Mortgage Payoff Club!!

[K-ice]

Paying off the mortgage before maxing out other retirement/investment options is penny wise and pound foolish.

Stuff the savings vehicles full while inflation does its thing and your fixed rate mortgage will become relatively cheaper while your net worth ratchets. It's a more advanced concept than "Kill all the debt", but it's a smarter approach in the end. Soon enough, the paid-off mortgage feels "meh", primarily due to taxes, utilities and upkeep always increasing. Watching your investment account balances grow never gets old.

If I had to give my 5y ago self some advice it would be this. "Max out the tax advantaged accounts then hit the mortgage hard."  Now I do have the mtg paid, and I am almost caught up with maxing out the tax advantaged investments. But having some more balance and more time for the stash to build with these low mortgage interest rates would have been the better choice.

I do still have a mortgage on a rental.  I may post updates here but it is quite slow and steady and boring.



 

[PFHC]

Mar 2016: $126,942
Apr 2016:$126,644

May 2016: $126,350

[Alfred J Quack]

Alright, we're down from 30k last year to around 24k after we put our latest "extra's" into the mortgage. We won't make the initial 2017 wish but we hope to finish by the end of 2017 which looks to be doable :)

The delay was caused by a new "2nd hand" car which we needed for baby nr. 2 and since we practically didn't have any savings (gosh, why was that :P) our SIL helped us out a bit. After paying her back we resumed the mortgage and dropped another 5K into it.

[flowrider]

Dec 2015 $30,237
May 2016  $20,777
Planning to pay off around July next year:)

[asauer]

Dec 2015 $30,237
May 2016  $20,777
Planning to pay off around July next year:)

Those super low numbers are exciting!  congrats!

[asauer]

Down 5k to 65k this month.  Try to scrape together every penny to get this thing gone!

Observation: I've noticed that since we got under 100k that I'm completely obsessed with killing this thing.  As in cashing in change so I can pay an extra $3.50.  As in, yes, I'll teach your awful kid swim lessons b/c I'll get $100 obsessed.  Has anyone else found their intensity increase after they hit a certain number?

[Threshkin]

Down 5k to 65k this month.  Try to scrape together every penny to get this thing gone!

Observation: I've noticed that since we got under 100k that I'm completely obsessed with killing this thing.  As in cashing in change so I can pay an extra $3.50.  As in, yes, I'll teach your awful kid swim lessons b/c I'll get $100 obsessed.  Has anyone else found their intensity increase after they hit a certain number?

I went into this mode at about $75K.  It bugged me so I stripped my emergency fund down to almost 0 and paid it off.  I then sweated for months until I had some semblance of an emergency fund built back up.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Down 5k to 65k this month.  Try to scrape together every penny to get this thing gone!

Observation: I've noticed that since we got under 100k that I'm completely obsessed with killing this thing.  As in cashing in change so I can pay an extra $3.50.  As in, yes, I'll teach your awful kid swim lessons b/c I'll get $100 obsessed.  Has anyone else found their intensity increase after they hit a certain number?

I went into this mode at about $75K.  It bugged me so I stripped my emergency fund down to almost 0 and paid it off.  I then sweated for months until I had some semblance of an emergency fund built back up.

I know that feel. Once we got under 6 figures, paying it off finally seemed feasible. I dipped pretty deep into my emergency fund when we paid off our mortgage. It was worth it. I freed up a bunch of cash flow. I can save more in my 401k now and build my emergency fund back up pretty quickly.

[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!

Inspired by everyone's progress, and jealous too of everyone under the 6 figures mark!  We are getting there slow but sure:

Mortgage amount - June 2, 2016 - $253,568

We will be into the 100's by the end of 2016 and are still on track to have it paid off in Sept. 2018.

In the meantime - we have listed our house in hopes of getting our asking price and doing a major downsize to be mortgage free.  Unfortunately the market is crap right now and we've had 2 showings in 2 months.  We will stay listed until our contract runs out at the end of June and then maybe try again in the fall.  I get this obsession - I've been obsessed since day one of this challenge - can't wait to be in the 5 figure amounts!

[couponvan]

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!

Inspired by everyone's progress, and jealous too of everyone under the 6 figures mark!  We are getting there slow but sure:

Mortgage amount - June 2, 2016 - $253,568

We will be into the 100's by the end of 2016 and are still on track to have it paid off in Sept. 2018.

In the meantime - we have listed our house in hopes of getting our asking price and doing a major downsize to be mortgage free.  Unfortunately the market is crap right now and we've had 2 showings in 2 months.  We will stay listed until our contract runs out at the end of June and then maybe try again in the fall.  I get this obsession - I've been obsessed since day one of this challenge - can't wait to be in the 5 figure amounts!

