Mortgage Payoff Club!!

[Eilonwy]

Well, our payoff will be delayed. :-( Our remodel permits were approved, which will be a financial win long term because we'll have rental income -- quite possibly enough to cover our mortgage payment -- but for now, we need to concentrate on rebuilding some emergency savings, since it will all be going towards the construction. I'm going to continue paying a little extra, just for the psychological boost.

(Edited for punctuation.)

[AutoZealot]

last year refi'd to go to a 10 year loan, thus far this year:
paid 15K on principal to get to a ~184K balance.

This isn't fast enough and still leaves me depressed, balance payoff is 2025 and I pushed pretty hard with my SO to get the refi done.

New strategy is more drastic, thinking of downsizing to burn off the mortgage or nearly so with a new right sized property.

Already verified we have the capital to buy the next one before we sell the current one so we can purchase something that needs some work and get it done before we move in.  Have buy-in from SO on the plan and have a realtor on the hook.

[KBecks]

December payment might be tough to do a big one.  We're planning a little family trip out to Washington DC and there's the holidays.  I also want to do some home maintenance things.. but...  we'll keep trying and I will pay *something* extra.  Our current balance is $86,168.   I'd like to take $3k off that at a minimum this month, but it might not work out.   This still feels like a lot of debt, even though our home value is north of $200k. 

[rpr]

Just wanted to post in this thread to just admire you guys for having the dedication and commitment to pay off the mortgage early.

[motiv8ed]

Wow, after reading these posts, I had to join. Current Balance is: $119,781 Hopefully I will be able to stay motivated and join the club.

Still chucking along. Decided to go with a mixed approach to paying off the mortgage. Mainly because I'm not sure if we will be moving in the near future. Not sure if it's the best way to go, but it's what we are going with now.
1. Pretty much the plan is pay off the 30 yr mortgage like its a 15 yr.
2. Start a mortgage payoff fund in a brokerage account.

Current Mortgage Balance is: $116,828.23
Current Mortgage Payoff Fund Balance: $11,881.76
Balance Left: $104,946.47

Approaching the 5 figure mark, hopefully this provides some extra motivation.

Mortgage Balance:$115,225.42
Payoff Fund:$15,769.88
What's Left:$99,455.54

Finally joining the 5 figure club also. I'm very excited to enter this part of the journey. Im shooting for a balance of $85k at the end of the year, $80k would be even better.

[Rounded Numbers]
Mortgage Balance:$108,000
Payoff Fund:$32,000
What's Left:$76,000

Robbed some savings to help with the progress. Would be nice to get under $65k by 12/31.

Nov 2016
Balance:$102,464
Fund:$33,000
Left:$69,464

[motiv8ed]

I finally completed the recast!   The bank reamortized for free, and with previous additional principal payments made over the last 2 years, my P+I is reduced by $1000/month.  This gives me a feeling of relief because I definitely felt that I was "over-leveraged" before and I had a mortgage payment that was very scary to me.  What a weight off my shoulders. 

Are there any cons to recasting? Was thinking about this as an option.

[pdxmonkey]

Jan. 2015 - ~100k
Oct. 2015 - ~$67500
Dec.3, 2015 - ~$60k
Feb. 5, 2016 - $52,108.53
March 7, 2016 - 49,774.21
April 11, 2016 - 48,700 to go. Had to pay taxes this month.
May - failed to report in
June - $42,853.69
July - $41,597.20
August 2016 - 38,000
September 2016 - $36,230.88
October 2016 - $34,250. Now down to April 2020 at minimum payments.
November 2016 - $32,211 and some change.

[pdxmonkey]

I finally completed the recast!   The bank reamortized for free, and with previous additional principal payments made over the last 2 years, my P+I is reduced by $1000/month.  This gives me a feeling of relief because I definitely felt that I was "over-leveraged" before and I had a mortgage payment that was very scary to me.  What a weight off my shoulders. 

Are there any cons to recasting? Was thinking about this as an option.

