100% on this. I would argue further that paying off your mortgage is probably the best investment you can make. I'm pulling numbers out of the air, but I think this is reasonably close:Suggestion for those applying for a home mortgage:
The bad news is that the days of 3% 30 year mortgages are gone. Probably forever, certainly for a while. That cloud, however, has a silver lining.....
The value of extra principal you might pay is also much greater. That can help you own your home free-and-clear quicker.
If you're applying for a 30-year $200,000 mortgage, and the interest rate is 7%, your monthly principal-and-interest payment is $1,330 (Important Note: This does NOT include property taxes, insurance or any PMI).
You could pay on a 20-year schedule and the payment rises to about $1,550. If you can get really ambitious, and pay on a 15-year schedule, the payment is about $1,800
Now here's the thing not many people think about: You can have a 30 year note, but pay it on a 15 or 20 year amortization schedule. Then, if you have an emergency, you can drop back to the lower 30-year payment until the dust settles and you return to the original plan -- paying more than your contract requires.
Yeah, it hurts the first few months. Then it just gets baked into your monthly budget and you don't really think about it much anymore.
The huge advantage is that, if you pay off your 30-year mortgage after 20 years, that’s 10 years -- 120 monthly payments -- you don't have to make. In the case above, that's 120 x $1,330 = $159,600
If you can stomach the 15-year payment, that goes to 180 x $1,330 = $239, 400.
So you get the benefit of a shorter amortization schedule (that you created yourself), but keep the flexibility to go to the lower payment in case something unexpected comes up.
Aside from the increased monthly outflow, one downside is that 15 and 20 year notes typically carry a lower interest rate than a 30-year. But the difference usually isn't much, and to my mind is the price of the flexibility and peace of mind.
The other downside is that you have to have discipline, especially as regards the definition of an "emergency."
The kids wanting to go to Disney World isn't an emergency. Wanting a new F-150 Lightning isn't an emergency. The newest, baddest perimeter-weighted, godamighty carbon, adjustable aerodynamic whipsy-doodle driver certainly isn't.
Losing a job or getting sick or hurt and unable to work is. Fixing the transmission on your 6-year-old Ford, so that you can avoid buying a new one for a while longer might be (though you really should have an emergency fund for stuff like that).
And you have to do it every single stinkin' month. If you make the higher payment only when it's convenient, the whole thing falls apart.
Yes, it's hard. Yes, you sacrifice some fun and some toys. And for that reason, not many people do it. But Mrs. Basket Case and I did. And I'm telling you....when the mailman brings a thick envelope containing your cancelled note and mortgage, that is one of the most fantabulously glorious feelings in the world.
And then you have 10 - 15 years of NOT making mortgage payments injecting a bunch of newly freed-up cash flow into your monthly budget -- providing funds for both additional investment and some guilt-free fun and toys.
Say you owe 140k on your mortgage and still have 15 years. Your monthly is 1k. If you have 140k of after tax money you can pay it off with, thats 12k per year you're not paying. 12k per year on 140k is about 8.5% and its on an after tax basis. Find me an investment that make 8.5% for 15 years after tax guaranteed. You can argue perpituity, but if you're 50 or over it's close enough.