Mortgage Payoff Club!!

[rulesofacquisition]

Posting to keep track of my progress. Bought house in June 2014 for $120,000 and financed $108,000. Owe $100,728.12. 30 year loan but have paid based on 15 years every month. Have been using debt snowball and have one more debt before attacking house payment.

I love the "sign up for 30y pay it off like it is 15y" method. This gives you the peace of having a lower payment if needed, but the power to pay it off faster.

Check that those extra payments are going against the principal. (I think so based on your numbers but I'm not sure because I don't know your interest rate.)

What I love is that you cut your time in half but it is not the same as doubling your payments.

You have probably crunched your own numbers but here is an example for others:
Assume 30y at 3.5 % payment = $483
Assume 15y at 3.5 % payment = $770
Double payment 30y at 3.5% = $966  but this is paid off in 11.3y

Also, just be careful how big that other debt is and at what rate.  Is the other debt CC, student loan ... If it is higher than the mortgage rate I would pay the 30y mortgage at a 30y rate and throw the extra into the higher interest debt payment first.  As soon as that debt is gone then you should get back into the pay like it is 15y habit (or 10y).

The last debt is at 0% for about $15,000 to a lawyer. I would rather not stop the 15 year payment due to my age (47), but making the lawyer payment brings up pretty awful thoughts/feelings, so maybe better psychologically to kill it faster. We're not high earners, getting the $15,000 paid off is a year or 2 project. The extra mortgage payments per year are about $3,300. Advice?

[steveo]

I now owe $13,800. It won't be paid off this year but it should be paid off early January.

Today its $7,665.45. 3 more pays (per fortnight) to go.

[Neustache]

^^Congrats!  So many are so close to paying theirs off - it's very exciting!!

[FIREby35]

Hey everyone - I posting for the first time. We have a balance of 41k on a 200k house. We bought in Feb. 2014. I'm posting to follow and just because I needed to share the story with someone - we have been pretty silent about it with family and friends.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Hey everyone - I posting for the first time. We have a balance of 41k on a 200k house. We bought in Feb. 2014. I'm posting to follow and just because I needed to share the story with someone - we have been pretty silent about it with family and friends.

Nice Job! Sounds like you'll have that monkey off your back pretty soon.

[K-ice]

The last debt is at 0% for about $15,000 to a lawyer. I would rather not stop the 15 year payment due to my age (47), but making the lawyer payment brings up pretty awful thoughts/feelings, so maybe better psychologically to kill it faster. We're not high earners, getting the $15,000 paid off is a year or 2 project. The extra mortgage payments per year are about $3,300. Advice?

Well with zero interest there is no need to rush.
But with the emotional closure I wouldn't drag it out too long either.

How's the payment made? Is it a cheque?

So you think you can pay it off in 1-2years.

Can you just get on an auto pay plan say $1,000 per month for 15 months?
Maybe $750 for 20 months.

Just be sure you have enough money in the account but you don't need to physically write a cheque.

I'd find a way to set & forget the lawyer payment if possible.

[Money Badger]

Mrs. Indentured and I have the goal of payoff in 5 years on a $249k mortgage without gutting our current stash.   

Just mailed the December payment and the resulting balance as of 12/31/2015 will be (drum roll please):  $109,429.99!    Gonna be a challenge in 2016 to continue killing it due big ticket expenses coming, but will "git'r done" somehow.

[cheddarpie]

By the way, just wondering. Do you guys spend $ on renovations when being in the payoff mode? I always said that we would celebrate with forking out money for a new kitchen, but changed my mind. A repainted version would do, as long as it is not bluuuuuuue.

I'm down to just around 70k, which is just around what I have in my savings/emergency fund account ... I'm not ready to gut my savings or emergency fund yet, but it is amazing knowing that I could technically be debt free tomorrow if I wanted to be!! I don't want to also me money free, and I'm thinking about switching to a less lucrative career (SOON), so I'm going to hold tight for now ... but my plan is to keep paying 2k/month in 2016 and then see how things are going a year from now and potentially pay it all off then. WOOHOO!