This is highly dependent on the terms of your mortgage. Some mortgages can't be recast at all, others you have to pay a fee. Some can be recast only once, etc.

[BlueHouse]

I finally completed the recast!   The bank reamortized for free, and with previous additional principal payments made over the last 2 years, my P+I is reduced by $1000/month.  This gives me a feeling of relief because I definitely felt that I was "over-leveraged" before and I had a mortgage payment that was very scary to me.  What a weight off my shoulders. 

Are there any cons to recasting? Was thinking about this as an option.

This is highly dependent on the terms of your mortgage. Some mortgages can't be recast at all, others you have to pay a fee. Some can be recast only once, etc.

No downside.  Nothing changed in my agreement.  Length of loan and interest rate stay the same.  It's just as if my original loan value was less than it was.  My bank allows one free recast or modification per life of mortgage.  I emailed them telling them that I wanted to recast, they checked to see that I had made pre-payments over 20k, they mailed me paperwork, I signed, notarized, mailed.  Done.   

Remember why recasts exist -- banks wanted home buyers to be able to close on new homes before their old homes sell/close.  So the banks tried to make it easy for them to get the equity from their old houses onto their new house.  Knowing that factoid made it easier for me to believe that sometimes things that look "too good to be true" really do exist. 

[KBecks]

We'll be going into 2017 with a balance of just under $84,500.  Only put $1k extra on principal this month because of the holidays.
Still making progress, little bit by little bit.

[asauer]

Down to $23,400.  Hoping blast it some more during Dec and get it into the 19s by 2017!

[rjbf65]

October beg balance$19,617

November beg balance $17,803 -- $1,814 reduction for the month.

I'm planning to take some available cash and knock this puppy out in December and start the new year without a mortgage.  It will take a few days still before I'm able to process this but it's about to happen!   

[SAfAmBrit]

Principal paid off so far

2012 - $3415
2013 - $3994
2014 - $8483
2015 - $38412 (yup got rid of all the debt and $10 000 windfall not expected)
2016 - $66540  so far

3/1 Remaining balance $87322. Projected pay off date 09/09/2017 - SO 51st birthday.

4/1 Remaining balance $81837

4/30 Remaining balance $76952 (I owed the tax man!)

5/29 Remaining balance $73836

6/30 Remaining balance $65388

7/29 Remaining balance $60825

8/31 Remaining balance $55728

9/30 Remaining balance $49696

10/31 Remaining balance $39920

11/30 Remaining balance $36721

Unexpectedly have to travel this month so this is my projected start for 2017.

[SAfAmBrit]

Down to $23,400.  Hoping blast it some more during Dec and get it into the 19s by 2017!

Wow - it seems to be falling fast now, almost there!

[Decoy1]

Longtime lurker here but decided to jump in on this thread for motivation

Original mortgage acquired in April 2013...375k at 3.9%. Paid the minimum for the first year but after seeing how little was going toward the principle my wife and decided we'd had it. As of October 1 the balance is 147k! Can't  wait to get under 100k.

october 2016 147k

November 2016 142k

November '16 142k
December '16 135k

Getting close!

[motiv8ed]

October beg balance$19,617

November beg balance $17,803 -- $1,814 reduction for the month.

I'm planning to take some available cash and knock this puppy out in December and start the new year without a mortgage.  It will take a few days still before I'm able to process this but it's about to happen!   

Oh man, thats what im planning to do when I get close enough. Long way to go though. Congratulations!!

[rjbf65]

October beg balance$19,617

November beg balance $17,803 -- $1,814 reduction for the month.

I'm planning to take some available cash and knock this puppy out in December and start the new year without a mortgage.  It will take a few days still before I'm able to process this but it's about to happen!   

Oh man, thats what im planning to do when I get close enough. Long way to go though. Congratulations!!

