Mortgage Payoff Club!!

[dabears847]

It's official, the house is paid off!

Happy Dance!

[Money Badger]

indentured4now,  Mortgage is the only debt we have.  We haven't paid down enough to recast yet.  Im not really worried about the monthly payment now just thinking more of long term paying it down.  My thoughts are to pay down enough so when we are ready to sell 8-10 years we would net enough to downsize and pay cash, possibly enough left over to invest at that point.  Im just debating if it would pay more in the future to invest the 20k now in longer time in more would make.  Seems like either way is going to save me money in long run.

@Ryan...  Classic decision to make between "invest or pay down mortgage"...   With 8-10 years on the house and your age and other info given, it seems best to invest the $20K in a classic age-adjusted mix of index funds.   In your 30's, you've got a nice, long horizon and can afford to wait out a market drop to grow that stash so your situation favors investing the $20K.   Then once it's grown a bit, look for the right chance later to reduce lending costs significantly down the road using the gains such as refi to a 15 year loan or a recast for increasing your free cashflow and savings rate.   Or you guys do the ideal thing  and downsize now to really kill the mortgage and LBYM (and avoid lifestyle creep).   Hard to do as a couple and the temptations of "keeping up" with the Jones's I know, but amazing peace of mind if you guys can pull it off.   If both of you read "The Millionaire Next Door" and agree to live that way with shared goals in mind, it certain can be done.  Good luck!

[SAfAmBrit]

Hi All

I have been lurking around the MMM site for a while and been watching this forum with interest. I got past the $100 000 point and need some support to keep going and keep myself accountable.

 A little background I am a South African, lived in England for 10 years and have been in the USA for 8 years. My SO was in the USAF for 24 years. We bought our house in Las Vegas in 2012 for $158 800 at 3.75% and first payment was 03/2012. In SA things were different and I was used to living on nothing, moved to England things were easier, came to the US and things were easy. My husband spent money easily so I thought earned huge - only to discover the world of loans, credit cards and easy credit. Fortunately I hate shopping, material things - my only requirement from material things - they work. My SO on the other hand loves shiny things!  2013, my husband was retired, earnings shot up and we owed the IRS. I was told we had x days to pay - we didn't have it in the bank so I took over the accounts - showed my husband what we owed, gave him an allowance and worked at it. We now have no debt but this mortgage so I started concentrating on eliminating it.

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 - $17262 so far

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

I max out my 401k and IRA Roth (terms I learned in the last 2 years.)

Thanks to everyone who allowed me to lurk and inspired me so far!

[Rheagar]

Paid off my mortgage on Friday!

Bought my house 3.5 years ago in Nov 2012 for ~129k. It was an FHA loan at 3.125%, IIRC the initial loan amount was ~121k. This was before I had discovered MMM so I wasn't quite as diligent about my finances as I am today. I have a relatively high income and when I initially got the loan I figured I could just pay down the loan pretty quick to get to 20% equity and get rid of PMI. But then I learned that I was required to pay PMI for a minimum of 5 years and that REALLY ticked me off. So I began looking into ways to get rid of PMI before that 5 years was up (beyond refinancing) the only thing I could think of was to pay off the entire mortgage. So I began to sock away money into a taxable account with the intent of paying off the house in under 5 years - because fuck the bank and fuck PMI.

Well this month after I got a bonus my taxable account had enough in it to pay off the entire loan balance. So I sold it all and paid off the house on Friday. It is awesome seeing 'Paid in full' on the account! I have taken a minute every morning since to appreciate the feeling, and it feels fantastic.

For those that are worried about the math behind paying off a 3.125% loan, trust me I struggled with it mightily. But after doing the math over and over again getting rid of PMI makes the math about a wash, and I'll take the guaranteed ROR and peace of mind any day. No regrets!

[BBub]

It's official, the house is paid off!

Happy Dance!

Congrats!

Hi All

I have been lurking around the MMM site for a while and been watching this forum with interest. I got past the $100 000 point and need some support to keep going and keep myself accountable.