As for renovations, I've done a few small things -- new lighting fixtures when I moved in, painting everything, some necessary repairs, some DIY landscaping, and 5k worth of work in my basement rental unit (with very necessary new carpeting), but no major projects. My big projects will be new kitchen counters (can't wait; I have pretty ugly laminate that is chipping and peeling in many places) -- will likely wait until mortgage is done for those, as a reward :) -- and removing the carpet on my stairs and upstairs hallway and refinishing (possibly replacing) the floor underneath. That one will wait until my very elderly dog has passed (HOPEFULLY NEVER) since he uses the carpet for gripping to get up and down the stairs.

TL/DR: I figure about ~5k/year max. of home improvement/renovation is within my comfort zone while I still have a mortgage. Next year it will likely go to a new furnace.

[Faraday]

Mrs. Indentured and I have the goal of payoff in 5 years on a $249k mortgage without gutting our current stash.   

Just mailed the December payment and the resulting balance as of 12/31/2015 will be (drum roll please):  $109,429.99!    Gonna be a challenge in 2016 to continue killing it due big ticket expenses coming, but will "git'r done" somehow.

Congrats indentured4now! I'm in the same ballpark as you right now, hoping to cross the $100k threshhold in January or February!

[Money Badger]

Awesome job Faraday...   Looking forward to joining you in the 5-digit club!

[steveo]

I now owe $13,800. It won't be paid off this year but it should be paid off early January.

Today its $7,665.45. 3 more pays (per fortnight) to go.

Now its at $4,595. 2 more pays to go.

[Faraday]

Awesome job Faraday...   Looking forward to joining you in the 5-digit club!

Thanks i4n! You just blew my mind...dropping an entire digit off the mortgage is an exciting way to see it. With good luck and continuity, I'll be there in February 2016. To owe less on my home than a mid to high-end luxury car would really be nice.

When I tell the DW about it, I refer to "making our house as cheap as a double-wide". (BTW: that's not a disparaging comment, I've grown up in-and-around manufactured housing. I would have done a modular instead if it had been possible.)

[BBub]

I just hit 5 digits today!  It's not showing up yet, but once today's payment clears my new balance will be $99,600 or so.  It's a pretty cool milestone.  I'll be waiting for you to join Faraday!

Although mine isn't as badass, to be honest, because I'm not aggressively paying down.  My mortgage was around $123k two years ago when I got it & I've been adding enough to pay down $1k principal each month.  So, this little milestone has been 2 years in the making.  Still fun though.

[PharmaStache]

Under 100k was fun!  But under that- like 80-90k, suck.  So far from any milestone!

[Alfred J Quack]

Pay week!  Down to 65.3k.

61k at time of this post.

Now at a little over 50k.  Wife is a teacher and gets a lump sum check at the end of the school year.  Put all of it into mortage.

Right now I'm ahead of schedule.  This is way easier than I thought it would be so far.

Wow, you're going quite fast, nearly 15k in a few monts 0_0;

Ours is doing well too, got a tax return and made some smaller payments so we're down to just under 33k. 4.5k to go this year which should be easy!

OK, big update since last post.
Mortgage is now down to 29k and change. I would've gone further but the car "needed" replacing. Reason being that DW is expecting and our 4 seater Hyundai i10 just didn't cut it. So we put down a lot for an i30 (2nd hand of course) (with assistance from SIL) so there won't be any payments until (I'm guessing) late next year - also because DW will temporarily stop working and thus part of our income will be gone.

Still, having a mortgage that is less than the health insurance cost is very satisfying!

[Money Badger]

65K to 29K in 6 months is fantastic.  Enjoy every step from here!   The auto expense is just life reminding you that it wants it's fair share every month.   But you'll get the mortgage done!

[plainjane]

4 digits.  Technically the remaining amortization is four months, but I'm aiming to be done in two.

I'm thinking of celebrating once we're done by donating the equivalent of a payment to the local food bank.  How are the rest of you planning to recognize the milestone?

[Neustache]

^Plainjane -

Well shit, now you make our celebration seem really selfish.  Ha!

We plan on taking our kids to Walt Disney World.  They know now that it's the plan once we pay off our mortgage, and my daughter asks about it on occasion (do we own our house yet?).  I want it to be something pretty memorable as I want them to remember the day it happens for a long time, and for them to think that it's just something you do, or a good thing to want to do.

We are also painting our front door red, as it's supposed to be a tradition to do that when a house is free and clear.  Not sure that's true, but I've always wanted a red door.

