Overpaid homes bought during low loan rates will spark a housing crisis. As prices drop, owners with no equity will face foreclosure, unable to sell without incurring losses. With mass layoffs and rising living costs looming, many will struggle to afford their homes, exacerbating the catastrophe.
Diversify your portfolio by investing in stocks to offset real estate risks. Even in recessions, markets offer great buying opportunities with caution. Volatility can create excellent short-term trades. (Not financial advice) But with cash yields low, now's a good time to invest!
Exactly! With guidance from an investment coach, I successfully diversified my $450K portfolio across asset classes, generating an impressive $830K in net profits through a strategic mix of high-dividend stocks, ETFs, and bonds.
After a dismal year for my portfolio, I sought new strategies to revitalize my investments, but every approach I attempted fell short. I'm eager to learn from your success - could you please share the name of your financial advisor?
I’ve been diligently working, saving and contributing towards financial freedom and paying off my high interest mortgage, but the economy so far since the pandemic has eaten away most of my portfolio, what I want to know is this: Do I keep contributing to my portfolio in these unstable markets or do I look into alternative sectors.
Yeah, financial advisors could make a lot of difference, particularly in a market such as this. Stocks are pretty unstable at the moment, but if you do the right math, you should be just fine. Bloomberg and other finance media have been recording cases of folks gaining over 250k just in a matter of weeks/couple months, so I think there are a lot of wealth transfer in this downtime if you know where to look. I have been using an FA since 2020, and I return at least $30k ROI, and this does not include capital gain.
For me, Diana Casteel Lynch turned out to be better and smarter than all the advisors I ever worked with till date, I’ve never met anyone with as much conviction.
I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials; I reached out to her since I need all the assistance I can get. I just scheduled a caII.
I paid up all my mortgages in 2yrs while working with a Financial Adviser. I’m 54 and my husband 57 we are both retired with over $3 million in net worth and no debts. We got to realize that the secret to financial freedom is making better investments.
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
Certainly, there are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’Melissa Terri Swayne” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive.She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
My wife (26) and I (29) just paid off our house last Friday. It is amazing being debt free! We got married in July 2020, got our cars paid off and then got the house knocked out. Friends my age are constantly saying it is impossible to live comfortably on less than 150 to 200k a year in our area but combined we make 100k. Own a brick ranch with 16 acres... life is good and comfortable, just cut out the subscriptions and budgeted. Can't wait to be outrageously generous!
@user-dq4ri6fi7b it was fantastic! We rented a "private campground" right outside a state park that had 4 spots to park and camp. We had our immediate family and grand parents come out. We had 20 people including us, the pastor, and we all brought our dogs so we had 10 dogs running around during the wedding. Afterwards we ate breakfast for dinner for our reception. The whole wedding and reception cost under $1,000. And we couldn't have imagined a better wedding. My wife is the frugal saver in our relationship, picked out a nice white dress that she looked breath taking in for $35. Life is good and we were blessed to have wonderful mentors that let us get to where we are and to be content.
Damn, thats impressive! Every banker hates you. LOL. Thats a really good thing. I feel better giving money to carpenters and electricians. Banks are getting too much for almost no work
Paid off my house 5 months ago. It feels so good to be in this position and our net worth is now 1.5 million and climbing. Life is great 😊 I don’t have any stress or worries about this economy or my job laying me off or etc. More financial margin is worth it.
Because so many people overpaid for homes during a period when interest rates were low, I believe there will be a housing crisis because these people are in debt. If housing prices continue to fall and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the house and it goes into foreclosure, they will have no equity because they will not make any money if they sell. I feel that many people will be affected by this, especially given the predicted mass layoffs and fast rising living costs.
I recommend investing in shares to balance out your real estate assets. Even the toughest recessions can give wonderful purchasing opportunities if you are prudent. Furthermore, volatility can create wonderful short-term buy and sell opportunities. Although this is not financial advise, you should buy right now because money isn't king right now!
You are correct. With the help of an investing coach, I was able to diversify my 450K portfolio across markets, and I was able to create a little over $830K in net profit by using high dividend yield stocks, ETFs, and bonds.
Would you mind sharing some information on the adviser who assisted you? Since the age of 18, I've been saving for a pension through a company program. As I became more taxed, I enhanced my workplace pension with a SIPP (tax advantages). I'm now 50 and would like to aggressively grow my wealth; there are a couple cars I still want to drive and mega-vacations I still want to take.
Annette Christine Conte is the licensed fiduciary I use. Just research the name. You’d find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment...
Same here! I paid my house off about 15 years ago via paying off my $95,000 principal from my insurance settlement due to an accident involving a dog when I was 10 years old ( I’m 53 now) ! Talk about “ FREEDOM 😃!!!”
I split with my wife in 2017 and initially took over our mortgage and then a small mortgage solely in my own name to give her her half of the equity in our small house. When the mortgage was put into my name only (ie she'd been bought out), I set about overpaying it. It took me 2 years, 6 months and 13 days to pay my 10 year mortgage. I threw the kitchen sink at it and cut every unnecessary expense to do it. The benefit of doing this was the lesson of how not to waste money. Now, instead of overpaying a mortgage, I save, save, save. I am a part time worker anyway but I have enough money saved already to fund all my residue expenses for AT LEAST 2 years. ie - I could take a 2 year holiday where I just don't work at all. Pay off your mortgage. Take the syphon the banks have in your financial veins out. The finance industry is full of morally bankrupt suited spivs. Freedom. I really, really am free!
Appreciate your videos! I’m 54 and younger generations should know there’s no shortcut to acquiring wealth, but there are ways to go about it. Fellow millionaires don’t tell the poor/middle class they need the knowledge of finance coaches to help build their wealth. If anyone here needs a good coach, here’s it..
I didn't like the idea of debt in my twenties, but since then I've discovered investing, particularly in real estate, and my wife and I have a far better life in our foirties after 7 years so far of borrowing money to invest in real estate. I don't have a bachelor's degree or 6-figure job or anything. Each person needs to find his own path and be happy for others with a different path.
I've heard lots of people say it. They usually say you can earn more by investing it or you'll lose your tax write-off. They're wrong but they still say it.
@TScottW99 Well they're not "wrong". Just in the past 4 years, you could have almost doubled your money just by having your money sitting in any ETF tracking the S&P 500 with record low interest rates. Now they can choose whether to cashout and have twice the capital to put towards their mortgage or let it keep (hopefully) growing. But it's not guaranteed, and who knows what the future holds.
The Money Guy show had a woman pay off her mortgage with her husband's life insurance following this one-size-fits-all solution and then spent years struggling cash poor because you can't eat drywall.
Of course you haven't heard that. Having a paid off mortgage is a good thing in the abstract. You know what else I haven't heard people complain about? Having too much money invested or too much money saved. The question here is when those three things come into conflict which is the better route to take. I don't see how that idea is helpful at all honestly.
@@TScottW99 There are high standard deductions now so that isn’t an issue anymore and paying $10k a year in interest to save taxable income on less than that was never a better deal anyway. People are ignorant.
Paid off my house 9 months ago. Post mortgage, I now have a $500 surplus every month after all expenses have been paid and money deposited into retirement account(s) The surplus has been going into my emergency fund.
Just got rid of my mortgage last week! Probably won’t truly feel it until I do the end of month budget and I won’t need to separate for it anymore. I’m excited
I am 47 and I have 2 homes paid off …. Now I have freedom … I am debt free … one is rented and pays off the property taxes and insurance for both properties. Having more financial freedom I am able to invest more aggressively and more risky without extra stress ….
but if you had invested that money especially in that time frame you would of already of had the money to pay it off today if not sooner plus have extra cash so the health issue is irrelevant. Having the money to pay off a house (say from investments) and paying off a house are essentially the same but depends on the cost vs returns.
@@whasian2007 that needs to be demonstrated as true by showing the after tax returns outweigh the risk premium on equities vs paying down mortgage with an interest tax shelter
@@whasian2007 yeah but you have to pay taxes on those investments and possibly early withdrawal penalty if in 401k and I might get too sick to work full time. Then you have to worry about our healthcare costs getting out of control. Investing wise wife and I have 1.5 million at age 47. We could had more but we will be fine. I’m retiring at age 54.5 with irs rule of 55. I worry about running out of time than money. Health is wealth and I should took better care of my health when I was in my 20s and 30s if I could do it all over again. Im paying for it now
Don’t think I’m crazy but I’ve been debt free my entire life and yet I still love listening to Dave Ramsey. Sometimes I think about how exciting it would be to do the baby steps and then do a debt free scream. And just for the record no I’m not rich I just grew up very poor and refused to ever live in debt again.
'And the argument here is that if you invested the money instead of using it to pay off your house, your returns would be greater than the amount of interest savings that you'd have. Now the problem here is that you're assuming you'll make a spread by investing the difference, when in reality you don't know what interest rates will do you don't know what the stock market will do.' If that's true then why do you all assume 8-10% for stock market returns for literally all of your other investing advice? And interest rates are fixed on conventional mortgages, so you know exactly what it will do. It will stay the same.