Welcome to the forums.  I'm glad you decided to de-lurk & hope you'll keep contributing.  Congrats on getting your finances in order & best of luck with the payoff goal!

Paid off my mortgage on Friday!

Badass!

[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!

$32,026 -- a $3,872 reduction this month.  I always have to wait until the 5th or 6th of each month to process my extra payment.  I'm one of those weird ones that pay things as soon as I get the notice instead of holding on to the money for as long as possible.  If all goes well February and March have the potential to be good debt reduction months.  Tax refund in February hopefully and a 3 paycheck month in March.  We will be doing some vehicle upgrading with a new baby on the way but I will do everything I can to keep that cost to a minimum.

$31,609 --  a $417 reduction... I only made the normal payment this month and putting the agressive paydown on hold.  Some big possible life changes on the horizon and I want to have as much cash in the bank as possible just in case.  After the dust settles is when I'll finish it off.   

[dogboyslim]

Office discretionary bonus was better than expected so we decided to pay it off.  As of today, We have no debt other than the temporary credit card debt that gets paid off every month.  While it feels good, it also doesn't really feel different as we are about to sit down to our baked chicken for dinner.

It is Official.  We got the note in the mail yesterday and confirmed that the release has been filed with the county.  Still hasn't set in.  The $2k just went to a different account.  I suppose the difference is that the account balance now goes UP with each transfer instead of down!

[SAfAmBrit]

Congrats - now for the happy dance.

[Heckler]

It is Official.  We got the note in the mail yesterday and confirmed that the release has been filed with the county.  Still hasn't set in.  The $2k just went to a different account.  I suppose the difference is that the account balance now goes UP with each transfer instead of down!

Us too!  the papers came yesterday.  Congrats!  It's awesome to see the mortgage payment going into savings instead of the floor drain!

[dogboyslim]

Congrats Heckler!

[Faraday]

It is Official.  We got the note in the mail yesterday and confirmed that the release has been filed with the county.  Still hasn't set in.  The $2k just went to a different account.  I suppose the difference is that the account balance now goes UP with each transfer instead of down!

Us too!  the papers came yesterday.  Congrats!  It's awesome to see the mortgage payment going into savings instead of the floor drain!

Congratulations DBS and Heckler! Fine Job, you've reached the end of a long, long road! Please - report back in the thread how it affects your spending, budget and lifestyle? The motivation is very helpful!

[Heckler]

Congratulations DBS and Heckler! Fine Job, you've reached the end of a long, long road! Please - report back in the thread how it affects your spending, budget and lifestyle? The motivation is very helpful!

Spending - $2k reduction because of the FIRE under our butt.  Last years (Nov 14-Nov 15) expenses (not including $40k mortgage) were $45k.  This past year (Mar 15-Mar 16) was $43k.  Now we save the $40k/year mortgage instead.

Budget - now putting $3,000+/month to TFSA instead of mortgage, open wife's TFSA because mine will be maxed in 3 months time, in addition to 30% pre-tax + employer match to RRSP.

Lifestyle - no change, other than I no longer worry about job security in a high tech industry. My next severance package is going towards travel!

Thank you MMM, or for sure I'd be driving a Porsche now like every one else at head office.  Still driving the 2006 Pontiac to work.

[dogboyslim]

Congratulations DBS and Heckler! Fine Job, you've reached the end of a long, long road! Please - report back in the thread how it affects your spending, budget and lifestyle? The motivation is very helpful!