Thanks!  I wish I could say that we will be completely debt free once this happens. However, my wife and I just volunteered to take over her student loan payments from her divorced parents.  Her mother has many medical issues and we didn't feel right having her continue on with making the payments even though she said she would way back when.  But that will also be knocked out sometime in 2017.  THEN we will be debt free completely!  The reason I'm doing the mortgage first is we have to wait a few more months to be eligible for some student loan forgiveness.  Still investing 15% of our gross and we also still have a cash cushion.       

[rjbf65]

Payoff complete!  Took some money that was sitting around and knocked it out. 
Loan originated in June 2014 - $71,600 loan at 3.375%.  Paid off in December 2016.  A wedding, baby, 2 car upgrades, 15% of gross income investing all along the way.  As mentioned before we will knock out a student loan this year but are waiting for the loan forgiveness part of it to process.  After that we will keep saving.  Invest more of our income and also save up for our son's college and for an upgrade in house down the road.  This was scheduled to be a 180 month loan that was paid off in 30 months.  This group here has provided great motivation for this! 

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Payoff complete!  Took some money that was sitting around and knocked it out. 
Loan originated in June 2014 - $71,600 loan at 3.375%.  Paid off in December 2016.  A wedding, baby, 2 car upgrades, 15% of gross income investing all along the way.  As mentioned before we will knock out a student loan this year but are waiting for the loan forgiveness part of it to process.  After that we will keep saving.  Invest more of our income and also save up for our son's college and for an upgrade in house down the road.  This was scheduled to be a 180 month loan that was paid off in 30 months.  This group here has provided great motivation for this!

Nice job!

[KBecks]

Congratulations!!

[asauer]

Got a side gig check and took the mortgage down to 19,900!  Thinking of using some savings (not all) to just knock this out in Jan.

[motiv8ed]

Trying something new for the new years. Only going to count the mortgage balance from now on and not the mortgage payoff fund. Hopefully this will make me move faster. So here we go. Going to be a slow next few months at least. Hopefully we can get under $100k by Feb or March.

April 2016: $119,781
June 2016: $116,828.23
July 2016: $115,225.42
Oct 2016: $108,000
Nov 2016: $102,464
Dec 2016: $102,042.05

[motiv8ed]

Got a side gig check and took the mortgage down to 19,900!  Thinking of using some savings (not all) to just knock this out in Jan.

DO IT!!!

[Money Badger]

Reclaimed $600 for stuff on Craigslist that all just went to principal and that now pays us back $3 a month so as of 9/1, we'll be down to $106,750.    So without raiding the stash, need to find another $5,500 to get to 5 digits by year end.   Have a plan for 4K of it so far...

Lots of goodness lately on the payoffs/paydowns...     Progress was slower than hoped after paying 2 semesters of college expenses the last 5 months plus annual 529 contributions instead of the mortgage...   Didn't make the 5-digit club, but feeling good about paying down to $105K.

[frizzywhiskers]

End of 2016 update:

Starting mortgage = $435,000, 5 year term @ 3.26% (starting Sept. 30, 2013)
Original Goal = Full Mortgage Payoff by end of 5 year term (Sept. 30, 2018)
Modified Goal = Extend Mortgage Payoff by one year (Sept. 30, 2019).  Add an additional $40,000 into TFSAs.

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
- Mortgage amount - June 2, 2016 - $253,560
- Mortgage amount - September 8, 2016 - $232,502
- Mortgage amount - December 30, 2016 - $194,252

Into the $100's!!  Onward and upward to 2017!

[flowrider]

Wow, $95k in 12 months that is killing it!

[KBecks]

December payment might be tough to do a big one.  We're planning a little family trip out to Washington DC and there's the holidays.  I also want to do some home maintenance things.. but...  we'll keep trying and I will pay *something* extra.  Our current balance is $86,168.   I'd like to take $3k off that at a minimum this month, but it might not work out.   This still feels like a lot of debt, even though our home value is north of $200k.

$82,600 balance after January payment.  A little slow going over the holidays.