[YoungGranny]

4 digits.  Technically the remaining amortization is four months, but I'm aiming to be done in two.

I'm thinking of celebrating once we're done by donating the equivalent of a payment to the local food bank.  How are the rest of you planning to recognize the milestone?

That is SO awesome! I'm going to steal this and do something similar in 4 years :) I love the idea of being able to free up some of my money to donate to local charities.

[bzzzt]

Nailed it! Sent a payment over on Sunday to stick the last knife in the Mortgage.

Balance as of Dec 31st, 2014 was $78,940.

Today, it was $18.55! The lender wouldn't let me send over a payment over the last statement amount through the online service, so I'll have to call tomorrow to kill it.

A high savings rate + pulling some money out of the brokerage account has given me huge piece of mind. The project I've been working on for the last 3 years is ending in Feb/Mar, but no worries about the house at least!

[Neustache]

congrats,bzzzt!

[Debts_of_Despair]

Well other than a few dollars or cents of interest I will need to chase away tomorrow, I am done!!  The lump sum transferred in from savings on Monday and my paycheck provided the final death blow this morning. To summarize, I paid off 78k of principal in eight months. 52.6k off that was cash flowed and the rest came from savings.  Do not get me wrong, my wife and I make decent money but this still required some major dedication.  Discretionary spending was pretty much zero during this time.  I can probably count on a single hand the number of times we went out to eat, didn't do any vacationing, etc.

For the first time since being a "home owner" I am debt free!  Jan 2016 is the first month in over eight years that I don't owe anyone a house payment, car payment or student loan payment.  It is a damn good feeling and quite frankly will feel like I have a windfall coming in every month.  I never felt poor or anything and was still able to contribute quite a bit to retirement accounts but this is going to be like a whole new world for me.

Best of luck to all! It is easier that you think!

[BBub]

Wow.  Congratulations!

So... are you going to change your name?

[jordanread]

Wow.  Congratulations!

So... are you going to change your name?

Personally, I like the DOD acronym. But yeah.

[BBub]

Wow.  Congratulations!

So... are you going to change your name?

Personally, I like the DOD acronym. But yeah.

Yeah me too, but it doesn't seem applicable anymore. 

Coffers of Contentment?

Treasuries of Tranquility?

[plainjane]

Well other than a few dollars or cents of interest I will need to chase away tomorrow, I am done!! 

Those are some of the best kinds of graphs :)

[steveo]

Jan 2016 is the first month in over eight years that I don't owe anyone a house payment, car payment or student loan payment.

I'm going to join you. I'm not sure how long it is since we didn't have a debt payment however I'm 42 and we had a unit which we paid off but then we upgraded to a house. We've never really had a car loan or anything else but our house payments go away for good this January.

[cheddarpie]

Big milestone here! I just crossed the threshold where the amount of money I have in my savings/brokerage account is more than what I owe on my mortgage! Woohoo!!

I could cash everything out and pay it off for zero debt ... I'm not going to do that because it would gut my emergency fund and I'm going to have some financial turmoil in 2016 (major surgery + hoping to quit my job/find a better-but-likely-lesser-paying one), but it is SO GREAT knowing that I could. I will see how things go the next few months, keep saving as much as I can, and once I feel comfortable with the cushion I have will knock that baby out! I'm guessing/hoping for no later than mid-2017, hesitatingly assuming that the market stays up.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Wow.  Congratulations!

So... are you going to change your name?

Heh, it was really more tongue-in-cheek than anything.  I will however keep it as reminder to myself and others that debt really does suck.

[Faraday]

CONGRATULATIONS to DoD and cheddarpie! That's one hell of a fine Christmas gift to give yourselves! Hope to join you in a couple years!!!

[Money Badger]

I have some *shocking* news to report!!   Banks suck.

Here's why...   the aforementioned recast of mortgage back in early November was so easy when I talked to my banker and wrote the big check.    The constant reassurances from the Customer Service person AND branch manager were "this is great, you're good and will receive the new balance and payment Jan 1. 

This week I receive the statement that says I paid a chunk on the mortgage but no recast on the payment!   So followed up with Customer "no" Service person again at the branch and there's a form they forgot to have my wife and I sign.   

