and focus means freedom.  You killed it literally and figuratively... AWESOME!

[Vashy]

Mr Vashy put some excess cash in that he had sitting in his account. We're now at £29,000; latest interest payment was >£100. We'll try and kill the mortgage by end-2023, maybe end-2024, depends on whether I score that high-paying 12-month contract or not (will know this month, I hope).

Dropped in more cash when we renewed the mortgage - now standing at £17,200, with a goal to kill it by end-2024 or earlier.

Now at £13,200 - still on track to kill it by end next year.

Am on a relatively low-paid 6-month contract, so the big swings at the mortgage didn't happen. That said, I've just wrapped my taxes for my side hustle company and put most of the profits/dividends into the mortgage. We're now at £8,000. I may land a highly paid 6-month contract in today's job interview, at which point we'll kill the rest by end of the year. The end is very much in sight. We may take on a small (i.e. 50-60k or 10% of the value of the house) loan against the house to get the loft converted (which should very much increase the value of the house and also have a huge benefit in terms of quality of life), but all of that depends on how the chips fall.

For the moment, I can smell mortgage freedom.

I did land the highly paid contractor role and we're now at £7,000 balance outstanding. Definitely killing the rest by year-end.

Now at £6,500 left. Sat down with Mr Vashy and decided we'll gift ourselves mortgage freedom for Xmas. At that point, we'll have paid down £200,000 in 13 years.

[Trifle]

Now at £6,500 left. Sat down with Mr Vashy and decided we'll gift ourselves mortgage freedom for Xmas. At that point, we'll have paid down £200,000 in 13 years.

Fantastic!   Best Xmas ever!!!

[Dutch Comfort]

Update on our mortgage#1 (we have 2 mortgages, but want to get rid of this one ASAP!):
   
Original: 120,000 repayment date 06/01/33
October 2021: 67,000 repayment date 12/01/32
January 2022: 64,000 repayment date 10/01/32
March 2022: 60,500 repayment date 04/01/32
April 2022: 60,000 repayment date 04/01/32 - HALFWAY MARK!!!!!
October 2022: 56,000 repayment date 02/01/32
December 2022: EUR 53,000 repayment date 10/01/31
April 2023: EUR 49,000 repayment date 06/01/31
May 2023: EUR 45,500 repayment date 12/01/30
June 2023: EUR 44,500 repayment date 11/01/30
November 2023: EUR 41,500 repayment date 10/01/30

Stretch goal: full repayment in 2027!

Another month shaved off! With our modest salaries, every month feels like a major accomplishment. I'm not expecting any additional payments, besides the regulars, this year. But to see the balance shrinking is quite a nice view. Now first the EF needs some fattening, after that we will start shaving off again!

[mastrr]

I love this thread and it makes me think about how I paid off my mortgage and the benefits I have received as a result.

I payed off my rather small mortgage of ~$90k March 2021 (31 months ago) when I had a NW of $499k.  Took me around 6 years since the day I closed on my property.  I went intense and used all of of my cash (aside from $10k emergency fund) + all index funds in my taxable brokerage account to pay off my mortgage.

Now in November of 2023 my NW is over $900k which is a $400k gain since I paid it off under 3 years ago. My taxable brokerage account to $125k, and have around $80k in cash.  This doesn't include my gains from being about to max out my 401k every year.

I love opting out of these silly games people play to keep debt around.  I think there is so much value in just keeping it simple.

Good luck to everyone in their journey to pay off their mortgage!