Exactly. And if you're so terrified of risk, just put the mortgage payoff amount in a high yield savings, you can get over 5% on some of them, assuming you have one of the sub 4% mortgages. I've already slaughtered my total interest costs on 15 year in 3 years by keeping the money in the stock market. It's not rocket science and you CAN time the markets. I guess they assume most of their audience is stupid, and might have taken out an ARM. In that case, no one can help you. Those people are good at compound stupidity, not compound interest.
@@danieljohnson4418 Yeah, I'm sure my comment about my ultra cheap mortgage and how I've already beaten the system will be shadow banned. The Ramsey way is not just all debt it bad, they think all RISK is bad. They don't really like to mention opportunity cost.
Ten years ago, at 59, I decided to retire early for a few reasons. I didn't want a mortgage payment hanging around my neck, so I paid my house off to free up my cash flow. My 2019 Ranger is also paid off, I'm debt free and it feels great.
We’re making extra payments and like you’ve said many times.. it gets addicting to see how much more we can do. Tough to balance investing with our high interest rate. But I’d rather knock it out and have the peace than invest more now
This past 2 years have been the best in my life. I have paid off my home and cars, with no problem. The key is planning ahead and consistently paying extra to principal balances.
If we could pay off our mortgage in 2 years we would. In today's economy if you can pay off your mortgage that quickly by focusing everything towards it, you make a good amount of money. Nothing wrong with that, but its good to have context.
I paid off my mortgage in March of 2020 🎉 no bills, only electricity gas and taxes 😊 my house is worth $375,000. I love the neighborhood. Best feeling to have paid it off before turning 40.
I think it's time to make it more appealing for potential buyers. Real estate can be quite the rollercoaster! the stress and uncertainty are getting to me. I think I'll cut rents to attract potential buyers and exit the market, but i'm at crossroads if to allocate the entire $680k liquidity value to my stock portfolio?
"Overall, buyers hold a lot of the cards right now, and sellers are having to give out more concessions to close a deal." All the best, buying on sale is actually one of the best ways to invest in stocks, and advisors are ideally suited for such task
Until the Fed clamps down even further I think we're going to see hysteria due to rampant inflation. If you are in cross roads or need sincere advise on the best moves to take now with financial markets will be best you seek a fin-professional with fiduciary responsibilities who knows about mortgage-backed securities for proper guidance.
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’ Melissa Terri Swayne” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
went with a 10 year fixed refi at 1.875% and was paying extra at first so only have 5.5 years reamining making the minimum payments. Stopped paying extra when the rates on HYSA went up and started stacking the extra mortgage principal payment in savings. When the rates on the savings drop below 2.4% (which is the break even point after paying income taxes on interest) I will write a check and pay the house off. Since the mortgage is a small amount of our financial world, we can still comfortably max out all of our 401k and Roth IRA retirement accounts (investing about 25% of gross income not including employer contributions) and keep growing that nest egg.
Because mortgage interest is tax deductible, the breakeven rate is actually 1:1. Also if you put your savings directly into treasuries (ETF ticker BIL has higher yields than savings accounts and manages everything for you) the income from those isn't taxed at the state or local level.
The problem with Ramsey and his affiliates is that they don't acknowledge that every case is different. In your case you have a very low rate, and they will still recommend you to get rid of it. They talk about math a lot, but they're more driven by religion than math/data.
@@lgrrf don't get me wrong, we still want it gone but since it was paid heavily up front it will be out of our life in under 4 years because when the balance drops to say 20-30k on the loan probably just pay it off because that amount of spread is minimal. (Unless savings are paying 7-8% in a few years lol).
@@BrianNC81 Sure, I totally get that. I have also paid my house in 4 years, so I acknowledge that it's good to have these goals. Again, what I don't like is the lack of nuance in these guys' analyses. I don't like fundamentalism overtaking rationalism.
My retirement was just last month. Having pre-tax income of $5.7 million, I did follow my one-time advice from Lois Jean Frueh Since I have an inherited $700k that I have to spend down in seven years, I had to do it all at once. I'm currently 59 years old. I have $3.5 million in Roth since I have a pension. Stocks worth $4.5 million are taxed. I'm starting to give my kids gifts now, as you stated, to help with a house down the road. I am no longer suffering with rmd. Children receive it free of tax. The only thing my wife has is $600,000 before taxes, which I may need to convert at some point. I'm attempting to avoid paying for Medicare, but it appears like I will have to for a time. I am unable to even deplete my pension each month. excluding the remainder of my investments. All thanks to my CFA.
Purchase (2) modest investment rentals. (I own 4.) It is a part-time hands-on business and a ticket to a comfortable retirement if you are willing to deal with the headaches. I buy clean low-mileage cars in cash and I carry no balance on credit cards. I "retired" 10 years ago and my portfolio is worth more now (inflation considered). I will not outlive my resources if I live to be 100. Its all about financial literacy
Thanks for sharing. I curiously searched for her full name and her website popped up immediately. I looked through her credentials and did my due diligence before contacting her.
I did both paid off mortgage aggressively till more then 50% of each payment goes to the equity and now I’m just maxing out Roth IRA and increasing Roth 401k contributions. Trying to get all that tax free investing in before paying into taxable home equity gains. Also have almost a year worth of an emergency fund in a high yield savings making almost as much as my interest rate. (Mortgage 5.99) (HYS 5%)
I’m about 5 years away from having my mortgage paid off and then I will be completely debt free. I’ve been contemplating if I will have to stay at the same job that helped me along my journey but I don’t particularly enjoy it at all or if I can do something else. I’d love a simple stay at home gig where I can enjoy life more since I will be free with zero debt plus it’s just me no kids no wife
after my divorce where i paid off all our huge student loans along with the mortgage and was completely debt free, i swore i would never go into debt again including getting a mortgage. the ex got the house and i rented an apartment for 2.5 years where i saved to pay cash for my house. it was really rough living in the apartment with very noisy inconsiderate neighbors, but i didn’t want to take out a mortgage. once you taste baby step #7, you never want to go back into debt.
I continued to invest while paying off my mortgage early. I saved $127,000 in interest that translates to future buying power. I will never regret paying off my mortgage. It is great to know that I do not have to cover that payment anymore. Debt free!!!
I paid off my home in 2017. Unfortunately, I was able to do so due to getting my beloved late wife's life insurance payout. I'd give ANYTHING to have both her and the mortgage back. We each had policies, I count it as great last blessing she bestowed upon me.
Got my 30 year paid off in 17 years. Longer than a lot here but so thankful. Now I'm just fixing up my 100 year old house. Renting out my spare rooms, hope i eventually pay cash for my next house.
In one video you have people assume they will get 10% return on investments and how quickly $100k increases in value because of compound interest. In this video you say you can't assume you will earn more than the 4% interest rate of your mortgage. Love the Ramsey advice that is based on his personal experience of over leveraging in the high--interest rates of the 80's. Times change...
NEVER underestimate free cash flow. While everyone else may have to struggle and adjust to those shiny new county appraisals that raised their taxes and drove up their homeowners insurance... you don't have to care. At all.
@@chriswoodward9173 Correct. The fact that your payment has been, essentially, cut in half means you've got all the funds that would have been directed to principal to cover any increased costs and, very likely, will still be positive.
@@nabzy28the counter argument I always think of is that someone who has a paid off house has hundreds of thousands in what could be cash tied up in the house. This is also why I tell people to buy as little house as they're comfortable living in, because it's all one big non-earning asset unless you plan on renting part of it. Like I could pay off my mortgage tomorrow if I really wanted to, but to do so I would be selling virtually all of my other investments that do earn money, and be left with just a house that doesn't generate any income while I'm living in it. I know of a few people who have done exactly that, and they all say they regret it because they completely missed out on a huge run up in the stock market, and are basically starting over from scratch building up their portfolios. They do have more free cash flow, but time value of money applies and it will take a lot of time and additional principle in for them to catch up. Also I like the idea of inflation slowly eating away at my fixed house payments. If you can afford it and are smart with money, real estate makes for great leverage to deploy your capital elsewhere.
@@chriswoodward9173 If your home is paid off/mortgage free then you do not have to have a homeowners policy. It would be smart to have one, but there is no mortgage company forcing you to buy one or they will buy one and bill you for it.
Was listening to Ramsey alot in 2013 and decided to buy my first house in cash (bank owned foreclosure from the 2008 mess) and pay it off at closing and that's been one of the best decisions I've made. Now I live on Easy Street. If you're on the fence about this, do it!
I paid off my first mortgage around 10 years. Its all about net worth and passive income afterwards. Life did change for me, e.g. work less, easily travel, luxury stuff. 100% equity is the way
My house may be paid off, but the cost of insurance and property taxes is now getting close to the amount that used to be my total mortgage payment, and may eventually exceed it. Ugh.
I know mine are. My average mortgage was $500 month, lol. Taxes are $1,370K yr and insurance is $560. But I guess it's still better than paying that a month in rent.
Because so many people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.
I advise you to invest in stocks to balance out your real estate, Even the worst recessions offer wonderful buying opportunities in the markets if you're cautious. Volatility can also result in excellent short-term buy and sell opportunities. This is not financial advice, but buy now because cash is definitely not king right now!
You're correct! With the help of an investment coach, I was able to diversify my 450K portfolio across markets and produce slightly more than $830K in net profit from high dividend yield equities, ETFs, and bonds.
My portfolio has been in the gutter for the entire year, so I started researching new ways to profit in the market, but everything I tried just seemed to miss the mark. Please let us know the name of your financial advisor.