We are just now shopping for our $90k Escalade so we don't experience a drop in our credit score by not having any debt.... ;)

[Heckler]

We are just now shopping for our $90k Escalade so we don't experience a drop in our credit score by not having any debt.... ;)

We've been putting all spending on 2 credit cards for the last 5 years and pay in full every month.  Don't even know my credit rating, but they keep trying to raise my limit, so it must be OK.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

We paid off the house last October and we are certain that it was the right thing to do.  For years we did all the second guessing and wondering about "gee, it is only 3.5%, we can make more in the market" but at some point along the line it became the obvious choice.  We are in the final stages of the FIRE journey and could actually go right now except for the pure fear of being so weird and not really having the nerve to jump.  We are still building a bigger cash 'stache to bridge to our over-funded 401(K)s.  I want a really big cash pile and I am sure that it will probably be over-funded as well knowing our conservative styles.  We know we had to get out from under any debt to be totally ready.     

Wouldn't you know it, my company had massive lay offs in November and hubby's firm went through the same thing just after that.  Even though both of us are among the survivors and still have jobs there was such profound relief in knowing that we are untouchable now.  Go ahead, fire us, we know we can be FIRE at any minute.  To face that situation with a big pile of FU money and zero debt was really peaceful.  Peers were sick with fear and I felt terrible for them, but I don't think my proselytizing early retirement is welcome.   

Therefore, to the financial calculators out there please don't bother to say how we made a mistake because of some theory about making more in the market.  We considered everything and lived on both sides of the equation.  This side is more peaceful.  My house is paid off forever and that return is guaranteed, guaranteed, guaranteed.  Plus, the NW chart now has this crazy hockey stick look to it--golly, it it sure getting steep to the right without that mortgage drag, even with a flat market!   

I am rooting for all of you mortgage burners!  GO FOR IT!   

Congratulations! What you mentioned about your job situation is the reason I want our mortgage gone. I know you can get money out of retirement accounts early for emergencies, but I'd rather just let it sit.

Great job!

[BlueHouse]

Therefore, to the financial calculators out there please don't bother to say how we made a mistake because of some theory about making more in the market.  We considered everything and lived on both sides of the equation.  This side is more peaceful.  My house is paid off forever and that return is guaranteed, guaranteed, guaranteed.  Plus, the NW chart now has this crazy hockey stick look to it--golly, it it sure getting steep to the right without that mortgage drag, even with a flat market!   

I am rooting for all of you mortgage burners!  GO FOR IT!   

Great motivation!  Thank you for this!

[dogboyslim]

We are just now shopping for our $90k Escalade so we don't experience a drop in our credit score by not having any debt.... ;)

We've been putting all spending on 2 credit cards for the last 5 years and pay in full every month.  Don't even know my credit rating, but they keep trying to raise my limit, so it must be OK.

Someone told me I'd be in trouble with my credit report and that I should go out and get a car loan to keep it solid, hence my jest.  Since I'm not looking for rentals my credit score really only impacts my insurance pricing now as we have no plans for future loans.  We also put most of our spending through a rewards CC that we pay off each month, but I suppose it is possible my score could drop a few points.  The reality is that our spending hasn't changed at all and we paid off the mortgage, and we have no plans to loosen up the purse strings.

[YoungGranny]

Refinance is complete! Mortgage balance is $131,500. Decided my goal will be to get it under $100k in 1 year. Hopefully completely paid off in 5 years or less but I think I need a short-term goal to focus on for motivation.

Sent a chunk of money at it again this month, down to $129,532

Haven't updated in a bit... balance is sitting at $120,485 - I'm taking a blended approach to paying off the mortgage while still investing. Feels good to have one number moving in the right direction since my investments are not doing so hot this month. Extra large payment on the mortgage this month since it was bonus time.....if only I could do that every month haha.

As of 4/1 the balance is at $112,377, still a long way to go but I'm actually feeling close to that sweet 5-digit mortgage! My birthday is in August and I think that would be a great target. It does feel like it's going much faster now so hopefully I can keep up this momentum!

[TheInsuranceMan]

We paid ours off yesterday!  But wait, that was due to us selling it, and getting a new house....and a new mortgage.  However, we did have 51k in equity in the property we sold!

