Paid mine off nearly 5 years ago, when I was about 50.
That was one of the best feelings in the world. We all know what the best feeling is, as well as the 2nd & 3rd best. However, the 3 besties are very short-term. Paying off your mortgage gives you the warm fuzzies for the rest of your life.
edited: And, 3 vehicles, owned free & clear. One was bought 12 years ago on a 3 year loan, the other 4 years ago on a 3 year loan, and the most recent bought last year with cash. Only one debt remaining - college loans for our youngest.
Mine will be paid off within 18 months, likely even by the end of this year. We have not had any other debt since '08 and I don't plan to take on any other loans going forward.
Three houses - one overseas (well, I paid cash for that one) - free & clear.
(Now, one of the houses is a 160 year old farmhouse which I've restored over 25 years, - and never again!, I might add - so I probably put a lot more into it than it's worth. Just had it repainted, along with the barn. It's always something!)
Of course, I'm over 50... this poll is as much of age as of financial security
Cars, too, free & clear. Cars are a cash purchase for me (except when sellers are desperate enough to offer zero-percent interest).
The only thing I currently "finance" is a new HVAC system (my unexpected Christmas present to myself, alas), because it's "same as cash" for twelve months, so I'll just divide it by ten and make a payment a month until October.
I was chipping away at extra principal but had to spend 9 grand on a new roof. So now I’m working on getting my 6 month emergency fund replenished. I’ve been in the house for 5 years now and have 40% of the loan paid off....small house...small mortgage.
Probably "paid off" folks are more likely to click... the good 'ol "Internet flex". Too bad this forum doesn't have a post counter so we know how many people have visited the post (or maybe moderators can see it/)
That said, ~37% of homeowners nationally have no mortgage (again, in spite of exceptions, I would say *generally* that's older folks), so while 50% is considerably higher, maybe it's reflective of the kind of responsible gun owners who participate in this site.
I just did a cash out refinance on mine to make some repairs and upgrades. Have nearly 80k in equity in it and after I sell it in the next year or two I'll be building a new house. That one i will worry about paying off faster that not.
Be very careful of the camper deal. My wife and I did that on my first retirement in 2001 , lasted 6 years before she HAD to have a real home again. Now I am retired again and still have 10 years to pay in the new house.
We paid off two of our houses and sold them. Both were rentals. One was paid off years ago.
We're down to the one we're living in. We still owe on it, but our loan is 2% and it would be silly to take money out of our investments to pay it off when we are making more than 3x times that on the money invested. And the interest is deductible from our income tax. It's not much, but it's something. Paying off the house would cost us money. However, if we needed to we could pay it off now. We'll probably sell it soon and move out west. Waiting to see how the politics play out and see what state would be the most free.
Cars are similar. Just bought my wife a new car and was planning on paying cash. But they were offering 0% interest, so I'll take their free money and make interest on it. I paid cash for my van last year.
No, we discussed it but decided against it. We are there practically every weekend or in my case often 4 nights each week with fully stocked fridge, freezer, pantry, and liquor cabinet. Just didn't want to deal with vacation renters, cleaning services, etc. We were there pretty much all Spring when we were both telecommuting full time. Firearms are the only thing we don't leave when we're not going to be there. Outbuilding has been broken into twice in the 12 years we've had the place so I figure it's just a matter of time before the cabin proper gets broken into.
If you're a veteran over a certain age (65?) the property taxes don't amount to much. My dad was paying something like $90 a year in Rockdale county for a 3 berm/2bath ranch. Once he passed, the taxes went to $1300-1400 a year.
I think it is the school tax portion of the tax bill that goes away and that is typically by far the largest chunk of the bill. At least I think that's the case. It is likely income based. I know I checked into a homestead exemption as a second home and didn't qualify since I'm still working.
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