10-18-2013, 08:51 PM
(10-18-2013, 05:25 PM)fiveoh Wrote: Thanks for the great post. I'm 32, so I try to pick the brain of every successful retired person I can, to see what factors helped them get to where they are.
What's your take on paying down your home mortgage early vs investing? Currently I have a lot of money sitting in cash and was considering paying down mine some. However, it's only a 3% interest rate but I'm only getting half a percent with it sitting in cash. I realize statistically speaking I should be able to get a better return in the market, I just can't find any great value(IMO) out there to buy right now. The emotional side of the equation comes into factor too, less stress owning my house debt free.
I'm 35 and am a new homeowner myself as of July of this year. I am not currently in the position to choose between sitting on a pile of cash or paying down the mortgage, but I don't think you could go wrong doing it.
The way I see it there is no better security than having a paid for home. The math doesn't make it seem that way but if another bear market happens, which God forbid could lead to a job loss, that paid for house would be pretty comforting.
As Dave Ramsey would say, 100% of foreclosures are on houses with a mortgage. I hope to get mine paid off as quickly as possible, I can't imagine the feeling of not having that big payment every month.
Risk is hard to think about now that we are 4 years into a bull market, but it can't last forever.