Hey everyone, I've just read through this thread in the last couple of days. I find a lot of the comments very familiar to my own thoughts, including a little uncertainty in the smartest way to count home equity. I've been regularly tracking our assets and debts for five years, and have the details separated, and occasionally add a new row to my spreadsheet that adds another perspective - total net, net cash only, hypothetical budget for residence if all sold after setting aside enough for 4% swr...
The one I've watched most closely assumes selling rental houses at zillow estimates less 6% commission and paying off our current residence. It's had the smoothest, steadiest curve. Here's a history sample for it:
12/15: 590k
12/16: 1.05M
6/17: 1.25M
10/17: 1.4M
The assets are split roughly evenly in three groups: 401k/IRA, taxable investments, 2 sfh rentals. We probably have a bit more than that in equity in our residence - and it would be pretty decadent to pay it off and stay in it in retirement as the above projects. It's big and expensive, and we will likely sell all the houses and relocate just before retiring. We are considering a variety of retirement locations that are also pretty decadent, but with a smaller size might still cost $500k less than our current.
We still have two young adult children who are still dependent (one just starting college), and we are pretty scared of the potential medical insurance costs, so I expect retirement is a couple of years away. But our savings growth has also been exceeding gross income for a while, so I find it harder and harder to hustle at work.