[asauer]

December payment might be tough to do a big one.  We're planning a little family trip out to Washington DC and there's the holidays.  I also want to do some home maintenance things.. but...  we'll keep trying and I will pay *something* extra.  Our current balance is $86,168.   I'd like to take $3k off that at a minimum this month, but it might not work out.   This still feels like a lot of debt, even though our home value is north of $200k.

$82,600 balance after January payment.  A little slow going over the holidays.

Any movement is good!

[SAfAmBrit]

Principal paid off so far

2012 - $3415
2013 - $3994
2014 - $8483
2015 - $38412 (yup got rid of all the debt and $10 000 windfall not expected)
2016 - $66540  so far

3/1 Remaining balance $87322. Projected pay off date 09/09/2017 - SO 51st birthday.

4/1 Remaining balance $81837

4/30 Remaining balance $76952 (I owed the tax man!)

5/29 Remaining balance $73836

6/30 Remaining balance $65388

7/29 Remaining balance $60825

8/31 Remaining balance $55728

9/30 Remaining balance $49696

10/31 Remaining balance $39920

11/30 Remaining balance $36721

01/05 Remaining balance $34633

Knew it was going to be bad - but was hoping for better. To hit my target date I need $4250 every month. Here is to doing my best - I hate missing goals I set myself!

[Neustache]

Gonna start this back up again.  Current goal is to get to 90K by the end of 2016. 

Starting Mtg Sept 2013:  $123,500

Today (July 5th):  $98,504


It's fun to be back on this thread again!

8/1/2016:  $95,504

1/7/2016 $84,969.68

Not bad...still have to fill up DH's 2016 IRA but I can do that in March as it's a three paycheck month...cutting it close, I know. 

[asauer]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

[Neustache]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Let me be the first to congratulate you!!

[KBecks]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Woo hoo!!

[motiv8ed]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulations.

[couponvan]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulations!!! I love reading these posts. 

[asauer]

Thanks all!  I don't think it will really hit me until I don't have to pay in Feb.

[tightwaddy]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulations!  I did the same at the end of October--nearly drained the emergency fund, but it's almost rebounded and I can't describe the feeling of being completely debt free.  I appreciate that there's dissenting opinion on the wisdom of this, but I don't regret paying that sucker off for one minute.

[SAfAmBrit]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulation - can't wait to join you. Let me know when Feb rolls around and it feels real!

[plainjane]

Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulation - can't wait to join you. Let me know when Feb rolls around and it feels real!

FYI - I did this last year.  It still doesn't really feel real maybe?  But is is great to see the growth in our investments each month.  (Though that doesn't really feel real _either_, everything is still just numbers on a screen.)

Remember to tell your home insurance folks - they should give you a discount!

[frugalkristen]

I'm joining!  My balance is $84816.49.  It's my only debt.  I max my Roth every year and contribute quite a bit to my 401K.  I want the peace of mind from having this debt gone.  My property tax bill and homeowner's insurance will be about $285 per month which means I can live off less than $1000 per month. 

[Neustache]

We are almost in exactly the same boat, frugalkristen!  Our property tax plus insurance is $285 a month, and we owe just under 85K.  I am in a family of four, though, so we are more like 2K for expenses once we pay off the mortgage.  Welcome!

[farmecologist]

Glad to see so many others have the same outlook as we do about paying off the mortgage.  Reading some of the other posts..I was beginning to wonder.  Lots of contributors out there that believe NOT paying off the mortgage is 'better'.

We paid off our mortgage about 9 years ago ( just before the stock market crash ).  Was very lucky to have stock options that were just enough to pay it off.  Went against nearly everyone's recommendation that the windfall should be invested instead. 

Very glad we paid it off.  Awesome feeling to not have that debt hanging over our heads.  100% of cash previously used to pay the mortgage is now used to invest.  The only thing that sucks now is the property tax bill. :-)


So keep with it guys!     
 

