Good timing! :)

And I can’t believe it’s been two years since posting this up too, wow… the power of time is incredible, isn’t it?

To answer your question though, I’m still very much into saving/investing more $$$ than paying down mortgage debt, but that’s mainly because I hate home ownership :) If I had it my way I’d be mortgage-free and just invest all our $$ into index funds from now on! But until we sell it it is what it is…

I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way to do it though generally speaking. Paying off debt and investing money both help grow your wealth so I’m all for both. I do think you make more money in the long run by investing than paying down your house, but we all know personal finance is just as much personal as it is about the numbers.

So the answer is – they’re both good! But it only counts if you DO one of them :)

What’s your opinion about paying off mortgage ASAP now? Is it still a wise decision or is it better to just pay your monthly mortgage and save/invest any income surplus? (You might have answered this in the comments section.. Sorry if I’m repeating :P)

Yep, you got it brotha. I’ll def. be thinking twice before paying more off in the future if/when we’re fortunate enough to be able to have these decisions to make again. We can only do the best we can at the times presented to us, and back then that was the best I could do. But the future me will do even better :)

Thanks again for chiming in and asking this question a while ago – gave us all something to think about.

I think your readers are too loyal and nice! Of course taking that extra 35K and putting it into your house is a better call than lets saying burning it but the question is…whether you should have put it in cash or the market or your mattress vs giving it to the bank very early.

Think LM said before but maybe regret is too harsh a word but nothing wrong with saying (like you did) that you would have made a diff decision if you could it again…isn’t that what learning is?

Sucks we missed you this year bud – you and I haven’t had a good chatting session after all these years. We should change that :) Skype some time?

Or a Vegas binge ;) Though at least I’d have the fun memories with that one, haha…

Haha… oh that Wu Tang.

Good for you on figuring out the rental market! It still scares me today even though we technically have one ourselves (we’re renting our old house while we rent elsewhere), and I don’t know if I’m cut out for that stuff. I wish I were though as there’s huge potential for cash flow and retirement money as you say in it :) Keep hustlin’ my friend!

Damn that was a solid answer! Loving this – “The best answer is to marry logic with emotion.” So so true. Thanks for sharing your personal story with us and I’m sending lots of good vibes over to your husband’s way in hopes his business explodes :) You’ve got a great head on your shoulders!

It is illogical to work towards something that is meaningless while ignoring things that are important to you just because the math says one is “better” than the other. The best answer is to marry logic with emotion.

Take all that emotional stuff (hopes, dreams, goals, lifestyle) and use logic to make it happen. Every question of “Should I do X or Y?” boils down to this in the end. I should invest my money because that’s where I’d get the best return. But that’s not the most direct route to accomplishing my most important goals. Right now, my number one goal is to get my husband into a new, self-employed career. To do that, we need to restore and establish his workshop and prepare for a reduction in income. That too goes against the “best” thing to do, but health and happiness dictate otherwise. So my number one priority right now is cash, cash and more cash, regardless of interest rates or investment returns or anything else. It’s not the “correct” answer, but it is the “right” one.

Paying down your mortgage made sense. You were in a house that was underwater and you wanted to move. Decreased expenses and better cash flow would also be a huge benefit to your situation. There wasn’t anything higher priority that wasn’t already taken care of, so that’s where your extra cash goes. The situation changed and now those higher priorities (a balanced budget, retirement, etc) are no longer being taken care of. Of course you pull back and work on the important stuff again. Life happens, priorities change and the only thing you can do is work as hard as you can at what is most important right now.

I would say that jestjack hasn’t given us enough information to answer his question. If he considers his priorities or goals, it might become clear. Maybe he’s not sure what he’s working towards. In that case, I would say he needs to figure it out before he can make a good decision.