I am impressed by your 5 year term! Your progress is awesome. Wish we were 1/2 as disciplined.

[wintertell]

Joining the thread! We are at $9997 with a payoff of $6354 in May.  Anticipating paying it off by this September. We started with a mortgage of just over 30k at 5.4% in July 2014. Can't wait to get rid of a payment!

[couponvan]

Joining the thread! We are at $9997 with a payoff of $6354 in May.  Anticipating paying it off by this September. We started with a mortgage of just over 30k at 5.4% in July 2014. Can't wait to get rid of a payment!

Love that you're getting that payment out of the way! You can do it!!!

[asauer]

Down 5k to $65,700.  Still on track for a December payoff!

[tightwaddy]

Down 5k to $65,700.  Still on track for a December payoff!

Congrats! Looks like we're on nearly identical trajectories--we hit $49991 this week and are also shooting for December (though given pay schedule it might technically be the first week of January).

[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 to go.

Wow. I didn't realize I was still at 48700 at the beginning of April. I think I turned up some leftover cash that month after taxes were paid, then made a decent sized payment in May as I get paid monthly and the April pay month had 5 weeks in it (this happens 4 times a year) resulting in a larger than usual check.

[Astreja]

It's done!  Rather than waiting for the last 2 payments to auto-withdraw on the next 2 Mondays, I phoned my Credit Union and had them pay out the balance right then and there.

*happy dance*

[plainjane]

It's done!  Rather than waiting for the last 2 payments to auto-withdraw on the next 2 Mondays, I phoned my Credit Union and had them pay out the balance right then and there.
*happy dance*

Happy dance indeed!

Wow. I didn't realize I was still at 48700 at the beginning of April. I think I turned up some leftover cash that month after taxes were paid, then made a decent sized payment in May as I get paid monthly and the April pay month had 5 weeks in it (this happens 4 times a year) resulting in a larger than usual check.

This is what happens when you get under 60k, you gather momentum without even realizing.  :)

[BiscuitsForBreakfast]

Joining in to keep me honest, and also because there is so much to learn. I really wish I had found this site ten or twenty years ago.

I did a rate renewal on my 43,000 mortgage in April, and received a lower interest rate on my 5-year ARM -- 2.875. This brought my fortnightly payments down about $90 each. Yay, great, right? But here's where my (slowly eroding but seriously why did it take me so long) ignorance and unwillingness to do the math earns me a face-punch: I did not consider that basically i had also just extended the payoffs for another five years. When I DID figure this out, I put my payoffs back to where they had been -- only now a bigger proportion is going straight to principle.

The worst part is, this is my SECOND rate renewal (again to a lower interest rate at least), and I totally did not do the math 5 years ago.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Joining in to keep me honest, and also because there is so much to learn. I really wish I had found this site ten or twenty years ago.

I did a rate renewal on my 43,000 mortgage in April, and received a lower interest rate on my 5-year ARM -- 2.875. This brought my fortnightly payments down about $90 each. Yay, great, right? But here's where my (slowly eroding but seriously why did it take me so long) ignorance and unwillingness to do the math earns me a face-punch: I did not consider that basically i had also just extended the payoffs for another five years. When I DID figure this out, I put my payoffs back to where they had been -- only now a bigger proportion is going straight to principle.

The worst part is, this is my SECOND rate renewal (again to a lower interest rate at least), and I totally did not do the math 5 years ago.

Don't beat yourself up too badly :) Better late than never. The important thing is now you are aware and you can take steps to get ahead on your mortgage. Good luck with your pay down!

[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!

wooohooo just got paid, and a few extras- so just dumped a bunch in!
Now at $17678.00 Mortgage payment comes off in a few days too- should take us to 16k something yayayay

Down to 14k as of today

$13, 392 left to go!

[pdxmonkey]

$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!

wooohooo just got paid, and a few extras- so just dumped a bunch in!
Now at $17678.00 Mortgage payment comes off in a few days too- should take us to 16k something yayayay

Down to 14k as of today

$13, 392 left to go!

So close. So very close. I keep around $10k + what I estimate the next years property tax to be in an emergency fund. Largely that 10k is to cover minimum mortgage payments for approximately one year. I'm likely to empty that to pay off the last 10k and then figure out what my new lower emergency fund # should be. Are you in any kind of similar situation where this will end up paid in the next month or two?

[wintertell]

Yep! We just crossed under 10K and will pay it off in late August/early September. Current balance: $9677.

Unfortunately (and fortunately) I got excited and pulled from savings to get us below 10K. This means no extra reserves to pull down to cross the finish line. I just have to be patient, keep my job, and get paid.