[Ceridwen]

We paid off the house last October and we are certain that it was the right thing to do.  For years we did all the second guessing and wondering about "gee, it is only 3.5%, we can make more in the market" but at some point along the line it became the obvious choice.  We are in the final stages of the FIRE journey and could actually go right now except for the pure fear of being so weird and not really having the nerve to jump.  We are still building a bigger cash 'stache to bridge to our over-funded 401(K)s.  I want a really big cash pile and I am sure that it will probably be over-funded as well knowing our conservative styles.  We know we had to get out from under any debt to be totally ready.     

Wouldn't you know it, my company had massive lay offs in November and hubby's firm went through the same thing just after that.  Even though both of us are among the survivors and still have jobs there was such profound relief in knowing that we are untouchable now.  Go ahead, fire us, we know we can be FIRE at any minute.  To face that situation with a big pile of FU money and zero debt was really peaceful.  Peers were sick with fear and I felt terrible for them, but I don't think my proselytizing early retirement is welcome.   

Therefore, to the financial calculators out there please don't bother to say how we made a mistake because of some theory about making more in the market.  We considered everything and lived on both sides of the equation.  This side is more peaceful.  My house is paid off forever and that return is guaranteed, guaranteed, guaranteed.  Plus, the NW chart now has this crazy hockey stick look to it--golly, it it sure getting steep to the right without that mortgage drag, even with a flat market!   

I am rooting for all of you mortgage burners!  GO FOR IT!   

This sums up our feelings so well! We are 4 years away from paying it off (max - hopefully earlier), and I can't wait to get it done.

[dandypandys]

$27, 116 to go!!!!! So Exciting.

[theblackdahlia]

$119,872 to date.  I so want to pay off my mortgage so I can go down to part time status.  Great job everyone and a wonderful, closer to debt-free year to all of you :)

That is my plan too. Ah, part-time. 86k left...hopefully it will be paid off in 5 years.

[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 - $22724 so far

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

4/1 Remaining balance $81837

[PFHC]

Going to join the fun. :)

Balance is $126,942.

Been paying our full mortgage payment biweekly, (I.e. making 13 extra payments a year) until we decided to remodel our kitchen. We're currently rebuilding our savings, then plan to quadruple the mortgage. Hopefully we can start that in May.

I'll be posting our balance monthly.

[pdxmonkey]

Anyone have projects planned for when they pay off the house?

Kind of struggling with this, actually. Our house is great, but there are some updates we want. Some we'll do cheap, some we won't. On the one hand we won't have a mortgage, and we purposely waited until we were paid off to do some upgrades.

On the other hand, it seems weird not to take full advantage of no mortgage land by dumping money into index funds or real estate. Opportunity cost is the issue I'm struggling with, I guess.

I'm planning to reward myself with some updates once my mortgage is paid off. Not a major addition or anything, but there are a couple doors that could use replacing, maybe some shutters instead of blinds.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I wouldn't feel bad about fixing up your house with your newly freed up mortgage payment money. We are going to fix up some stuff once we pay off the mortgage too. We are going to repair or replace our front porch. It's brick. I want to see if we can replace the sandstone treads and replace any cracked bricks. If we can't, we'll demolish it and replace it.

Our carpeting is getting worn too. The berber and has gotten snagged and there are some pet stains from the previous owner that can't be cleaned. We'll either replace it or refinish the hardwood beneath it. If the pet stains ruined the hardwood, we'll probably just do new carpeting.

The last big upgrade would be a new furnace and air conditioner. They are getting pretty old.

We'd like to do do the kitchen, bathroom, and build a new garage, but I'm not sure if we are going to stay in that house forever. I don't want to dump a ton of money on non essential fixes if we aren't going to be there for a long time.

[Heckler]

Still holding off on the ugly iron railings, dishwasher and water heater replacements until my asset allocation is rebalanced at least.   I buy US and EAFE in my RSPs, and CND in my TFSA.  The CND allocation is $3000 low, so just a month or two left then we will get the water heater replaced.  I just upped my RSP contribution to 38% of gross pay, so will need the cash to keep up with my TFSA.

