WOW! We're debt free!

catmom2wires

catmom2wires

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I'm just back from the bank after paying off our mortgage! It's been a goal of mine since, well, FOREVER to have the house paid off before my daughter hit high school so we could make sure we had plenty for her college fund.

There have been bumps and delays along the way...her health issues and diagnosis with severe ADHD and Asperger's which have required lots of extra money for learning programs, etc, my diagnosis with a serious autoimmune neuromuscular disease and the costs that go along with that, the loss of my career as I knew it in 2003 due to the disease and then the horrible economy of the last few years.

Still, we kept plugging away, saving back and scrimping. A couple of weeks ago we realized that if we combined the savings with some money market funds, we could do it.

And so, with a short transaction at the bank today...we OWN our house. We owe no one a cent!

WE ARE FREEEEEEEEE!



Thanks for listening!

Cally--whose daughter still has one more year before high school!
 
mystik spiral

mystik spiral

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Congratulations!!
What a great feeling that must be. And so impressive that you paid off the mortgage with everything you've dealt with!

My car has been paid off for a few years, but I've got my mortgage and I got myself into some credit card debt which is even MORE frustrating because I know better!! I'm working with a credit counseling company, and the credit card debt will be over and done in a couple years.
 
zohdee

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How great!!! Congrats!

It must be a wonderful feeling not to have that monthly expense any longer.
 
cococat

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That is so awesome! Congrats to you, that is just wonderful
 
tara g

tara g

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Congrats!! That must be a WONDERFUL feeling! Hubby and I pay an extra $200/mo on principle on our mortgage since we closed on the house last Feb. We were told that could knock 10 years off the mortgage time and make it 20 yrs instead of 30
 
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catmom2wires

catmom2wires

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Yes, paying extra principle is the way to go. We did that and did our 30 year loan in one month shy of 15 years. Next project: Mama's new car! I've been driving the same one since 2002 and although it's still very functional, it will soon be time to look for something new. We don't plan on going into debt for anything ever again!
 
mrblanche

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We're working in that direction, too, but I do have one little caveat.

Paying off your house is putting all your own cash at risk. Yes, it frees up some monthly income, but, should you have to sell it for some reason, you will have to "realize" your gain or loss completely for yourself.

In other words, if your house has gone up in value, you get to keep all the profit. But if it's gone down in value, you get to take all the loss, and it's real money. If you have a mortgage, it's only theoretical money.

An example I've actually seen is a family that bought a house for $100,000 ten years ago. They put $10,000 down and had a 30-year mortgage for $90,000. The husband died, and the wife paid off the mortgage last year for about $78,000. This summer, she had to sell the house in order to move to where one of the kids lived, or some such thing, and she got only $95,000 for it. It HAD been worth as much as $150,000, just a couple of years ago.

However, back in the days when very few people actually had a mortgage on their house (say, 100 years ago), the house was a great investment and "anchor" to the family. Now, a paid-off house can be a very real "anchor," often on a sinking ship.

This really gets complicated, depending on local laws. In Texas, until quite recently, you could not get a second lien on a house. You could not "cash out," in other words. It still isn't common, and the result is that the only way to get your cash out of a house was to sell it and buy another one. A paid-off house could be very hard to sell.

Our house and land in Arkansas, however, is paid off. In fact, we built the house entirely "out of pocket."
 
clixpix

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Congratulations to you both! You have just proved that by being frugal, you can accomplish your goal! The fact that while your expenses went up, and your income (it seems) went down, with planning, patience, and sacrifice, you were still able to pay off your home!
 
AbbysMom

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Congratulations to you!


Originally Posted by mrblanche

We're working in that direction, too, but I do have one little caveat.

Paying off your house is putting all your own cash at risk. Yes, it frees up some monthly income, but, should you have to sell it for some reason, you will have to "realize" your gain or loss completely for yourself.

In other words, if your house has gone up in value, you get to keep all the profit. But if it's gone down in value, you get to take all the loss, and it's real money. If you have a mortgage, it's only theoretical money.

An example I've actually seen is a family that bought a house for $100,000 ten years ago. They put $10,000 down and had a 30-year mortgage for $90,000. The husband died, and the wife paid off the mortgage last year for about $78,000. This summer, she had to sell the house in order to move to where one of the kids lived, or some such thing, and she got only $95,000 for it. It HAD been worth as much as $150,000, just a couple of years ago.

However, back in the days when very few people actually had a mortgage on their house (say, 100 years ago), the house was a great investment and "anchor" to the family. Now, a paid-off house can be a very real "anchor," often on a sinking ship.

This really gets complicated, depending on local laws. In Texas, until quite recently, you could not get a second lien on a house. You could not "cash out," in other words. It still isn't common, and the result is that the only way to get your cash out of a house was to sell it and buy another one. A paid-off house could be very hard to sell.

Our house and land in Arkansas, however, is paid off. In fact, we built the house entirely "out of pocket."
Click to expand...
Way to go, trying to rain on her "completing her goal" parade.


Personally, I would prefer to have my mortgage paid off and not worry about those payments then worrying about what might happen if I need to sell. The OP can take the money she is saving by not paying an interest to the bank and put it to good use for her daughter's education. That's what is important to her.
 
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