And another tidbit...   We planned to do a HELOC but the closing costs of $500 and an ANNUAL fee of $50 for the line of credit were fairly amazingly expensive considering the higher interest rate on the loan.  None of these costs were stated up front, other than just a nice "rates are low and zero closing costs" sales pitch was all the loan officer and Manager gave in 2 visits.

Yes banks must earn a living, but at 3 or 4% interest, they are covered considering prime rate and leverage they are able to exercise structurally (loaning the same $ 4 or more times and collecting fees on selling bundled debt of all types).

Bottom line, never trust a banker to reduce the amount of blood you give them each month.   And cross check and verify the "pitch" against documents and T's & C's on the loan app and loan documents.   Financial vampires they are!!!

[Neustache]

^I'm sorry you had that experience.  I'll let you know when I do my recast if credit unions suck as well. 

[Money Badger]

Neustache,   Usually, the credit unions are better at following through as they're smaller and more coordinated.   I re-read my post after cooling off a couple of days and realized it was harsher that it should be and might discourage others.   The challenge with the large bank that has my mortgage is there are 3 different cities involved in finishing the transaction.   One at the branch, another at the mortgage "unit" of the bank, and a 3rd that actually handles the deeds.   Apparently 2 of 3 did their job first time.   I've been assured it's fixed with the 1 additional document.   Persistence pays off.  Good luck!!

[steveo]

I now owe $13,800. It won't be paid off this year but it should be paid off early January.

Today its $7,665.45. 3 more pays (per fortnight) to go.

Now its at $4,595. 2 more pays to go.

Now its $1,525. 1 more pay to go.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I now owe $13,800. It won't be paid off this year but it should be paid off early January.

Today its $7,665.45. 3 more pays (per fortnight) to go.

Now its at $4,595. 2 more pays to go.

Now its $1,525. 1 more pay to go.

Nice work Steveo! I can't wait till that day arrives.

[Money Badger]

Go steveo, put a fork in it!!  Have you planned how you'll use the cash flow afterwards?    Drunken sailor binges every month?  Or max the retirement accounts?   Or somewhere in between?

[steveo]

Go steveo, put a fork in it!!  Have you planned how you'll use the cash flow afterwards?    Drunken sailor binges every month?  Or max the retirement accounts?   Or somewhere in between?

Investing in index funds and looking forward to FIRE. No increased spending but we will celebrate with oysters and champagne. I don't really drink champagne but we have a free bottle that I got from work. We will buy oysters.

We already have our funds listed that we will invest in each month.

[frizzywhiskers]

End of 2015 update:

Starting mortgage = $435,000, 5 year term @ 3.26% (starting Sept. 30, 2013)
Goal = Full Mortgage Payoff by end of 5 year term (Sept. 30, 2018)

Progress:
- Mortgage amount as of December 25, 2014:  $380,819
- Mortgage amount as of April 2, 2015: $359,144
- Mortgage amount as of July 9, 2015: $324,055
- Mortgage amount as of December 31, 2015:  $285,708

We are making some serious progress all while continuing to invest for retirement.  We are also considering a change in 2016 but it will depend on the housing market.  We are looking at downsizing yet again, but this time to a condo in order to pay off the mortgage quicker.  Very dependant on how much we can get for our house though - exciting times ahead!

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I didn't think we would be able to do it, but we paid off $41,000 in mortgage principal this year :) We went from a little over $110,000 to about 69,000. If we can keep this kind of progress going, we might be able to cut a year off our pay off date goal. My original goal was June 2018, but I might be able to get it done by June of 2017. Once we get the house paid off, I'll be able to increase my 401k contributions significantly and we can start to fix up some of the things around the house we have been postponing.

[Bee21]

Ok, we are done!

[Scubanewbie]

$205K purchase price 9 years ago, refinanced twice to decrease interest rate/time-frame and wanting to pay it off so badly.  I know the math arguments against but I also think you work harder on the thing that bugs you most.  So, mortgage it is.  How soon can I do it?  Not sure.  Not sure DH or I are nearly as hardcore as most here but I'd love to continue to follow this thread to keep motivation high. 

Currently have $90K left (round numbers) and standard payments would have 9 more years.  Slightly increased payments (to keep payments to historical level) would bring that to eight and throwing the proverbial "extra paycheck" months would get close to 7 years.  Throwing one time work stock option bonus at it brings it to just over 6.  Without significant sacrifice I can't get it lower than that but hoping to get motivation to make those changes by hanging out here :)  If I can get it to 6 I'd have done a traditional 15 year mortgage payoff timeframe and if I can get it done in 5 I'll have it done before I turn 41. 