[couponvan]

$17,319 as of today remaining on the FIRE house.  Still trying to convince DH we should just pay the sucker off with available cash....

[asauer]

Down to 77,996!  Actually, when I made the payment, it brought it down to 78,013 so I HAD to transfer a little extra so I could see that thousands number tick over.  I'm so easily amused.

[dandypandys]

$27, 116 to go!!!!! So Exciting.

Mortgage
Balance
$25,478.56

YEAHHHH i am going to put the 478.56 to round it up towards the end of the month if i can :)

[Astreja]

As of Monday evening, mortgage balance is below $2000.  Principal is coming down nearly $175 a week, so I've got about 11 payments left to go and a projected payout date in late June.

[dandypandys]

As of Monday evening, mortgage balance is below $2000.  Principal is coming down nearly $175 a week, so I've got about 11 payments left to go and a projected payout date in late June.

wowwwww so close :)

[asauer]

$27, 116 to go!!!!! So Exciting.

Mortgage
Balance
$25,478.56

YEAHHHH i am going to put the 478.56 to round it up towards the end of the month if i can :)

That's the best feeling isn't it?  When you can put enough pennies together to tip it over the edge?!  Love it!

[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.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

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.

You'll be surprised how quickly it goes down when you really set your mind to it. Welcome to the forum!

[pdxmonkey]

Anyone have projects planned for when they pay off the house?

Kind of struggling with this, actually. Our house is great, but there are some updates we want. Some we'll do cheap, some we won't. On the one hand we won't have a mortgage, and we purposely waited until we were paid off to do some upgrades.

On the other hand, it seems weird not to take full advantage of no mortgage land by dumping money into index funds or real estate. Opportunity cost is the issue I'm struggling with, I guess.

I'm planning to reward myself with some updates once my mortgage is paid off. Not a major addition or anything, but there are a couple doors that could use replacing, maybe some shutters instead of blinds.

Lol. Yeah your list sounds a bit more reasonable than mine.

Our deck needs to be replaced. Not actually safe. And for this I'm doing the cheap option and just doing the same footprint and doing the work myself. Awesome.

After that, however...

We have three bathrooms we want to do to varying degrees. The kitchen "needs" a facelift, too, which is my toughest one, as we won't again additional utility like we will with the bathrooms or deck.  Talked to my wife last night and I think the plan is to do the deck and 2 of the bathrooms (with one of those two hopefully being done by me) and waiting on bathroom 3 and kitchen until we have another year of solid investing.

It helps that my kitchen is brand new a few years back. I bought a foreclosure and it had only half a floor and roaches in there. I got to rebuild it with a counter/cabinet layout that suits me. IMO the old layout was pretty bad. The new layout is much better for food prep and cooking. The roof has been replaced since I owned it as well. I do sometimes dream about some nice bathroom upgrades though.

When moving, I highly recommend getting a trashed place for cheaper and fixing it up how you like it with the difference you would pay on somewhere move in ready if you can. With a move in ready place there will still be things you don't like and want to change eeven if they're new.

[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.

You'll be surprised how quickly it goes down when you really set your mind to it. Welcome to the forum!

Thank you, I hope so. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best way of paying down the mortgage? I struggle with deciding on whether to
- Apply money to the principal as I get it.
- Save for a few months, in case I need the money for something, then apply it to the principal.
- Invest in a brokerage account and then pay it off once I have enough invested.

[dandypandys]

these days i use mint.com to create a budget and have budgeted in 1 extra payment. a 2nd payment is what is left over from my budget etc and just before i get paid again. Makes me eager to not spend anything all month so the 2nd payment can be high :)
i always keep a certain amount in my savings too but that is built up already so i don't touch it.

[BlueHouse]

Does anyone have a recommendation on the best way of paying down the mortgage? I struggle with deciding on whether to
- Apply money to the principal as I get it.
- Save for a few months, in case I need the money for something, then apply it to the principal.
- Invest in a brokerage account and then pay it off once I have enough invested.

