We are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!

[JoeP]

Paid off our mortgage yesterday! No debt at all! No car loans. No credit card debt. No student loans. No liens. We'll probably celebrate quietly with a nice family outing at a good restaurant.

Some changes on the horizon:
Our mortgage lender had our school and town taxes taken from our monthly payments into escrow, which they paid on our behalf. We'll be getting those tax bills directly now, so we have to squirrel away cash every pay period so we'll have enough when they come due.

It will be "odd" not having a monthly payment, but I think we will get used to it!

[tripods68]

Big Props...Congrats!

With no mortgage payments...what's the next goal, or have you thought it that far?

[disneysteve]

Congratulations! That's awesome.

We are just over a year behind you. I hope to have ours paid off next September or October.

What are your plans for the money previously going to the mortgage payment.

[melissalt]

Congratulations! That is fantastic! Looking forward to being in your shoes one day. :-)

[bennkar]

Our mortgage lender had our school and town taxes taken from our monthly payments into escrow, which they paid on our behalf. We'll be getting those tax bills directly now, so we have to squirrel away cash every pay period so we'll have enough when they come due.

Unless you go crazy with your money paying those extra taxes will be easy (maybe not enjoyable, but easy). Not making mortgage payments will start to free up your money for everything. When I got to mortgage free 7 years ago the money started building up in my savings so fast I couldn't believe it. Trust me, you don't want to go back to having someone else make those payments.

[JoeP]

What's next with that freed-up money: we have 4 years of college bills to deal with. DS is starting second year, DD is starting first year this fall. They have some loans themselves, and we'll be helping out with the balance. After that, we'll probably max our pre-tax and post-tax investments, save for future car purchases, and save for a retirement house.

[Thrif-t]

Congrats Joe! We paid our house off 2 years ago when our middle DD was starting college, thank goodness! I don't know how we would've managed! With 3 young adults, 2 in college, I'm sad to say our savings hasn't built up as I'd of liked. Seems were always getting hit with something major to repair or pay for.

In 2 years our first two will be out of college and hopefully launched in their own careers and we'll just have one kid left in college to help. I foresee being able to really put away money once my first two are self sufficient

[disneysteve]

With 3 young adults, 2 in college, I'm sad to say our savings hasn't built up as I'd of liked. Seems were always getting hit with something major to repair or pay for.

In 2 years our first two will be out of college and hopefully launched in their own careers and we'll just have one kid left in college to help. I foresee being able to really put away money once my first two are self sufficient

Don't be discouraged that the savings aren't growing rapidly when you have 2 in college. Our daughter graduated in May and now is when we are seeing the money start to pile up. I don't know about you, but we were spending $3,000/month for college costs. As soon as we made the last payment on April 1, I started to see the difference pretty quickly. Three months later, that's $9,000 of extra income that we had to do other things with which is a big deal. In our case, we used it to pay off our HELOC but still had some left over to have some fun with. And now that the HELOC is gone, we will really start seeing the benefit of the college costs being done, even though our daughter is not yet self-sufficient. Having her living home with us is way cheaper than having her in college. Your time will come soon.

[snafu]

Congratulations on paying off mortgage! Well done. It's surprising how fast you get used to being Mortgage Free!

Does your city have an automatic, monthly withdrawal system for people who take personal responsibility for their municipal taxes? Do they offer any discount for pre paying municipal tax? Do they have a specific 'due date?'

Have you checked with your house insurance agent to let them know you've cleared your mortgage? Each policy is different but often there is a reduced premium when the mortgage ends as they no longer need to confirm insurance coverage.

Curiosity leads me to ask...what is the plan for sum no longer committed to Mortgage part of home expense?

[miclason]

:::doing the happy dance for you:::
"I want to be like you when I grow up!"

[Keshet]

Congrats! We paid off our mortgage about 2 yrs ago, don't regret it at all.

[greenskeeper]

Paid off our mortgage yesterday! No debt at all! No car loans. No credit card debt. No student loans. No liens.

[Fishindude77]

Congratulations !
Time to start paying yourself, rather than the bank.

[Singuy]

Congrats! With the new standard deduction being 12k/person and more importantly personal exemptions disappeared, there's absolutely zero reason for most people to keep a mortgage for "tax deductions".

We paid off our mortgage when we were 32. I think my monthly frivolous spending doesn't even surpass the interest I would have paid to the banks if I kept a mortgage.

[JoeP]

Congratulations on paying off mortgage! Well done. It's surprising how fast you get used to being Mortgage Free!

Does your city have an automatic, monthly withdrawal system for people who take personal responsibility for their municipal taxes? Do they offer any discount for pre paying municipal tax? Do they have a specific 'due date?'

Have you checked with your house insurance agent to let them know you've cleared your mortgage? Each policy is different but often there is a reduced premium when the mortgage ends as they no longer need to confirm insurance coverage.

Curiosity leads me to ask...what is the plan for sum no longer committed to Mortgage part of home expense?

Regarding monthly withdrawal, we'd rather withdraw ourselves into a separate bank account. I did the calculations and this is now in place. When the tax bills come due, they will be covered just as they were when paid from escrow.

I'll contact the insurance company once I have the lien release in hand.

Also, as mentioned above, we have some college bills to help pay. After that, we hope to do a large amount of saving to help plan for retirement.