Even if there is no incoming money from paycheck, I am putting any extra money that comes in immediately on the mortgage. Ex: We sold some stuff on Craigslist last weekend. I immediately sent the money off to the mortgage. Also have a pending reimbursement for $86 and pending leftover escrow money ($100) that I will throw on there as well.  All this 'extra' money will end up being about $500!

[21runner]

I look forward to joining this group in around 10 years! My balance is ~$89,700.00. Seems like a lot, but its a good feeling to know that I have enough investments/cash to pay it off now if I chose to.

[ender]

We're about to enter this race the wrong way! Buying our first home at the end of the month.

Putting 20% down. We haven't figured out exactly how we want to handle paying down the mortgage vs retirement accounts yet. I'm expecting my wife and I are going to want to hammer down the mortgage ASAP though as neither of us really has had debt.

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

[dandypandys]

We have 15k in savings and I SO want to pay it off with that.

[Dicey]

We're about to enter this race the wrong way! Buying our first home at the end of the month.

Putting 20% down. We haven't figured out exactly how we want to handle paying down the mortgage vs retirement accounts yet. I'm expecting my wife and I are going to want to hammer down the mortgage ASAP though as neither of us really has had debt.

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

Congratulations on the purchase of your first home! I think a payoff chart is a fine idea, but I beseeeech you to only prepay your mortgage after you have maxed out every retirement savings vehicle available to you. If you plan to retire early, you'll need to fill up some taxable accounts too. Then, and only then, consider prepaying your mortgage. Your future self will thank you for being so smart.

Of course, I am assuming that you took out a fixed rate loan; -))

[ender]

We're about to enter this race the wrong way! Buying our first home at the end of the month.

Putting 20% down. We haven't figured out exactly how we want to handle paying down the mortgage vs retirement accounts yet. I'm expecting my wife and I are going to want to hammer down the mortgage ASAP though as neither of us really has had debt.

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

Congratulations on the purchase of your first home! I think a payoff chart is a fine idea, but I beseeeech you to only prepay your mortgage after you have maxed out every retirement savings vehicle available to you. If you plan to retire early, you'll need to fill up some taxable accounts too. Then, and only then, consider prepaying your mortgage. Your future self will thank you for being so smart.

Of course, I am assuming that you took out a fixed rate loan; -))

We have a 3.625% fixed rate mortgage for 30 years...

And yeah, we're very likely going to max 401k/IRA/HSA stuff first. I expect my income to go up over the next <however many years we have the home> so hopefully we end up with tons of money to play with at some point :-) We've talked a fair bit about a separate investment account to put money into and then whenever it's greater than the mortgage knock it out right then.

Guess we'll see :-)

[tightwaddy]

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

We printed and use this:
http://debtfreecharts.blogspot.com/2013/11/mortgage-chart.html

Every time we get to cross off lines, it's incredibly motivating!

[frizzywhiskers]

"I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?"

We use this app - it's actually really fun, highly recommend! 

http://mymountainofdebt.com

[BiscuitsForBreakfast]

Joining in to keep me honest, and also because there is so much to learn. I really wish I had found this site ten or twenty years ago.

I did a rate renewal on my 43,000 mortgage in April, and received a lower interest rate on my 5-year ARM -- 2.875. This brought my fortnightly payments down about $90 each. Yay, great, right? But here's where my (slowly eroding but seriously why did it take me so long) ignorance and unwillingness to do the math earns me a face-punch: I did not consider that basically i had also just extended the payoffs for another five years. When I DID figure this out, I put my payoffs back to where they had been -- only now a bigger proportion is going straight to principle.

The worst part is, this is my SECOND rate renewal (again to a lower interest rate at least), and I totally did not do the math 5 years ago.

Don't beat yourself up too badly :) Better late than never. The important thing is now you are aware and you can take steps to get ahead on your mortgage. Good luck with your pay down!

Thanks, Mies. I appreciate the kind words!

[KodeBlue]

Yep! We just crossed under 10K and will pay it off in late August/early September. Current balance: $9677.

Same here- my current balance is $7640, if all goes well I expect to be finished by Aug or Sept. :)

[asauer]

"I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?"

We use this app - it's actually really fun, highly recommend! 

http://mymountainofdebt.com

yes!  I have windows on a house that I color in every $4,000.  Very motivating!

[eyePod]

I have a google sheet for my mortgage payoff. It has the original amortization table on the left, and my "actual" on the right. Every month, when we pay a little more, I get to delete a payment at the end of the actual. Very rewarding.