I do a mix of these. Each month I double the full principal amount when I make my payment, because I'm comfortable with and never really miss that amount. On top of that, every payment that I received from a rental for three years went into a sinking fund at a brokerage and last august I cashed that out and made a large principal payment. Now I'm waiting for my first work bonus and I'm going to apply that to principal. Once I get the mortgage down enough (hopefully this summer), I will recast the mortgage so that I'm not tied in to those high payments anymore and if I lose my high-paying job, I can still afford my house on a regular salary. Even after the recast, I plan to continue to pay as much monthly as I have been, just no more giant lump sums.

[couponvan]

Ok.  Down to 145k as we just signed on the new house.  We'll wait for it to go through today and then on Monday put additional $$ down.  If income and spending go as planned, with a little luck we'll be done in two years.

11 months and 23 days later - it's gone.

26, wife is 25. Think this will hit me tomorrow.

Won't really tell many people (besides thousands of people on the internet, I guess). My parents will know. Wife's brother/SIL will know. They're big mustachians thanks to me, and paid off their home last year and told us right away. Can't think of anyone else.

Cheers everyone.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Amazing effort with $145K paid off in under a year.  You must have some great income levels and will power. 

[dandypandys]

$27, 116 to go!!!!! So Exciting.

Mortgage
Balance
$25,478.56

couldn't help myself- put 5k in from our savings so down to 20,478.56 now! Can't wait to be in the teens!

[motiv8ed]

Ok.  Down to 145k as we just signed on the new house.  We'll wait for it to go through today and then on Monday put additional $$ down.  If income and spending go as planned, with a little luck we'll be done in two years.

11 months and 23 days later - it's gone.

26, wife is 25. Think this will hit me tomorrow.

Won't really tell many people (besides thousands of people on the internet, I guess). My parents will know. Wife's brother/SIL will know. They're big mustachians thanks to me, and paid off their home last year and told us right away. Can't think of anyone else.

Cheers everyone.

Congratulations, thats awesome.

[dandypandys]

Ok.  Down to 145k as we just signed on the new house.  We'll wait for it to go through today and then on Monday put additional $$ down.  If income and spending go as planned, with a little luck we'll be done in two years.

11 months and 23 days later - it's gone.

26, wife is 25. Think this will hit me tomorrow.

Won't really tell many people (besides thousands of people on the internet, I guess). My parents will know. Wife's brother/SIL will know. They're big mustachians thanks to me, and paid off their home last year and told us right away. Can't think of anyone else.

Cheers everyone.

Amazing congrats!!!!!

[MrDelane]

Wow.
Just wow.

That's an incredible achievement.
Congratulations to you both.

[tightwaddy]

I've been part of this challenge since Aug. 1, without even knowing it existed :)  When my husband and I saw we were at the last $100K (originally $300K in Sept. 2004), we decided to do everything possible to pay it off by Jan. 1, 2017.

Aug 1, 2015: $101,100
April 1, 2016: $64,669

So, $36,404 done in 8 months.  Not quite on track, but we're hoping to pick up some steam once the warmer months roll in (living in Maine, heat is a big cost in winter--no AC in summer).  Working some side hustles and attic purge sales to get a little extra for principal.

[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.

[bzzzt]

Great job to everyone.

Work has been slow over the last month (construction) but I don't hardly care since the mortgage is knocked out. I can pay my bills/spending by working one week a month. It's sweet!

[JourneyToLaunch]

I would like to join this club!