I just copied and pasted Jennafer’s whole name into my browser, and her website appeared right away. You've saved me several hours of arduous research, therefore I appreciate it.
When I sent in our final mortgage payment, I told my husband to feel free to retire whenever he wanted to. A couple of years later his employer offered a very nice buyout for anyone who would retire -- and he immediately took it! Fully owning our house is such a blessing. Thanks to our gracious Lord.
Love your information in your video, paid off my mortgage (November 2024) no car payment, no cc, feels good not having any major payments on anything, just the basic necessities, hm owners insurance, property tax will come up in 2025, I’m already planning to set aside money for those well ahead, and let me mention I’ll plan for home maintenance etc, l have much that l budget for each month etc Again great information in your video
I don't know if I want to pay off my whole mortgage early, but during the first couple of years, when your monthly payment might only cover a couple hundred dollars of the principal, it's definitely a great idea. Just a couple thousand dollars knocked well over a year off my mortgage, and I plan to knock off a couple more years once I'm done replacing the siding and windows.
Could write a Check tomorrow to payoff the last remaining balance on a 15 yr loan. It doesn’t make sense to write a check from a 5% account to payoff a 2.75% loan.
for sure. and if that 2.75% rate changes, then just write the cheque george says what he says because he has to parrot dave he once said he wouldn't get a credit card to buy a $20,000 item even if it meant $5K back (it was on another youtuber show), that's when I realized take his talk with a grain of salt.
@geraldsahd3413 Agree, but everyone's situation/goals are different. My dream is to have enough invested that the dividends earned are enough to cover the mortgage - even though reinvestment could net higher returns. Will only put extra towards my mortgage otherwise if rates increase dramatically, or all my tax advantage accounts are maxed out.
@@nickstark8479 I didn’t read your comment until now but I was replying to the comment about writing a check tomorrow to pay it off lol a very high chance homie ain’t got the funds to do it in the first place lol my 0% will always beat your 2.75% rate any day of the week
I paid mine off this spring after 12 years. For now, I'm replenishing some dedicated emergency funds to what they were before the downpayment. And then I thought that, since I'm used to not having this money, I can just continue to live without it. I can put it toward my future in some kind of investment. And, of course, property tax and insurance will be my new payments. Every year, my goal was to make at least one extra payment. Obviously, I made more than one extra payment per year.
Im saving over $100k in interest by paying double my mortgage on the 15 year loan I got in 21' at 2.5%. I still invest but Im not about to just assume Ill make even more investing the difference to make it worth the risk.
Its just the age old question of logics versus emotion. Logically speaking, if your mortgage interest is below 5%, its always better to just invest over pay it off early, and if its over, you may consider paying it back early. Emotionally speaking, if debt is scary, or you are basically bad with money, just always pay it off early. Everyone is different in how they view money.
You should probably follow Money Guys financial orders of operation rather than Ramsey. Time in the market is more important than actual returns on investment
2.79% will be the literal cheapest money you can borrow..... +1 to what @patrickm444 said.... go check out Money Guys and learn about opportunity cost. You can make more than that interest rate in a HYSA with 0% risk involved. Let alone if you decided to invest that money at 10% average return in the market you will significantly outpace that mortgage.
@@NobodySpecial509 Good for you, but personally not what I would choose to do with a 2.79% rate... Especially with so many banks offering 5% back guaranteed right now.
Mortgage rates will be at least double when we renew, so our mortgage will go up, mostly to interest, so i’d rather just have it paid off & be done with it.
Right now the best option for me is to invest as much as possible in a tax advantaged account (RRSP in Canada) and then use the tax return to pay down the mortgage.
You have not factored that you still need to pay property tax, maintenance, HOA and insurance. They increase every year thats like renting that place even after you paid off your home.
I saved for 20 years and paid cash for a small retirement home before I retired. There are still expenses associated with owning, just like owning a car free and clear. However mortgage payment is usually a big chunk monthly (just like car payment), not having it is a big relief. Also, my home is NOT expensive so I don’t sit in a pile of cash I can’t withdraw. In SoCal, many senior and retired homeowners sit on half a mil to multimillion home equity they have a hard time getting out (income not enough to borrow and repay).
I have a $250,000 mortgage at 3%. Pmt about $850/mo. Property taxes $2,400/mo. Insurance $1,000/mo. If, according to Ramsey, I can earn "12% in a good mutual fund", explain why I would ever pay off this mortgage? BTW - taxes and insurance will never end and always increase.
The hard part is most people max out their budget to get into a house. Then hopefully they gain income over the next several years and save up enough for when the water heater goes out.
This is awesome. I don’t know if you can use the word retire after only a 9 year career, but it’s cool she was able to leave the work force and support the family in a way that works best for y’all.
I'm doing the same. I have a 2.75% interest mortgage, make the minimum monthly payment and invest the rest. My investment portfolio has had an excellent rate of return thus far this year and I have enough cash to pay off my home if I chose to do so in a high yield savings account earning 5% . It is important to recognize and understand that most of the advice given by the Ramsey gang is intended for people who are absolutely horrible money managers and are in severe financial distress. For those of us with some financial intelligence and low mortgage rates, the better decision is to invest vs. making extra house payments.
My current property is not my forever home. Me and my wife are currently planning on if we should sell it or turn it into a rental after we both complete our degrees. We will buy our 2nd investment property afterwards. So the debt on this house is not keeping us up at night
@@lockedloaded4942 Exactly. We don't all run out and lease Jaguars and Jet Skis with the money that could have paid off the mortgage. There is risk in not paying it off early, but with the current economic conditions there's just way to much opportunity cost.
I could pay off my mortgage next week if I sold some stocks since the balance of my taxable portfolio is about 3x my mortgage balance. I suppose I could foresee some scenario where it makes sense to prepay, but hard to justify right now since the rate I have is 2.75% 30 Fixed. If prevailing rates and inflation are much lower or some circumstances in my life change, maybe I would prepay. That said, my payment isn't that high. I think your argument for forced savings makes sense for many people that wouldn't be saving anyway, but I already save a high percentage of my income.
Why do you guys dismiss assuming a 10% stock market return in this scenario but always browbeat people on the show that it is pretty much a guarantee(it's not)
@@dannyrodriguez9465 You just need to pay one his SmartVestor Pros. But then you still have to pick the stonks yourself. You're just paying for access to the heart of a teacher. It makes no sense.
I was scrolling for this comment! Also, sequence of returns is all of a sudden an issue, just not with retirement withdrawals! All a bunch of grifters.
I like the part about less risk due to my scenario where I work at a big tech company. When you still have a mortgage and got your money on investments(stocks), and the moment there is a recession, those stocks go down and there is also a risk of losing your job due to lay offs. Now you end up with a mortgage to pay, significantly lower valued assets due to a crash, and potentially with no income if u lost your job. It's the worst scenario to be in. If you paid off the house and you lose your job, you still have a roof over your head no matter what. If you don't lose your job, it's the perfect time to use your income to buy those discounted stocks during the crash. Your income would be significantly bigger for investment if the mortgage is out of the picture. The investing earns bigger than the mortgage interest idea is only in an ideal and no recession scenario. Now I say all of this which sounds great but for some reason I still have a lot of assets in stocks and still owe a lot on my mortgage. Why? Maybe I'm greedy. But I plan to do some changes soon to be more at peace.
I just wish the government would stop holding its greedy hand out wanting their share even though you have no mortgage. Taxes are forever and it sucks.
It would be great if we're no longer obligated to pay property taxes once our house is paid for. Another alternative would be that property taxes is based on the price you paid for your home and remains the same price for as long as you live in (or own) your home. It's time for the nation to rise up and call for property tax reform.
@@Ella-Bella2024 Without property taxes the city and state would need to raise the sales tax to 15% or 20% or something silly. Same with income taxes. The money has to come from somewhere. If you say "raise corporate taxes" you don't realize that they will in turn make the prices of everything much higher.
@@Singlesix6 I'm well aware of that and I'm fine with it. People have the ability to control how much money they spend, whereas people don't have a choice about paying property taxes. I think it's a fair exchange that could ensure that people won't lose their homes solely due to not paying property taxes.
Ramsey's group is appealing to the emotion of the feeling of freedom. If you have a lower interest rate than what you could earn in a mutual fund then it doesn't make sense financially to pay off early. You could still pay minimum, invest and if something comes up then withdraw that money from the mutual funds to pay off the mortgage. At least then your money is earning more for you than the cost of mortgage interest. The only risk is if you need to pay off your mortgage happens to be in the middle of a market correction. Diversified funds will help mitigate that risk along with a healthy emergency savings.
Currently 3 years into a 40 year mortgage and will need a bigger mortgage in the next few years to be able to get out of my flat and into an actual house. UK properly market is brutal!
Everyone thinks I’m stupid for paying off our mortgage early. They come at me with the math and how it would be better to invest. While that may be true, they fail to see the intangible benefits that come with having a paid off home. Those are what are more important to me.
@@Ella-Bella2024 Nope. We're just too busy looking for better places to invest our money and win through arbitrage while our sub 2% mortgage protects us against inflation.
