Hi all,
What's the proper way to factor in your home equity into retirement? Obviously a mortgage doesn't contribute to your cash flow until it's completely paid off (or if you sell your house for an appreciated value), so I'm assuming any money you pour into it is just so that in 30 years or something you will have the benefit of not having to pay for a home - correct? So in that sense, my down payment is doing nothing for me until that point where my mortgage is paid off.
I ask because MMM includes home equity in his 'stache when he retired in 10 years or so, but for most people, even if they do retire in 10 years, their mortgage likely won't be paid off for another 20 years. It seems like a down payment is just a step in a backwards direction up until that point when you actually pay off that mortgage. Am I thinking about this correctly?