Will You Regret Paying Off Your Mortgage Early? 🏠

For most of us, our homes represent our largest single investment. And, our mortgages are the largest debt we we will ever take on. Should you pay off that debt early? What if you locked in "cheap debt" at 2.5%-3.0% fixed over 30 years?

=== Azul's "Scammer" Warning & Disclaimers. PLEASE READ!! ===
Be careful of scammers. In the comments, I will NEVER suggest you contact me, offer any investment products, recommend an adviser or anything similar. Some scammers ask for investment help in the comments and later, other commenters post how "great that idea/investment/person is" in the replies. This is a scam. Do not fall for it.

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2) #1 question to ask any financial adviser is "Are you a fiduciary to me 100% of the time" Get the answer in writing
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MY VIDEOS ARE NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE (Disclaimer):

The decisions on how to invest, when to retire and other financial planning topics are some of the most important financial decisions you will make in your life. I urge you to seek professional financial advice as you make this decision. Ideally from a financial adviser, AND a CPA AND an attorney. Having the perspective of all three professions will help you make the decision that is right for you and your family.

This information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor may NOT be suitable for all investors.

This information is NOT intended to, and should NOT, form a primary basis for any investment decision that you may make. Always consult your own legal, tax, and/or investment advisor before making any investment/tax/estate/financial planning considerations or decisions.

I don't believe in "get rich" programs. Rather, I believe in doing your homework and working with professionals who are a fiduciary to you 100% of the time.

[wjb]

Just made my last payment earlier today! 30 year mortgage paid in 25 years.
Retirement starts August 1st! 👍🏻

[steveclark]

No question for me. I sleep knowing I have no debt, including the home. Quality of life.

[krisg]

Paying off our mortgage early was one of the keys to early retirement for us. No regrets.

[closer]

The conflict is real. When my husband died and was waiting for the insurance pay out, I met with a FA for an hour who advised me to keep paying the mortgage monthly and setting up the money in LIMMF. I listened politely.. when the money came, I went and wired the remaining balance to the mortgage company plus all the medical and credit cards we owed.The talk went thru the space in my head 🤣😂but I am smiling ear to ear.. not sorry to be debt free after 25 years

[romanovskie]

Wife and I bought our first home October 2018 for $310k with 20% down payment. We paid it off March of 2022. What we did is we saved about 25k each year through our jobs and dumped that on the principle in December during 2019, 2020 and 2021 and then paid the remaining amount off with stock market gains I made trading during the 2020-2022 bull market mania. It was incredible because those stock gains accelerated our early payoff date by several years. Best feeling ever to have done all this by age 30. Now we can invest excess cash into stocks and projects for life.

[RoScoHutch]

Azul, I really appreciate how you regularly make the distinction between "academic" answers and "sleep well at night" answers. Clearly, both are important, and we all have different balance points when it comes to them. I think this is much more valuable than the "one-size-fits-all" approach that we hear from so many people giving advice online.

[pensacola]

Have you ever talked to a retiree who wished he had a mortgage? Come on.

[johnzemetra]

This September will be the 20th anniversary of paying our mortgage off. I have never regretted the decision.

[randolphh]

Having no mortgage is a no risk proposition. It is a rare person who would benefit from maintaining a low interest mortgage.
You actually would be better off getting a reverse mortgage line of credit once you are paid off or almost paid off to access your home equity. Investing your home equity by having a regular mortgage is extremely high risk for what is typically a small margin.
We have no regular mortgage, but have a HECM line of credit with a balance of $500.00. The credit line is currently growing at 5%. This is strictly an emergency fund or late life fund, but could also be used to prevent withdrawing severely depleted equities, and thus help protect against sequence risk.

[marke]

My wife and I got out last mortgage in 1987; 30 years at 10.25% (check historic data - that was the going rate). I figured by paying $850 a month instead of the $700 note, we could pay it off in 15 years and as Azul pointed out, effectively invest at 10.25%. By throwing any extra bonuses, etc. that came our way, we paid it off in 12 years. Living debt free after that was tremendously leveraging for building retirement funds over the rest of my working life.

[jdsuone]

By the math, you shouldn't pay it off. But I did anyway a few years ago. Main reason is reducing my monthly "nut". It's a lot easier to sleep at night knowing your mandatory monthly expenses are low, just in case.

[therationalistparty]

Academically, even if your mortgage is at 3% if you pay it early you are guaranteed to gain that 3% back for the remainder of your original loan. The markets are variable even with low risk. You could lose for 5 years strait as an example. Id rather take the guaranteed 3% now then take the risk with my liquid unleveraged funds later. Not to mention that the home you live in is never an investment, its a liability. Never leverage against an indebted liability.

[carlosgarcia-jzdq]

it's not a mortgage it's a threat, pay me or you and your children are homeless, out on the street. We will foreclose and auction your house off for a fraction of what it's worth severely diminishing your net worth. People really need to stop acting like a mortgage is a benign gentle beast, when it's a terrifying threat to your very existence. The basic human needs are food, water, and shelter, if someone owns this from you then they own you.

[CalmerThanYouAre]

Refinanced all my properties to 2.5% in 2021. One of the best financial decisions of my life. I won’t pay those notes off any faster than I have to.

Conversely, I do have a plan to build enough equity in our primary residence that I can downsize upon retiring and buy the next place in cash. Doing so will lower my income requirements in retirement and allow me to live on six figures of tax free income. ✅

[tomrunning]

Paid off both of my properties in 2016 and was able to put away this monthly amount away. Not having anything to write off at tax time has a little bite at the end of the year. It does make retirement easier to plan without a mortgage getting in your way.

[AmyK]

My husband and are are in our early 50s. We pay a bit more each week to have the house paid off by the time we retire. In Australia you can’t access your superannuation until 67 years of age - which in itself is a scam. We intend to go into retirement debt free.

[jimhoge]

Paid off my 3% mortgage 15 months early just prior to retiring. Best move ever! No regrets.

[danklein]

Why are financial planners so dumb ? You should do a video about how dumb they are. Thank You.

[njparady]

Paid mine off at the age of 40. Love the cash flow which now goes straight to a brokerage account. No regrets. I honestly find it an underwhelming accomplishment.

[edmalts]

My personal advice is ===. Pay your mortgage if you have enough money for emergency situations after—- pay your mortgage in January because the bank used your escrow money to pay off property taxes and you don’t feel it —- I just paid my mortgage and I have the responsibility of paying property taxes and home insurance and my remaining money balance is going down because doing exactly what I’m telling you because I did not do what I telling you to do. 😂