@@carlfaitware8099 what you want to do with your resources is fine. But why try to make someone else feel stupid about making a different choice? That's what I don't understand. It's a good thing to pay off your mortgage. @michaelhatfield5808 just freed up more of his income to invest. Instead of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest for the next 30 years, now he can invest that money. I grew up in a house that was paid off. Because my parents had no mortgage, money was never a problem. My parents were able to spend more time with me and my five siblings. We went on vacations 5 weeks every year. My parents came home with two brand new cars once, like it was nothing. They paid for all of our college. None of us have college debt. My parents were able to retire and want for nothing. They have never had to worry financially. That's the value of a paid-off house. So, is it a stupid thing to do? No, it's not. We can agree to disagree, but I think it's pretty smart.
It’s easy to give advice when life is going well. Most people do not take into consideration quality of life, death, divorce, etc when giving advice on money and investments. People have different goals, needs and desires. There are many ways of making, saving and growing your money. Learn what works best for you.
The value of a paid off home is psychological. The value of investing the difference is measured in real dollars. A couple of misleading things in this video. First, your net worth increases with the value of your home wether you owe money on it or not. Second, the idea that once the home is paid off you have more margins to spend and give is incorrect because you are behind on retirement savings compared to people who were investing the whole time. Mathematically, if you paid your home early in the last 15 years, you left a lot of money on the table compared to dollar cost averaging the difference in a simple sp500 index fund. I don't know where he got his numbers, but he is just wrong about that. Opportunity cost doesn't "feel" real because you never see it, but a dollar is a dollar. Peace of mind is great but it's also expensive. I wish Ramsey were less dogmatic about debt and gave a more nuanced view.
Yup. A simple excel file to calculate net worth is an easy way to see what happens when you invest rather than pay off early. With my 2.75% 30y fixed, I played around with what happens when I invest a fixed amount rather than pay down the principle. In all cases, I came out cash positive (i.e. my investment total exceeds my existing remaining mortgage) in about 14 years. This is with a $1600 monthly mortgage, and assuming I have $800 extra to either pay down the mortgage or invest. I also assumed my interest on the investment was a paltry 2.75%, same as my mortgage. This could easily be achieved with CDs. So, I was cash positive in 14years, but as I increased my payment toward the principle (I.e. less toward the investment, since I have a fixed salary income, that makes the most sense) the time for me to become a millionaire became longer and longer. The best scenario was when I just paid the mortgage with no additional principle payment. It is a no brainer to just send more money into a 401k once you’ve save your emergency fund. Now, if you have a higher rate mortgage, then it changes the math a bit, right? But Ramsey and his group wants to treat his audience like idiots, that is the bottom line that makes me sad whenever I see this topic get rehashed by Ramsey and George. They think their audience is too stupid to walk through the math so they don’t even bother walking through it. I enjoy George, but to me I think he would do better as a financial consultant if he just unhitched from Ramsey. Ramsey paychecks are a sure thing though, so I get it.
This is true. In the long run you'll very likely have more money to give away if you can keep a 4% mortgage and invest the difference in good index funds, which typically have average return of 7% to 10%. Psychologically it may make sense to pay off mortgage early, but on-average people would have a lot more money to give away if they keep a 3% or 4% mortgage, paying as scheduled for 15 or 30 years.
I think you failed to address a number of points relevant, both pro and con. Con: * Your mortgage interest can be tax deductable * Emotionally, peace of mind that you don't have to worry about a missing payment is true, but in practice if you have any sort of retirement account, that can act as a penalty-free emergency fund for your mortgage debt Pro: * This is semi-regional, but one of the biggest increases in costs of home ownership across the country is home insurance. If a bank still owns your home, they dictate the level of insurance you must maintain. If you own it outright, you get to pick/choose coverage to more address risks to your home (e.g. if you invest in a roof that is more hail-proof). Right now there isn't much discussion about this, and in general, have good home policy coverage. But in states where home insurance policies are skyrocketing, or becoming impossible to even find, managing that risk in a researched and smart way is going to begin to be a very big deal, financially especially as a growing, reoccurring "forever" home owner expense for those trying to plan for retirement.
Because I make so little, I had to pay for my home in cash and took a chunk out of my inheritance to do it (no way could I afford a monthly payment a mortgage would require in these parts). It's a manufactured home, so not nearly as expensive as most homes, and I'd traded in the old one on the property that was falling apart (much like an old car trade-in to down pay for a new one). Best decision I made in my new adult life. I might have moths flying out of my wallet, but I still have a roof over my head. At this point, that's better than some folks have. My biggest worry is every year, property taxes have increased & they're looming around the corner (and that's the fight and a half I have to contend with). I'm scrambling to afford that and keep affording it. But knowing I don't have a house payment and have SOME wiggle room out of other debts is fantastic, and a good reminder when my financial stresses get to me.
Overpaid homes bought during low loan rates will spark a housing crisis. As prices drop, owners with no equity will face foreclosure, unable to sell without incurring losses. With mass layoffs and rising living costs looming, many will struggle to afford their homes, exacerbating the catastrophe.
Diversify your portfolio by investing in stocks to offset real estate risks. Even in recessions, markets offer great buying opportunities with caution. Volatility can create excellent short-term trades. (Not financial advice) But with cash yields low, now's a good time to invest!
Exactly! With guidance from an investment coach, I successfully diversified my $450K portfolio across asset classes, generating an impressive $830K in net profits through a strategic mix of high-dividend stocks, ETFs, and bonds.
After a dismal year for my portfolio, I sought new strategies to revitalize my investments, but every approach I attempted fell short. I'm eager to learn from your success - could you please share the name of your financial advisor?
I work with “Sonya Lee Mitchell”, a licensed financial advisor. Simply look up her name to find her contact information and schedule a consultation.
Searching her name online led me straight to her website. Thanks for the tip, you've saved me hours of research!
I’ve been diligently working, saving and contributing towards financial freedom and paying off my high interest mortgage, but the economy so far since the pandemic has eaten away most of my portfolio, what I want to know is this: Do I keep contributing to my portfolio in these unstable markets or do I look into alternative sectors.
Just try to diversify your portfolio to other market sectors, that way your investment is balanced and you don’t get to make so much losses.
Yeah, financial advisors could make a lot of difference, particularly in a market such as this. Stocks are pretty unstable at the moment, but if you do the right math, you should be just fine. Bloomberg and other finance media have been recording cases of folks gaining over 250k just in a matter of weeks/couple months, so I think there are a lot of wealth transfer in this downtime if you know where to look. I have been using an FA since 2020, and I return at least $30k ROI, and this does not include capital gain.
Would you mind telling me how to contact this specific coach using their service? You seem to have the solution, as opposed to the rest of us.
For me, Diana Casteel Lynch turned out to be better and smarter than all the advisors I ever worked with till date, I’ve never met anyone with as much conviction.
I just googled her and I'm really impressed with her credentials; I reached out to her since I need all the assistance I can get. I just scheduled a caII.
I paid up all my mortgages in 2yrs while working with a Financial Adviser. I’m 54 and my husband 57 we are both retired with over $3 million in net worth and no debts. We got to realize that the secret to financial freedom is making better investments.
That is so amazing, I’m trying to get onto the investing ladder at 40. I wish at 55 I will be testifying to similar success..
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
Could you recommend your advisor? I'd appreciate some help.
Certainly, there are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’Melissa Terri Swayne” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive.She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I ran a Google search for her name and came across her website; thank you for sharing.
Our mortgage will be paid off in 3 months!! We have worked so hard this past year.
I just paid off my mortgage last week. The reality still hasn’t hit me yet and for some reason I still feel stressed out about money.
Are you chunky and a little bit funky? (Are you overweight? Working too much and not enough working out)
❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations to you both!
Congratulations ! I feel proud driving a 15 year old car. It’s paid for & I have no mortgage.
Just walked into the bank with a balloon payment yesterday. So good to be free.
My wife (26) and I (29) just paid off our house last Friday. It is amazing being debt free! We got married in July 2020, got our cars paid off and then got the house knocked out. Friends my age are constantly saying it is impossible to live comfortably on less than 150 to 200k a year in our area but combined we make 100k. Own a brick ranch with 16 acres... life is good and comfortable, just cut out the subscriptions and budgeted. Can't wait to be outrageously generous!
nice, you were able to get married when the world was closed down
@user-dq4ri6fi7b it was fantastic! We rented a "private campground" right outside a state park that had 4 spots to park and camp. We had our immediate family and grand parents come out. We had 20 people including us, the pastor, and we all brought our dogs so we had 10 dogs running around during the wedding. Afterwards we ate breakfast for dinner for our reception. The whole wedding and reception cost under $1,000. And we couldn't have imagined a better wedding. My wife is the frugal saver in our relationship, picked out a nice white dress that she looked breath taking in for $35. Life is good and we were blessed to have wonderful mentors that let us get to where we are and to be content.
North Dakota, huh? (just kidding... maybe not).
Dang. That's super impressive. Did you guys contribute to retirement during that time or just throw everything at the mortgage?
Love that for you both! Congrats!! ❤
Down to 6 payments left. Will have paid it off within 5 years. We're stoked!
Damn, thats impressive! Every banker hates you. LOL. Thats a really good thing. I feel better giving money to carpenters and electricians. Banks are getting too much for almost no work
Paid off my house 5 months ago. It feels so good to be in this position and our net worth is now 1.5 million and climbing. Life is great 😊 I don’t have any stress or worries about this economy or my job laying me off or etc. More financial margin is worth it.