[frugalkristen]

Neustache - I'm recently divorced (about 2 years ago) with 4 grown kids.  Right now it's just me but my boyfriend is probably going to move in soon.  We will keep our finances separate. I'm 47 and he's 52 - and wildly apart in net worth.  I'm about $440,000 and he's about $0.  He likes his job, has no plans to retire early and isn't very extravagant but also not very careful.  That has changed a lot since we've been together and he really likes how I handle money.  This issue used to make me nervous about our relationship but I'm learning that since we are older, we can have different goals and still be together.  Neither of us make a lot so sharing expenses makes a lot of sense and will help both of us (not the reason we're moving in together - just a perk).  A two person household will be more expensive - $1000 probably won't be realistic - but we can keep it low.  Our cars are paid off, we don't like to go out much (and it's mostly just family events) and neither of us like shopping.  Paying off my mortgage is a huge focus for me right now so I can move forward with plans to retire at 55.  :)

[tomsang]

Glad to see so many others have the same outlook as we do about paying off the mortgage.  Reading some of the other posts..I was beginning to wonder.  Lots of contributors out there that believe NOT paying off the mortgage is 'better'.

We paid off our mortgage about 9 years ago ( just before the stock market crash ).  Was very lucky to have stock options that were just enough to pay it off.  Went against nearly everyone's recommendation that the windfall should be invested instead. 

Very glad we paid it off.  Awesome feeling to not have that debt hanging over our heads.  100% of cash previously used to pay the mortgage is now used to invest.  The only thing that sucks now is the property tax bill. :-)

So keep with it guys!     
 

There are many who believe that paying off a mortgage early is inherently and mathematically riskier than investing in thousands of diversified companies.  All of the mathematical models that we use to gain an understanding of when we can retire and our SWR use projected returns greater than 3% or what mortgages are paying right now.  You mention paying off your mortgage about 9 years ago.  As you probably know, the S&P 500 hundred is up 7.9% since then, which is significantly higher than the mortgage rate for a 30 year mortgage for those living in the US.  You paying off your mortgage nine years ago pushed back you retirement date vs. you investing in the S&P 500.  If you would like to see the math, logic, and discussion check out the discussion that we have had over the years.   http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/paying-off-mortgage-early-how-bad-is-it-for-your-fi-date/

[farmecologist]

Glad to see so many others have the same outlook as we do about paying off the mortgage.  Reading some of the other posts..I was beginning to wonder.  Lots of contributors out there that believe NOT paying off the mortgage is 'better'.

We paid off our mortgage about 9 years ago ( just before the stock market crash ).  Was very lucky to have stock options that were just enough to pay it off.  Went against nearly everyone's recommendation that the windfall should be invested instead. 

Very glad we paid it off.  Awesome feeling to not have that debt hanging over our heads.  100% of cash previously used to pay the mortgage is now used to invest.  The only thing that sucks now is the property tax bill. :-)

So keep with it guys!     
 

There are many who believe that paying off a mortgage early is inherently and mathematically riskier than investing in thousands of diversified companies.  All of the mathematical models that we use to gain an understanding of when we can retire and our SWR use projected returns greater than 3% or what mortgages are paying right now.  You mention paying off your mortgage about 9 years ago.  As you probably know, the S&P 500 hundred is up 7.9% since then, which is significantly higher than the mortgage rate for a 30 year mortgage for those living in the US.  You paying off your mortgage nine years ago pushed back you retirement date vs. you investing in the S&P 500.  If you would like to see the math, logic, and discussion check out the discussion that we have had over the years.   http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/paying-off-mortgage-early-how-bad-is-it-for-your-fi-date/

Yes..believe me, I am aware of the pros and cons.  Because my situation was 'extra' money..and we were already maxing out all tax-deferred accounts, the pain was quite a bit less than it could have been.  We were also lucky in that if we would have invested it, we would have lost a good chunk of it due to the crash ( on paper of course ). AND the money we would have put towards the mortgage payment went towards investing instead...and by blind luck we caught the period just after the crash so the returns on that money looked stellar.  However, I do agree this was blind luck.