We also 'strategically' had PMI (paid it off in a year and 1 month). Then we went from there and are still paying the $81.84 per month that we would have paid to PMI to the mortgage, so even if we have a tighter month, then we will put money towards that.

As to the retirement funds vs. house, we like to spread it around. 12k in the 401k this year, moving as much as possible from any raises into my wife's 457b (no early withdrawal penalty), and then some in the house. I know it's not necessarily the best from an optimization perspective (4.25% mortgage), but I have never talked to someone who paid off their mortgage who regretted it. Just the peace of mind alone seems well worth 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.

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.

[motiv8ed]

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

We printed and use this:
http://debtfreecharts.blogspot.com/2013/11/mortgage-chart.html

Every time we get to cross off lines, it's incredibly motivating!

I will also recommend this mortgage chart. Currently using it and I enjoy coloring in a line when I can. Makes me feel like a kid again. If all goes well, I will be coloring next month.

[gggggg]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

[Heckler]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Have you ever needed more than 4 months EF in your life?  If not, I'd cut it in at least half.   

[Money Badger]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Depends on whether your emergency fund is truly liquid or really "all your money in the world"...   If you have any other taxable, 401K or other assets besides that emergency fund, then drop that mortgage in a heartbeat!   Then pay yourself back faster with the monthly safety margin that frees up.

[gggggg]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Depends on whether your emergency fund is truly liquid or really "all your money in the world"...   If you have any other taxable, 401K or other assets besides that emergency fund, then drop that mortgage in a heartbeat!   Then pay yourself back faster with the monthly safety margin that frees up.

It's my liquid checking/money market cash. I do have 401/pension/taxable as well. And to the poster Heckler above, no, I've never needed multiple month's money. I do have a pretty stable state job, so I don't foresee having to use my emergency fund for anything big in the immediate future. I'll just pay it off tomorrow then. Thanks folks!

[PharmaStache]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Depends on whether your emergency fund is truly liquid or really "all your money in the world"...   If you have any other taxable, 401K or other assets besides that emergency fund, then drop that mortgage in a heartbeat!   Then pay yourself back faster with the monthly safety margin that frees up.

It's my liquid checking/money market cash. I do have 401/pension/taxable as well. And to the poster Heckler above, no, I've never needed multiple month's money. I do have a pretty stable state job, so I don't foresee having to use my emergency fund for anything big in the immediate future. I'll just pay it off tomorrow then. Thanks folks!

Awesome!  My plan is definitely to empty out the emergency fund once we get down to a low enough mortgage balance.  I don't think I'd be able to resist!

[gggggg]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Depends on whether your emergency fund is truly liquid or really "all your money in the world"...   If you have any other taxable, 401K or other assets besides that emergency fund, then drop that mortgage in a heartbeat!   Then pay yourself back faster with the monthly safety margin that frees up.

It's my liquid checking/money market cash. I do have 401/pension/taxable as well. And to the poster Heckler above, no, I've never needed multiple month's money. I do have a pretty stable state job, so I don't foresee having to use my emergency fund for anything big in the immediate future. I'll just pay it off tomorrow then. Thanks folks!

Awesome!  My plan is definitely to empty out the emergency fund once we get down to a low enough mortgage balance.  I don't think I'd be able to resist!

It isn't officially paid off, but I express mailed my payoff statement and cashier's check about an hour ago! Now I have to rebuild that emergency fund.

[couponvan]

So I could pay off my mortgage right now, but it would cut my emergency fund/cushion money in half. I'm unsure if I should pay most of the balance off, and keep my emergency money (about 8 months worth); or, just pay it totally off, and rebuild my emergency fund after. Any thoughts?

Depends on whether your emergency fund is truly liquid or really "all your money in the world"...   If you have any other taxable, 401K or other assets besides that emergency fund, then drop that mortgage in a heartbeat!   Then pay yourself back faster with the monthly safety margin that frees up.

It's my liquid checking/money market cash. I do have 401/pension/taxable as well. And to the poster Heckler above, no, I've never needed multiple month's money. I do have a pretty stable state job, so I don't foresee having to use my emergency fund for anything big in the immediate future. I'll just pay it off tomorrow then. Thanks folks!

Awesome!  My plan is definitely to empty out the emergency fund once we get down to a low enough mortgage balance.  I don't think I'd be able to resist!

It isn't officially paid off, but I express mailed my payoff statement and cashier's check about an hour ago! Now I have to rebuild that emergency fund.

CONGRATULATIONS! (Now you need less of an emergency fund because you won't have that monthly expense any more.) :-)

[flowrider]

Dec 2015 $30,237
May 2016  $20,777
Planning to pay off around July next year:)

Under $20k now $19,617

[Money Badger]

It isn't officially paid off, but I express mailed my payoff statement and cashier's check about an hour ago! Now I have to rebuild that emergency fund.