Because so many people overpaid for homes during a period when interest rates were low, I believe there will be a housing crisis because these people are in debt. If housing prices continue to fall and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the house and it goes into foreclosure, they will have no equity because they will not make any money if they sell. I feel that many people will be affected by this, especially given the predicted mass layoffs and fast rising living costs.
I recommend investing in shares to balance out your real estate assets. Even the toughest recessions can give wonderful purchasing opportunities if you are prudent. Furthermore, volatility can create wonderful short-term buy and sell opportunities. Although this is not financial advise, you should buy right now because money isn't king right now!
You are correct. With the help of an investing coach, I was able to diversify my 450K portfolio across markets, and I was able to create a little over $830K in net profit by using high dividend yield stocks, ETFs, and bonds.
Would you mind sharing some information on the adviser who assisted you? Since the age of 18, I've been saving for a pension through a company program. As I became more taxed, I enhanced my workplace pension with a SIPP (tax advantages). I'm now 50 and would like to aggressively grow my wealth; there are a couple cars I still want to drive and mega-vacations I still want to take.
Annette Christine Conte is the licensed fiduciary I use. Just research the name. You’d find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment...
Thank you for sharing; I will need all the help I can get because I recently sold some of my assets in order to invest in the stock market.
Mortgage paid off and no car payment. Life’s good
I finally feel proud driving a 15 year old car. I don’t owe anybody anything.
Same here! I paid my house off about 15 years ago via paying off my $95,000 principal from my insurance settlement due to an accident involving a dog when I was 10 years old ( I’m 53 now) ! Talk about “ FREEDOM 😃!!!”
Can I join the club? Been mortgage free since I was 22! House and car paid off too!
Debt free feels great!!!! Paid off my car yrs ago, no cc, paid off mortgage (November 2024)
I split with my wife in 2017 and initially took over our mortgage and then a small mortgage solely in my own name to give her her half of the equity in our small house. When the mortgage was put into my name only (ie she'd been bought out), I set about overpaying it. It took me 2 years, 6 months and 13 days to pay my 10 year mortgage. I threw the kitchen sink at it and cut every unnecessary expense to do it. The benefit of doing this was the lesson of how not to waste money.
Now, instead of overpaying a mortgage, I save, save, save. I am a part time worker anyway but I have enough money saved already to fund all my residue expenses for AT LEAST 2 years. ie - I could take a 2 year holiday where I just don't work at all.
Pay off your mortgage. Take the syphon the banks have in your financial veins out. The finance industry is full of morally bankrupt suited spivs. Freedom. I really, really am free!
Appreciate your videos! I’m 54 and younger generations should know there’s no shortcut to acquiring wealth, but there are ways to go about it. Fellow millionaires don’t tell the poor/middle class they need the knowledge of finance coaches to help build their wealth. If anyone here needs a good coach, here’s it..
Elizabeth Greenhunts
Get to her with her name..
Good to here. Thanks
Cool info..
She sounds stupid.
9 months and ours will be paid off! Cant' wait!!!
6 months to go - 25 year mortgage in 8y9m!
Way to go!!
🎉
My wife and myself have been debt free for 10 years there is nothing on GODS green earth that I would Ever borrow money for NOTHING. Freedom is good.
I didn't like the idea of debt in my twenties, but since then I've discovered investing, particularly in real estate, and my wife and I have a far better life in our foirties after 7 years so far of borrowing money to invest in real estate. I don't have a bachelor's degree or 6-figure job or anything. Each person needs to find his own path and be happy for others with a different path.
Amen!!!!
I have never heard ANYONE complain about paying off a mortgage early...!
I've heard lots of people say it. They usually say you can earn more by investing it or you'll lose your tax write-off. They're wrong but they still say it.
@TScottW99 Well they're not "wrong". Just in the past 4 years, you could have almost doubled your money just by having your money sitting in any ETF tracking the S&P 500 with record low interest rates.
Now they can choose whether to cashout and have twice the capital to put towards their mortgage or let it keep (hopefully) growing.
But it's not guaranteed, and who knows what the future holds.
The Money Guy show had a woman pay off her mortgage with her husband's life insurance following this one-size-fits-all solution and then spent years struggling cash poor because you can't eat drywall.
Of course you haven't heard that. Having a paid off mortgage is a good thing in the abstract. You know what else I haven't heard people complain about? Having too much money invested or too much money saved. The question here is when those three things come into conflict which is the better route to take.
I don't see how that idea is helpful at all honestly.
@@TScottW99 There are high standard deductions now so that isn’t an issue anymore and paying $10k a year in interest to save taxable income on less than that was never a better deal anyway. People are ignorant.
Paid off my house 9 months ago. Post mortgage, I now have a $500 surplus every month after all expenses have been paid and money deposited into retirement account(s) The surplus has been going into my emergency fund.
Was your mortgage only 500$?
Good job
Just got rid of my mortgage last week! Probably won’t truly feel it until I do the end of month budget and I won’t need to separate for it anymore. I’m excited
I am 47 and I have 2 homes paid off …. Now I have freedom … I am debt free … one is rented and pays off the property taxes and insurance for both properties.
Having more financial freedom I am able to invest more aggressively and more risky without extra stress ….
Have the same plan! Extra funds from rental going to help pay main house down faster.
@@ryanjustin2470 I am doing the same plan, Congratulations!
Good deal, I'm 43. I would guess your wealth is greater now than if you had never taken a mortgage to begin with?
Paid off our house last August! Zero Debt. Had to read Total Money Makeover 3X for the info to sink in....FREEDOM! Cheers!
I got 30 year mortgage in 2010 at 4.25 percent. I prepaid and have 2.5 years left. I did it because I have health issues and I’ll be 47 in two days.
but if you had invested that money especially in that time frame you would of already of had the money to pay it off today if not sooner plus have extra cash so the health issue is irrelevant. Having the money to pay off a house (say from investments) and paying off a house are essentially the same but depends on the cost vs returns.
@@whasian2007 that needs to be demonstrated as true by showing the after tax returns outweigh the risk premium on equities vs paying down mortgage with an interest tax shelter
Happy Birthday 🎉!
@@whasian2007 yeah but you have to pay taxes on those investments and possibly early withdrawal penalty if in 401k and I might get too sick to work full time. Then you have to worry about our healthcare costs getting out of control. Investing wise wife and I have 1.5 million at age 47. We could had more but we will be fine. I’m retiring at age 54.5 with irs rule of 55. I worry about running out of time than money. Health is wealth and I should took better care of my health when I was in my 20s and 30s if I could do it all over again. Im paying for it now
@@alexagiyants8373 thank you 🙏
No one has ever said, "I miss my mortgage."
Not true
Don’t think I’m crazy but I’ve been debt free my entire life and yet I still love listening to Dave Ramsey. Sometimes I think about how exciting it would be to do the baby steps and then do a debt free scream. And just for the record no I’m not rich I just grew up very poor and refused to ever live in debt again.
Same here, l was in Debt many, many years ago ago it was no fun, l never, never want to be in Debt again NEVER!!!!
My house has 6 bedrooms, my great grandmother lived here, it was paid for in cash when it was built. Its never been sold.
AWESOME❤
'And the argument here is that if you invested the money instead of using it to pay off your house, your returns would be greater than the amount of interest savings that you'd have. Now the problem here is that you're assuming you'll make a spread by investing the difference, when in reality you don't know what interest rates will do you don't know what the stock market will do.'
If that's true then why do you all assume 8-10% for stock market returns for literally all of your other investing advice?
And interest rates are fixed on conventional mortgages, so you know exactly what it will do. It will stay the same.
Bingo. These people are inconsistent and incapable of deviating from their script, even when their script is rightfully challenged.
Exactly. And if you're so terrified of risk, just put the mortgage payoff amount in a high yield savings, you can get over 5% on some of them, assuming you have one of the sub 4% mortgages. I've already slaughtered my total interest costs on 15 year in 3 years by keeping the money in the stock market. It's not rocket science and you CAN time the markets. I guess they assume most of their audience is stupid, and might have taken out an ARM. In that case, no one can help you. Those people are good at compound stupidity, not compound interest.
@@danieljohnson4418 Yeah, I'm sure my comment about my ultra cheap mortgage and how I've already beaten the system will be shadow banned. The Ramsey way is not just all debt it bad, they think all RISK is bad. They don't really like to mention opportunity cost.
Yup, once your consumer debts are gone, run from Ramsey as fast as possible. The Money Guys are better for responsible people.
@@SilentSputnikagreed. Ramsey is great to get you out of debt, then graduate to The Money Guys!
Ten years ago, at 59, I decided to retire early for a few reasons. I didn't want a mortgage payment hanging around my neck, so I paid my house off to free up my cash flow. My 2019 Ranger is also paid off, I'm debt free and it feels great.
We’re making extra payments and like you’ve said many times.. it gets addicting to see how much more we can do. Tough to balance investing with our high interest rate. But I’d rather knock it out and have the peace than invest more now
I agree. I pay an extra $200 per month on my 15-year mortgage.
This past 2 years have been the best in my life. I have paid off my home and cars, with no problem. The key is planning ahead and consistently paying extra to principal balances.