I guess I am one of those 'weirdos' that like being debt free....even at the cost of MAYBE increasing the early retirement date.  Also trying to point out that 'the math' doesn't apply to every situation. 

[KBecks]

There are many who believe that paying off a mortgage early is inherently and mathematically riskier than investing in thousands of diversified companies.  All of the mathematical models that we use to gain an understanding of when we can retire and our SWR use projected returns greater than 3% or what mortgages are paying right now.  You mention paying off your mortgage about 9 years ago.  As you probably know, the S&P 500 hundred is up 7.9% since then, which is significantly higher than the mortgage rate for a 30 year mortgage for those living in the US.  You paying off your mortgage nine years ago pushed back you retirement date vs. you investing in the S&P 500.  If you would like to see the math, logic, and discussion check out the discussion that we have had over the years.   http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/paying-off-mortgage-early-how-bad-is-it-for-your-fi-date/

This thread is for a group of people who have decided to pay off their mortgage and are working toward it.  Everyone can access the pros/cons threads if they want.

[daschtick]

Glad to see so many others have the same outlook as we do about paying off the mortgage.  Reading some of the other posts..I was beginning to wonder.  Lots of contributors out there that believe NOT paying off the mortgage is 'better'.

We paid off our mortgage about 9 years ago ( just before the stock market crash ).  Was very lucky to have stock options that were just enough to pay it off.  Went against nearly everyone's recommendation that the windfall should be invested instead. 

Very glad we paid it off.  Awesome feeling to not have that debt hanging over our heads.  100% of cash previously used to pay the mortgage is now used to invest.  The only thing that sucks now is the property tax bill. :-)

So keep with it guys!     
 

There are many who believe that paying off a mortgage early is inherently and mathematically riskier than investing in thousands of diversified companies.  All of the mathematical models that we use to gain an understanding of when we can retire and our SWR use projected returns greater than 3% or what mortgages are paying right now.  You mention paying off your mortgage about 9 years ago.  As you probably know, the S&P 500 hundred is up 7.9% since then, which is significantly higher than the mortgage rate for a 30 year mortgage for those living in the US.  You paying off your mortgage nine years ago pushed back you retirement date vs. you investing in the S&P 500.  If you would like to see the math, logic, and discussion check out the discussion that we have had over the years.   http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/investor-alley/paying-off-mortgage-early-how-bad-is-it-for-your-fi-date/

But what if the market tanks, and your job and savings goes away with it?  I would much rather not owe $2000 /mo in this scenario.

We all realize that mathematically, investing comes out ahead, but you are completely ignoring the mental satisfaction of being debt free, along with everyone's personal risk tolerance.  You obviously have a higher risk tolerance, which works for you.  However, between myself and many others in this thread, there is no better night's sleep than living debt free.

Congratulations to all of you that have made it!

[Captain and Mrs Slow]

Neustache - I'm recently divorced (about 2 years ago) with 4 grown kids.

  I'm about $440,000

 Paying off my mortgage is a huge focus for me right now so I can move forward with plans to retire at 55.  :)

That's pretty impressive coming off a divorce, most people get wiped out and have to start over. I'm just about to make my first lump sum paymen, I held off for a long time as it was an investment property, but we just moved back in. Called the mortgage company and 4 years of lump sum payments plus 4 months and that baby is gone! After a decade of renting it feels so good to be owners again. Also accelerating our investment mortgages as I want those gone in 9 years when the wife retires, this will give us an extra 1200€ a month in income, nothing to sneeze at

[Trifle]

Count me in!  We have a $89,900 balance, and the mortgage is our only debt.  Property tax and insurance is about $290 per month.  So we are pretty much where you are Frugalkristen and Neustache.  We are looking to kill ours by the end of next year -- December '18.  Will feel amazing!!!   

[minimalistgamer]

I have the money to pay off the house...

I am not sure if I should go for it. It scares me for some reason...