Money in Savings Acct OR Pay off Mortgage?

Way back when I took out a thirty year morgage & was about eighteen years or so into it when I lost my job but I was just about paid off by then just by rounding up my monthly payments as much as I could. Made the difference between being able to keep the house or lose it, didn`t feel like a chump then & still don`t. You can always pay extra when you have it but they won`t give you a break if you can`t come up with the cash.

When you own your home free and clear that's a big stress relief. As long as the taxes are paid you have a place to live. What is that financial freedom worth?

leowis1 wrote:Hi All,
I work for a big health insurance company. They're cutting back. They have offered early retirement packages to the people who've been there a long time. I am not one of them. And am still young, 39. A couple guys I know are in their early 50's. The package is not that great. And these guys realize that they're going to need another job. Its tough for them. Mortgage + bills and now are going to lose a big part of their salary. It has me thinking... Is it better to put extra money in a savings account? Or put extra money on the principal of the mortgage? There's no gaurantee that I would have the mortgage paid off by the time I'm 55. So money in the back would help. Its a tough call. What do you all think?
Leo

PAY OFF MORTGAGE especially if its an ARM

It's not a tough call at all, it's just a little tricky.

1- Before you even think of paying off your mortgage, find out if there is any prepayment penalty !
2- If it is an adjustable rate mortgage ( ARM ) find out the best date to pay it, ( that's usually few days before the interest adjustment date , and it's only 2 chances per year )

3-find out if you can get a line of credit, ( it's only about 45 Dollars a year to maintain ) but don't ever use your line of credit, except for emergencies, if and when you use it, pay it off in full and as soon as possible, otherwise, it's worse than a credit card.

I am speaking from experience, I had over 18 real estate transactions ( bought and sold ) , Paid off almost every house I bought, I used to have 250.000 Dollars line of credit,I used it to the tune of 140.000, paid it off and closed it. and I have written software, and managed other people money on a professional level.I have devised solutions to financial problems to help bankers and borrowers/home owners. Times are very hard now, so I use coal for heat like everyone else on this forum, and I am converting my hot water heater to run on coal so I can cut down my bills from 45 Dollars a month to just 20

I paid $200 extra each month and took 15 years off my note, I have no Idea how much money I saved but it was a lot.