Paid off our mortgage in March. Best feeling in the world, getting ready for husbands retirement.
62. Paid off a predatory mortgage. Live in one unit rent out 3 units. So blessed.
Don’t forget to pay your property taxes though. Those never go away
Ya once we paid our mortgage off, I realized the we are renting our home from the gov't.
@thomasproffitt4587 Crazy to think after a 30 year mortgage, the property taxes are likely to be as much if not more than the mortgage itself 😬
@@nickstark8479 Funny thing is that annual I pay all at once and it's 3 months of my old mortgage payments.
True that you never really own your home as long as there are property taxes.
I live in western NY and just the property taxes alone on my house are 48% of my total house payment
If we could pay off our mortgage in 2 years we would. In today's economy if you can pay off your mortgage that quickly by focusing everything towards it, you make a good amount of money. Nothing wrong with that, but its good to have context.
Agree! No one mentions that part.
Got a 30 yr mortgage. Paid off the mortgage in 19 yrs.
Exactly
That was very dangerous of you. In the future, please be mindless and follow Ramsey's advice without question. Thank you.
Nice.
@danieljohnson4418 How is it dangerous to pay off your mortgage early when you could? I would definitely do it when I have the extra cash.
@@muzzeenfilms1784: Dave Ramsey recommends a 15-year mortgage. Any deviation from the Ramsey plan is "dangerous." 😉
I paid off my mortgage in March of 2020 🎉 no bills, only electricity gas and taxes 😊 my house is worth $375,000. I love the neighborhood. Best feeling to have paid it off before turning 40.
I think it's time to make it more appealing for potential buyers. Real estate can be quite the rollercoaster! the stress and uncertainty are getting to me. I think I'll cut rents to attract potential buyers and exit the market, but i'm at crossroads if to allocate the entire $680k liquidity value to my stock portfolio?
"Overall, buyers hold a lot of the cards right now, and sellers are having to give out more concessions to close a deal." All the best, buying on sale is actually one of the best ways to invest in stocks, and advisors are ideally suited for such task
Until the Fed clamps down even further I think we're going to see hysteria due to rampant inflation. If you are in cross roads or need sincere advise on the best moves to take now with financial markets will be best you seek a fin-professional with fiduciary responsibilities who knows about mortgage-backed securities for proper guidance.
this sounds considerable! think you know any advisors i can get on the phone with? i'm in dire need of proper portfolio allocation
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’ Melissa Terri Swayne” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I ran a Google search on her name and came across her website; thank you for sharing.
went with a 10 year fixed refi at 1.875% and was paying extra at first so only have 5.5 years reamining making the minimum payments. Stopped paying extra when the rates on HYSA went up and started stacking the extra mortgage principal payment in savings. When the rates on the savings drop below 2.4% (which is the break even point after paying income taxes on interest) I will write a check and pay the house off. Since the mortgage is a small amount of our financial world, we can still comfortably max out all of our 401k and Roth IRA retirement accounts (investing about 25% of gross income not including employer contributions) and keep growing that nest egg.
Because mortgage interest is tax deductible, the breakeven rate is actually 1:1. Also if you put your savings directly into treasuries (ETF ticker BIL has higher yields than savings accounts and manages everything for you) the income from those isn't taxed at the state or local level.
The problem with Ramsey and his affiliates is that they don't acknowledge that every case is different. In your case you have a very low rate, and they will still recommend you to get rid of it. They talk about math a lot, but they're more driven by religion than math/data.
@@lgrrf don't get me wrong, we still want it gone but since it was paid heavily up front it will be out of our life in under 4 years because when the balance drops to say 20-30k on the loan probably just pay it off because that amount of spread is minimal. (Unless savings are paying 7-8% in a few years lol).
@@BrianNC81 Sure, I totally get that. I have also paid my house in 4 years, so I acknowledge that it's good to have these goals. Again, what I don't like is the lack of nuance in these guys' analyses. I don't like fundamentalism overtaking rationalism.
Taking a similar approach. Nice to have extra cash on hand in uncertain job markets.
My retirement was just last month. Having pre-tax income of $5.7 million, I did follow my one-time advice from Lois Jean Frueh Since I have an inherited $700k that I have to spend down in seven years, I had to do it all at once. I'm currently 59 years old. I have $3.5 million in Roth since I have a pension. Stocks worth $4.5 million are taxed. I'm starting to give my kids gifts now, as you stated, to help with a house down the road.
I am no longer suffering with rmd. Children receive it free of tax. The only thing my wife has is $600,000 before taxes, which I may need to convert at some point. I'm attempting to avoid paying for Medicare, but it appears like I will have to for a time. I am unable to even deplete my pension each month. excluding the remainder of my investments. All thanks to my CFA.
Purchase (2) modest investment rentals. (I own 4.) It is a part-time hands-on business and a ticket to a comfortable retirement if you are willing to deal with the headaches. I buy clean low-mileage cars in cash and I carry no balance on credit cards. I "retired" 10 years ago and my portfolio is worth more now (inflation considered). I will not outlive my resources if I live to be 100. Its all about financial literacy
I'm glad I found this conversation. Working towards paying off my house in next 8 years. can you recommend your financial counselor
Thanks for sharing. I curiously searched for her full name and her website popped up immediately. I looked through her credentials and did my due diligence before contacting her.
I did both paid off mortgage aggressively till more then 50% of each payment goes to the equity and now I’m just maxing out Roth IRA and increasing Roth 401k contributions. Trying to get all that tax free investing in before paying into taxable home equity gains. Also have almost a year worth of an emergency fund in a high yield savings making almost as much as my interest rate. (Mortgage 5.99) (HYS 5%)
I’m about 5 years away from having my mortgage paid off and then I will be completely debt free. I’ve been contemplating if I will have to stay at the same job that helped me along my journey but I don’t particularly enjoy it at all or if I can do something else. I’d love a simple stay at home gig where I can enjoy life more since I will be free with zero debt plus it’s just me no kids no wife
after my divorce where i paid off all our huge student loans along with the mortgage and was completely debt free, i swore i would never go into debt again including getting a mortgage. the ex got the house and i rented an apartment for 2.5 years where i saved to pay cash for my house. it was really rough living in the apartment with very noisy inconsiderate neighbors, but i didn’t want to take out a mortgage. once you taste baby step #7, you never want to go back into debt.
Thank you Dave Ramsey and team. We paid of our house in 18mos!😊😊
I continued to invest while paying off my mortgage early. I saved $127,000 in interest that translates to future buying power. I will never regret paying off my mortgage. It is great to know that I do not have to cover that payment anymore. Debt free!!!
Mortgage free, 700K home. Ive never slept better and had less worry, about literally everything.
What's the cost of your utilities for a 700k house??
Internet oil electric and water
6500 yearly here
Thank you, George! I recently paid off my mortgage in 2.5 years!
I paid off my home in 2017. Unfortunately, I was able to do so due to getting my beloved late wife's life insurance payout. I'd give ANYTHING to have both her and the mortgage back. We each had policies, I count it as great last blessing she bestowed upon me.
Sorry for your loss.
What's a mortgage? I paid cash for my house 27 years ago.
Paid ours off last September 🙌🏻 no ragrets
Sup Scottie P. :)
*Rugrats
Bro has never seen were the millers
“Not even one letter?”
Congrats must feel so good to achieve that.
Can’t describe the freedom I felt after I paid my mortgage off a year ago. Turned 40 with a big fat smile on my face 😂
Got my 30 year paid off in 17 years. Longer than a lot here but so thankful. Now I'm just fixing up my 100 year old house. Renting out my spare rooms, hope i eventually pay cash for my next house.
In one video you have people assume they will get 10% return on investments and how quickly $100k increases in value because of compound interest. In this video you say you can't assume you will earn more than the 4% interest rate of your mortgage. Love the Ramsey advice that is based on his personal experience of over leveraging in the high--interest rates of the 80's. Times change...
NEVER underestimate free cash flow. While everyone else may have to struggle and adjust to those shiny new county appraisals that raised their taxes and drove up their homeowners insurance... you don't have to care. At all.
Ooof. You still owe annual property tax and homeowners insurance after the mortgage is paid off.
@@chriswoodward9173 Correct. The fact that your payment has been, essentially, cut in half means you've got all the funds that would have been directed to principal to cover any increased costs and, very likely, will still be positive.
@@nabzy28the counter argument I always think of is that someone who has a paid off house has hundreds of thousands in what could be cash tied up in the house. This is also why I tell people to buy as little house as they're comfortable living in, because it's all one big non-earning asset unless you plan on renting part of it.
Like I could pay off my mortgage tomorrow if I really wanted to, but to do so I would be selling virtually all of my other investments that do earn money, and be left with just a house that doesn't generate any income while I'm living in it. I know of a few people who have done exactly that, and they all say they regret it because they completely missed out on a huge run up in the stock market, and are basically starting over from scratch building up their portfolios. They do have more free cash flow, but time value of money applies and it will take a lot of time and additional principle in for them to catch up.
Also I like the idea of inflation slowly eating away at my fixed house payments. If you can afford it and are smart with money, real estate makes for great leverage to deploy your capital elsewhere.
@@chriswoodward9173 If your home is paid off/mortgage free then you do not have to have a homeowners policy. It would be smart to have one, but there is no mortgage company forcing you to buy one or they will buy one and bill you for it.