[steveo]

Ok, we are done!

Its completely gone ? If so - well done.

[plainjane]

End of the year update - turns out I put more into the mortgage as "lump sum" prepayments this year than I did on the regular payments.  This was pure laziness, it was just easier to snowball the mortgage with extra cash than it was to open up a taxable investment account, and I hadn't really registered just how much that was adding up to be.  oops

Regardless, we're now under 6k, and I'm going to run us at a cash flow deficit for the next 3 pays and give myself a bit of a b-day present.  _Then_ we'll open up that taxable account.  We aren't taking the optimal route from a mathematical perspective, but that doesn't mean this path won't get us there too.

[rjbf65]

I'll join.

Started June 2014 at 71k.

It's currently $55k.  Goal is to finish it off by next June.   Have 20k in cash that would finish it off by then.  We are currently investing 15% as well.   Basically doing the Dave Ramsey plan.

Currently down to $51,500.  Hoping to get under $50K a month from today.

Down to $49660.  Was able to throw an extra $1555 at it this time.  Budgeting to be able to throw an extra $2500 next month.

$46,950 -- a $2,710 reduction this month.  October should be a little better with the magic of the 3 paychecks for me this month.  Should be under $40K by end of the year.

$41,843 -- a $5,107 reduction this month.  The 3rd paycheck was big this time.  Would love to be able to do that every month!  My goal for end of November is to get under 40K.  Once I'm at the $40K mark, I'll have about equal amounts of cash in the bank and mortgage balance.  Still also maxing out 2 Roth IRA's which speaks for $917 per month.  It is always tempting to stop the Roth or to throw a bunch of the available cash at it.  I think I'll just stay the course of throwing all the extra cash that was left over after the month at it.  Once the mortgage is gone, all towards investing.

$38,922 -- $2,921 reduction this month.  More travel and eating out this month, as well as property taxes and insurance slowed us down a bit.  But we are at the goal of being under $40K balance!  It's going down at a pretty good pace that I'm happy with!  We will have some Christmas expenses coming up this month but it shouldn't be all that bad.  My target is to hope to be under $37K at the end of December.

$35,898 -- $3,024 reduction this month.  Received a small bonus from work to more or less cancel out Christmas spending.  Also had to replace the wife's windshield.  Would love to be down to under $33K after January is up.  Have quite a few things on the horizon.  We are expecting our first child in late May.  With that we are planning on upgrading the vehicle fleet some.  While going from 3 vehicles to 2.  Just looking for more room and reliability.  Need to have the ability of hauling a child, 2 dogs, and luggage for trips to see our parents.  We have been on the mustachian side of things when it comes to vehicles.  Our 3 vehicles combined might be worth about 9 or 10K.  My goal is to have a paid for house as well as having atleast 1 newer vehicle also paid for by the time the baby arrives.  We are now at the position of having more cash than mortgage balance.  Really looking forward to knocking it out asap!  Another thing about having it paid off by the end of May is I'll finally be eligible to contribute to my 401K starting in July.  Would be wonderful to max out a 401K in just the remaining half of the year!

[asauer]

Able to throw another chunk at the mortgage in December.  Down to 88,888.  I planned it to be all 8s b/c I'm a nerd and am easily entertained.  We started at 230k in Sept 2013- hoping to payoff at the end of this year!

[steveo]

My mortgage is now done. All I have to do is close the account down. I have $10 credit. Freaken great.

[Josiecat]

Steveo - So very happy for you!

[Clean Shaven]

I'm waiting for January's monthly payment to process (tomorrow), then will request the loan payoff demand, and write one final check!

This will be the first time I am 100% debt-free since early college days, or maybe high school. 

[steveo]

Steveo - So very happy for you!

Thank You. Its a pretty big thing for us. I feel we now have a lot more money to throw into growing our wealth and FIRE assets plus we don't have any debt now which means we should basically have a roof over our heads for life.

[nnls]

I'm waiting for January's monthly payment to process (tomorrow), then will request the loan payoff demand, and write one final check!

This will be the first time I am 100% debt-free since early college days, or maybe high school.

Congratulations!