Absolutely AWESOME!   Congratulations!!!    Enjoy that sense of peace that the roof overhead is now entirely yours!!

[RNwastash]

$114,285 is my current balance after making an extra $750 payment this month.  Jealous of the others who have less than $10,000 left.

[Diniecita]

There is more to it than simple math. Owning your own home free and clear removes a level of stress from your life that opens up more opportunities in your head. Once we were mortgage free it gave us the courage to start our own business, which was slow to start but slowly grew to be fully supporting us both full-time earning a nice income.

I agree with this SO much! We are on our way to paying ours off early too. We got a 15 year mortgage and we have 7 more years to go at the rate we are paying. They think we should be done in 13 years...pppfffft. What a crock. I just want to be free from their chains and actually be able to say that I own it, free and clear. What's wrong with that? I don't need the fancy math. It's stressful to deal with every month.
Just my opinion. But, that's what we're doing! Mortgage free by 2020 is our goal.

[nora]

Ours just dropped below 100000. Fantastic. I paid a bit extra to get it to 99997 or some such. Of course then the exchange rate changed (house is in NZ and we are in Oz)  and when I came to show the accounts to DH it was back over 100000! But I think we are on the home straight now, no pun intended.

Now down to $35000. Not long to go now.

[Farmgirl]

As of today we are down to $55,550.34.  That was on a $257K mortgage we took out in 2008.

It can be done.  There have been months (like recently) that we can only do the regular payment of $1611, but we have been working at it hard.  Our reasoning is that our small farm property (bought on the downside but not the bottom of the Great Recession) could be a hard sell if we decide we can't do the chores anymore.  And we wouldn't want to have to take the first offer that came our way because of the mortgage payments.

DH and I are looking to pay off the mortgage by year end.  Then I can renegotiate my current cube job to maybe a part time gig.  If my employer won't bite, then I walk and do my side hustles.

The end is in sight!

[couponvan]

As of today we are down to $55,550.34.  That was on a $257K mortgage we took out in 2008.

It can be done.  There have been months (like recently) that we can only do the regular payment of $1611, but we have been working at it hard.  Our reasoning is that our small farm property (bought on the downside but not the bottom of the Great Recession) could be a hard sell if we decide we can't do the chores anymore.  And we wouldn't want to have to take the first offer that came our way because of the mortgage payments.

DH and I are looking to pay off the mortgage by year end.  Then I can renegotiate my current cube job to maybe a part time gig.  If my employer won't bite, then I walk and do my side hustles.

The end is in sight!

Very impressive - what is the interest rate on this property?  I have a hard time justifying to DH paying down the main house early even though it is our only remaining debt at 2.625% since we plan to sell it in about 5 years. (It's at $244K.) Our real problem is that when we see money in the checking account we spend it - and there are deferred maintenance items creeping up on us.

[boarder42]

We're about to enter this race the wrong way! Buying our first home at the end of the month.

Putting 20% down. We haven't figured out exactly how we want to handle paying down the mortgage vs retirement accounts yet. I'm expecting my wife and I are going to want to hammer down the mortgage ASAP though as neither of us really has had debt.

I'd really like to take our floor plan and subdivide it into either $250 or $500 squares, each reflecting that amount of purchase price, and then color them in as we pay down the mortgage. Basically showing what percentage of our house we "own" vs the bank owns :-) Anyone done something similar?

Congratulations on the purchase of your first home! I think a payoff chart is a fine idea, but I beseeeech you to only prepay your mortgage after you have maxed out every retirement savings vehicle available to you. If you plan to retire early, you'll need to fill up some taxable accounts too. Then, and only then, consider prepaying your mortgage. Your future self will thank you for being so smart.

Of course, I am assuming that you took out a fixed rate loan; -))

We have a 3.625% fixed rate mortgage for 30 years...

And yeah, we're very likely going to max 401k/IRA/HSA stuff first. I expect my income to go up over the next <however many years we have the home> so hopefully we end up with tons of money to play with at some point :-) We've talked a fair bit about a separate investment account to put money into and then whenever it's greater than the mortgage knock it out right then.

Guess we'll see :-)

do the latter dont pay off extra slowly over time.  if you ever lose your income stream its incredibly unsafe to have all your taxable money tied up in a house that isnt 100% paid off. bank doesnt care you've been paying down principal when you start missing payments.

plus it will allow you the flexibility if you see the light sometime in the next 10-20 years that having that mortgage with the money invested is actually way better and something you'd like to keep when you FIRE.