Was listening to Ramsey alot in 2013 and decided to buy my first house in cash (bank owned foreclosure from the 2008 mess) and pay it off at closing and that's been one of the best decisions I've made. Now I live on Easy Street. If you're on the fence about this, do it!
I paid off my first mortgage around 10 years.
Its all about net worth and passive income afterwards.
Life did change for me, e.g. work less, easily travel, luxury stuff.
100% equity is the way
debt free is the way to be.
My house may be paid off, but the cost of insurance and property taxes is now getting close to the amount that used to be my total mortgage payment, and may eventually exceed it. Ugh.
I know mine are. My average mortgage was $500 month, lol. Taxes are $1,370K yr and insurance is $560. But I guess it's still better than paying that a month in rent.
Because so many people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.
I advise you to invest in stocks to balance out your real estate, Even the worst recessions offer wonderful buying opportunities in the markets if you're cautious. Volatility can also result in excellent short-term buy and sell opportunities. This is not financial advice, but buy now because cash is definitely not king right now!
You're correct! With the help of an investment coach, I was able to diversify my 450K portfolio across markets and produce slightly more than $830K in net profit from high dividend yield equities, ETFs, and bonds.
My portfolio has been in the gutter for the entire year, so I started researching new ways to profit in the market, but everything I tried just seemed to miss the mark. Please let us know the name of your financial advisor.
Jennafer Beaver Turner is the licensed advisor I use.
Just research the name. You'd find necessary details to work with to set up an appointment
I just copied and pasted Jennafer’s whole name into my browser, and her website appeared right away. You've saved me several hours of arduous research, therefore I appreciate it.
When I sent in our final mortgage payment, I told my husband to feel free to retire whenever he wanted to. A couple of years later his employer offered a very nice buyout for anyone who would retire -- and he immediately took it! Fully owning our house is such a blessing. Thanks to our gracious Lord.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that biscuit @4:19 is a Popeye's biscuit and not a Bojangles biscuit .... (not me being a biscuit connoisseur lololol) 😆
Love your information in your video, paid off my mortgage (November 2024) no car payment, no cc, feels good not having any major payments on anything, just the basic necessities, hm owners insurance, property tax will come up in 2025, I’m already planning to set aside money for those well ahead, and let me mention I’ll plan for home maintenance etc, l have much that l budget for each month etc Again great information in your video
Savings from having no mortgage is not taxed and investments can be taxed! Having a paid for house is so peaceful!
Paid home.
4 rental properties (paid cash)
Zero dept
I don't know if I want to pay off my whole mortgage early, but during the first couple of years, when your monthly payment might only cover a couple hundred dollars of the principal, it's definitely a great idea. Just a couple thousand dollars knocked well over a year off my mortgage, and I plan to knock off a couple more years once I'm done replacing the siding and windows.
2 months to go for me! Looking forward to it!
paid off the house last year. greatest decision ever made. Raising 3 small kids is much easier without a mortgage.
Could write a Check tomorrow to payoff the last remaining balance on a 15 yr loan. It doesn’t make sense to write a check from a 5% account to payoff a 2.75% loan.
for sure. and if that 2.75% rate changes, then just write the cheque
george says what he says because he has to parrot dave
he once said he wouldn't get a credit card to buy a $20,000 item even if it meant $5K back (it was on another youtuber show), that's when I realized take his talk with a grain of salt.
@geraldsahd3413 Agree, but everyone's situation/goals are different. My dream is to have enough invested that the dividends earned are enough to cover the mortgage - even though reinvestment could net higher returns.
Will only put extra towards my mortgage otherwise if rates increase dramatically, or all my tax advantage accounts are maxed out.
No you can’t😂
@@Vrastaflame Why not?
@@nickstark8479 I didn’t read your comment until now but I was replying to the comment about writing a check tomorrow to pay it off lol a very high chance homie ain’t got the funds to do it in the first place lol my 0% will always beat your 2.75% rate any day of the week
I got mine paid off, and people look at me somewhat differently... Kinda as though i am wealthy. For once, they are right.
I paid mine off this spring after 12 years. For now, I'm replenishing some dedicated emergency funds to what they were before the downpayment. And then I thought that, since I'm used to not having this money, I can just continue to live without it. I can put it toward my future in some kind of investment. And, of course, property tax and insurance will be my new payments.
Every year, my goal was to make at least one extra payment. Obviously, I made more than one extra payment per year.
Im saving over $100k in interest by paying double my mortgage on the 15 year loan I got in 21' at 2.5%. I still invest but Im not about to just assume Ill make even more investing the difference to make it worth the risk.
It's a pretty safe assumption to when you can earn more just in a savings account
Yeah with that rate, you can just put your money in HYSA and you'd be able to pay off the mortgage faster.
House roses are red
Paid off home is green.
These biscuits are good @ 4:19
Savings yields are higher than many people's mortgage rates.
Its just the age old question of logics versus emotion.
Logically speaking, if your mortgage interest is below 5%, its always better to just invest over pay it off early, and if its over, you may consider paying it back early.
Emotionally speaking, if debt is scary, or you are basically bad with money, just always pay it off early.
Everyone is different in how they view money.
We have a 30 year mortgage at 2.79%, we’re 2 1/2 years in & have paid off 13+ yrs so far… aiming to pay it off fully at our 5 yr renewal!🤞🏻
You should probably follow Money Guys financial orders of operation rather than Ramsey. Time in the market is more important than actual returns on investment
2.79% will be the literal cheapest money you can borrow..... +1 to what @patrickm444 said.... go check out Money Guys and learn about opportunity cost. You can make more than that interest rate in a HYSA with 0% risk involved. Let alone if you decided to invest that money at 10% average return in the market you will significantly outpace that mortgage.
In your case it’s a poor choice to not invest it
@@NobodySpecial509 Good for you, but personally not what I would choose to do with a 2.79% rate... Especially with so many banks offering 5% back guaranteed right now.
Mortgage rates will be at least double when we renew, so our mortgage will go up, mostly to interest, so i’d rather just have it paid off & be done with it.
Love these videos George. Keep em up
Right now the best option for me is to invest as much as possible in a tax advantaged account (RRSP in Canada) and then use the tax return to pay down the mortgage.
Should be there in less than four years! A 30 year mortgage paid in less than 10 years.
You have not factored that you still need to pay property tax, maintenance, HOA and insurance. They increase every year thats like renting that place even after you paid off your home.
I just paid off my home today!!! LFG!!! 💪
I saved for 20 years and paid cash for a small retirement home before I retired. There are still expenses associated with owning, just like owning a car free and clear. However mortgage payment is usually a big chunk monthly (just like car payment), not having it is a big relief.
Also, my home is NOT expensive so I don’t sit in a pile of cash I can’t withdraw. In SoCal, many senior and retired homeowners sit on half a mil to multimillion home equity they have a hard time getting out (income not enough to borrow and repay).
I have a $250,000 mortgage at 3%. Pmt about $850/mo. Property taxes $2,400/mo. Insurance $1,000/mo. If, according to Ramsey, I can earn "12% in a good mutual fund", explain why I would ever pay off this mortgage? BTW - taxes and insurance will never end and always increase.
Where the hell do you live paying 2400 a month in property taxes?
How much is your home worth? Your escrow amounts are insane.
@@TubBunnyChews I can only assume he meant per year.
@@nickstark8479 1k per month insurance is also insane. On a 250k house? This math ain't mathing.
Their advice is for financial losers and you are not.
The hard part is most people max out their budget to get into a house. Then hopefully they gain income over the next several years and save up enough for when the water heater goes out.
This is awesome. I don’t know if you can use the word retire after only a 9 year career, but it’s cool she was able to leave the work force and support the family in a way that works best for y’all.
Ehhh I’ve got a 3.1% mortgage.
I’m going to ride that train until the last stop and invest the difference
You are too logical for the Ramsey NPCs.
I'm doing the same. I have a 2.75% interest mortgage, make the minimum monthly payment and invest the rest. My investment portfolio has had an excellent rate of return thus far this year and I have enough cash to pay off my home if I chose to do so in a high yield savings account earning 5% .
It is important to recognize and understand that most of the advice given by the Ramsey gang is intended for people who are absolutely horrible money managers and are in severe financial distress. For those of us with some financial intelligence and low mortgage rates, the better decision is to invest vs. making extra house payments.
@@tcgtpl: LOL! So true.
My current property is not my forever home. Me and my wife are currently planning on if we should sell it or turn it into a rental after we both complete our degrees. We will buy our 2nd investment property afterwards. So the debt on this house is not keeping us up at night
@@lockedloaded4942 Exactly. We don't all run out and lease Jaguars and Jet Skis with the money that could have paid off the mortgage. There is risk in not paying it off early, but with the current economic conditions there's just way to much opportunity cost.
Nice to hear about your mortgage free life. We chose the low rate route so our mortgage is dividend paid. Net cost savings over $150k over 30 years.
Paying off my mortgage this month!
I could pay off my mortgage next week if I sold some stocks since the balance of my taxable portfolio is about 3x my mortgage balance. I suppose I could foresee some scenario where it makes sense to prepay, but hard to justify right now since the rate I have is 2.75% 30 Fixed. If prevailing rates and inflation are much lower or some circumstances in my life change, maybe I would prepay. That said, my payment isn't that high.