Currently our mortgage is $357K at a 4.375% rate (30 years)

I would really like to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible since I would like to retire at 40 (in 7 years). My husband would continue to work and we would live off of his income. The goal is to payoff the mortgage as soon as possible since I can't foresee retiring and living on my husband's income comfortably with the mortgage in place.  How soon depends on how aggressive we want to get with paying it down. Here are some different scenarios (right now we are doing scenario 2 but would ideally like to move to Scenario 5 this year). It's hard to know how aggressive to be when we also want to put some money in 529 accounts and do taxable investing at the same time:

 
Scenario 1
Only paying off what owe, mortgage will be paid off when we are 61

Scenario 2
Extra $500 a month from investment property, mortgage will pay off when we are 51
 
Scenario 3
Extra $500 a month from investment property, AND my recent raise $235 per month, (round to a $300) ,  mortgage will pay off when we are 48

Scenario 4
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , AND $10K a year from my annual  bonus , mortgage will pay off when we are 43

Scenario 5
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , $10K a year from my annual  bonus AND $5K from Husband's extra jobs, mortgage will pay off when we are 42

Scenario 6
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise ($300) , $10K a year from my  annual bonus AND $10K from Husband's extra jobs , mortgage will pay off when we are 41

 

[couponvan]

I would like to join this club!

Currently our mortgage is $357K at a 4.375% rate (30 years)

I would really like to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible since I would like to retire at 40 (in 7 years). My husband would continue to work and we would live off of his income. The goal is to payoff the mortgage as soon as possible since I can't foresee retiring and living on my husband's income comfortably with the mortgage in place.  How soon depends on how aggressive we want to get with paying it down. Here are some different scenarios (right now we are doing scenario 2 but would ideally like to move to Scenario 5 this year). It's hard to know how aggressive to be when we also want to put some money in 529 accounts and do taxable investing at the same time:

 
Scenario 1
Only paying off what owe, mortgage will be paid off when we are 61

Scenario 2
Extra $500 a month from investment property, mortgage will pay off when we are 51
 
Scenario 3
Extra $500 a month from investment property, AND my recent raise $235 per month, (round to a $300) ,  mortgage will pay off when we are 48

Scenario 4
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , AND $10K a year from my annual  bonus , mortgage will pay off when we are 43

Scenario 5
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , $10K a year from my annual  bonus AND $5K from Husband's extra jobs, mortgage will pay off when we are 42

Scenario 6
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise ($300) , $10K a year from my  annual bonus AND $10K from Husband's extra jobs , mortgage will pay off when we are 41

I would go for Scenario 4.5, 50% of husband extra jobs (whatever those jobs might bring in) to the house....He can decide to put extra in or not.  Likely it will be somewhere between 41 to 42 and you will be all done.

[JourneyToLaunch]

I would like to join this club!

Currently our mortgage is $357K at a 4.375% rate (30 years)

I would really like to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible since I would like to retire at 40 (in 7 years). My husband would continue to work and we would live off of his income. The goal is to payoff the mortgage as soon as possible since I can't foresee retiring and living on my husband's income comfortably with the mortgage in place.  How soon depends on how aggressive we want to get with paying it down. Here are some different scenarios (right now we are doing scenario 2 but would ideally like to move to Scenario 5 this year). It's hard to know how aggressive to be when we also want to put some money in 529 accounts and do taxable investing at the same time:

 
Scenario 1
Only paying off what owe, mortgage will be paid off when we are 61

Scenario 2
Extra $500 a month from investment property, mortgage will pay off when we are 51
 
Scenario 3
Extra $500 a month from investment property, AND my recent raise $235 per month, (round to a $300) ,  mortgage will pay off when we are 48

Scenario 4
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , AND $10K a year from my annual  bonus , mortgage will pay off when we are 43

Scenario 5
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise $300 , $10K a year from my annual  bonus AND $5K from Husband's extra jobs, mortgage will pay off when we are 42

Scenario 6
Extra $500 a month from investment property AND my recent raise ($300) , $10K a year from my  annual bonus AND $10K from Husband's extra jobs , mortgage will pay off when we are 41

I would go for Scenario 4.5, 50% of husband extra jobs (whatever those jobs might bring in) to the house....He can decide to put extra in or not.  Likely it will be somewhere between 41 to 42 and you will be all done.

Thx for the feedback, I think Scenario 4 is the best "middle ground" that still leaves some extra money to do other things.