I think your argument for forced savings makes sense for many people that wouldn't be saving anyway, but I already save a high percentage of my income.
Why do you guys dismiss assuming a 10% stock market return in this scenario but always browbeat people on the show that it is pretty much a guarantee(it's not)
Not to mention 5% high yield savings accounts.
Or how Dave always talks about his 12% mutual funds 😆
@@dannyrodriguez9465 You just need to pay one his SmartVestor Pros. But then you still have to pick the stonks yourself. You're just paying for access to the heart of a teacher. It makes no sense.
I was scrolling for this comment! Also, sequence of returns is all of a sudden an issue, just not with retirement withdrawals! All a bunch of grifters.
They usually fail to account for the concept of compound interest, your age, salary and a bunch of other factors.
We are 2.5 years mortgage free. It's truly life changing
I like the part about less risk due to my scenario where I work at a big tech company. When you still have a mortgage and got your money on investments(stocks), and the moment there is a recession, those stocks go down and there is also a risk of losing your job due to lay offs. Now you end up with a mortgage to pay, significantly lower valued assets due to a crash, and potentially with no income if u lost your job. It's the worst scenario to be in.
If you paid off the house and you lose your job, you still have a roof over your head no matter what.
If you don't lose your job, it's the perfect time to use your income to buy those discounted stocks during the crash. Your income would be significantly bigger for investment if the mortgage is out of the picture.
The investing earns bigger than the mortgage interest idea is only in an ideal and no recession scenario.
Now I say all of this which sounds great but for some reason I still have a lot of assets in stocks and still owe a lot on my mortgage. Why? Maybe I'm greedy. But I plan to do some changes soon to be more at peace.
Took out a 30 year in January, on pace to have my house payed off in 10 years 🙌🏻
This would be more impressive if you knew how to spell "paid".
@@carlfaitware8099 yea that’s really important that i spell “paid” right when i typed that at 2am
I totally agree. That is my goal.
This is how I look at most people.
1. They have a brand new car with a 1k payment and rent
2. They have a car that’s older and paid off and own a home
In another 24 months hopefully we are mortgage free. Paid off in 8 years instead of 30 years.
With a 2.75% APR, and investing, I think both are a win. I am a believer in a much bigger ROI with that APR.
Save Like Dave! 💰
I just wish the government would stop holding its greedy hand out wanting their share even though you have no mortgage. Taxes are forever and it sucks.
It would be great if we're no longer obligated to pay property taxes once our house is paid for. Another alternative would be that property taxes is based on the price you paid for your home and remains the same price for as long as you live in (or own) your home. It's time for the nation to rise up and call for property tax reform.
@@Ella-Bella2024 Without property taxes the city and state would need to raise the sales tax to 15% or 20% or something silly. Same with income taxes. The money has to come from somewhere. If you say "raise corporate taxes" you don't realize that they will in turn make the prices of everything much higher.
@@Singlesix6 I'm well aware of that and I'm fine with it. People have the ability to control how much money they spend, whereas people don't have a choice about paying property taxes. I think it's a fair exchange that could ensure that people won't lose their homes solely due to not paying property taxes.
Ramsey's group is appealing to the emotion of the feeling of freedom. If you have a lower interest rate than what you could earn in a mutual fund then it doesn't make sense financially to pay off early. You could still pay minimum, invest and if something comes up then withdraw that money from the mutual funds to pay off the mortgage. At least then your money is earning more for you than the cost of mortgage interest. The only risk is if you need to pay off your mortgage happens to be in the middle of a market correction. Diversified funds will help mitigate that risk along with a healthy emergency savings.
Currently 3 years into a 40 year mortgage and will need a bigger mortgage in the next few years to be able to get out of my flat and into an actual house. UK properly market is brutal!
Everyone thinks I’m stupid for paying off our mortgage early. They come at me with the math and how it would be better to invest. While that may be true, they fail to see the intangible benefits that come with having a paid off home. Those are what are more important to me.
You fail to understand Opportunity Cost.
@@carlfaitware8099 I fully understand it, but the fact is that I’ll have over $3M come retirement time based on my 20% monthly investments. I’m good.
They're probably jealous.
@@Ella-Bella2024 Nope. We're just too busy looking for better places to invest our money and win through arbitrage while our sub 2% mortgage protects us against inflation.
@@carlfaitware8099 what you want to do with your resources is fine. But why try to make someone else feel stupid about making a different choice? That's what I don't understand. It's a good thing to pay off your mortgage. @michaelhatfield5808 just freed up more of his income to invest. Instead of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest for the next 30 years, now he can invest that money.
I grew up in a house that was paid off. Because my parents had no mortgage, money was never a problem. My parents were able to spend more time with me and my five siblings. We went on vacations 5 weeks every year. My parents came home with two brand new cars once, like it was nothing. They paid for all of our college. None of us have college debt. My parents were able to retire and want for nothing. They have never had to worry financially. That's the value of a paid-off house. So, is it a stupid thing to do? No, it's not. We can agree to disagree, but I think it's pretty smart.
It’s easy to give advice when life is going well. Most people do not take into consideration quality of life, death, divorce, etc when giving advice on money and investments. People have different goals, needs and desires. There are many ways of making, saving and growing your money. Learn what works best for you.
The value of a paid off home is psychological. The value of investing the difference is measured in real dollars. A couple of misleading things in this video. First, your net worth increases with the value of your home wether you owe money on it or not. Second, the idea that once the home is paid off you have more margins to spend and give is incorrect because you are behind on retirement savings compared to people who were investing the whole time. Mathematically, if you paid your home early in the last 15 years, you left a lot of money on the table compared to dollar cost averaging the difference in a simple sp500 index fund. I don't know where he got his numbers, but he is just wrong about that. Opportunity cost doesn't "feel" real because you never see it, but a dollar is a dollar. Peace of mind is great but it's also expensive. I wish Ramsey were less dogmatic about debt and gave a more nuanced view.
Yup. A simple excel file to calculate net worth is an easy way to see what happens when you invest rather than pay off early. With my 2.75% 30y fixed, I played around with what happens when I invest a fixed amount rather than pay down the principle. In all cases, I came out cash positive (i.e. my investment total exceeds my existing remaining mortgage) in about 14 years. This is with a $1600 monthly mortgage, and assuming I have $800 extra to either pay down the mortgage or invest. I also assumed my interest on the investment was a paltry 2.75%, same as my mortgage. This could easily be achieved with CDs. So, I was cash positive in 14years, but as I increased my payment toward the principle (I.e. less toward the investment, since I have a fixed salary income, that makes the most sense) the time for me to become a millionaire became longer and longer. The best scenario was when I just paid the mortgage with no additional principle payment.
It is a no brainer to just send more money into a 401k once you’ve save your emergency fund. Now, if you have a higher rate mortgage, then it changes the math a bit, right? But Ramsey and his group wants to treat his audience like idiots, that is the bottom line that makes me sad whenever I see this topic get rehashed by Ramsey and George. They think their audience is too stupid to walk through the math so they don’t even bother walking through it. I enjoy George, but to me I think he would do better as a financial consultant if he just unhitched from Ramsey. Ramsey paychecks are a sure thing though, so I get it.
This is true. In the long run you'll very likely have more money to give away if you can keep a 4% mortgage and invest the difference in good index funds, which typically have average return of 7% to 10%.
Psychologically it may make sense to pay off mortgage early, but on-average people would have a lot more money to give away if they keep a 3% or 4% mortgage, paying as scheduled for 15 or 30 years.
Ramsays show is for people who are financially incompetent and don’t have any business owning a house. In todays day and age some debt is required
No monthly payments except property taxes which is cheaper than an apartment.
I think you failed to address a number of points relevant, both pro and con.
Con:
* Your mortgage interest can be tax deductable
* Emotionally, peace of mind that you don't have to worry about a missing payment is true, but in practice if you have any sort of retirement account, that can act as a penalty-free emergency fund for your mortgage debt
Pro:
* This is semi-regional, but one of the biggest increases in costs of home ownership across the country is home insurance. If a bank still owns your home, they dictate the level of insurance you must maintain. If you own it outright, you get to pick/choose coverage to more address risks to your home (e.g. if you invest in a roof that is more hail-proof).
Right now there isn't much discussion about this, and in general, have good home policy coverage. But in states where home insurance policies are skyrocketing, or becoming impossible to even find, managing that risk in a researched and smart way is going to begin to be a very big deal, financially especially as a growing, reoccurring "forever" home owner expense for those trying to plan for retirement.
Because I make so little, I had to pay for my home in cash and took a chunk out of my inheritance to do it (no way could I afford a monthly payment a mortgage would require in these parts). It's a manufactured home, so not nearly as expensive as most homes, and I'd traded in the old one on the property that was falling apart (much like an old car trade-in to down pay for a new one). Best decision I made in my new adult life. I might have moths flying out of my wallet, but I still have a roof over my head. At this point, that's better than some folks have.
My biggest worry is every year, property taxes have increased & they're looming around the corner (and that's the fight and a half I have to contend with). I'm scrambling to afford that and keep affording it. But knowing I don't have a house payment and have SOME wiggle room out of other debts is fantastic, and a good reminder when my financial stresses get to me.