Then I will have the flexibility to do the work I want to do, rather than working just for the money.

What type of questions do you ask them to get the best return on your mortgage payoff??

We were already investing in retirement and had no other debt, so we’re just going to hoard the cash for awhile till we have a full year of living expenses saved. In this economy, we feel we should be prepared for anything (or try to be).

We had always said we’d reward ourselves with something really big (like a BIG vacation or a spiffy new car) when the mortgage was finally gone. But just having it gone was enough. It’s not like we didn’t do any living while we made payments, we’ve just never been extravagant. Life is made up of so much more than what we can spend money on.

If you like where you’re at, then I’d consider pouring the proceeds of the land sale (minus the tax on income) into the home you’re in, and then watch your equity build rapidly each month with much more of your payment going towards ownership instead of interest to another party.

Then that will put you within striking distance of being mortgage free. Perhaps you’ll want to stick it out at your stressful job for another couple of years while you steadily put more towards the house and get it paid for in two years. Then, you’ll have a sense of comfort to go looking for something that is less stressful without being concerned that it pays less as well.

Your children should be plenty of a deduction from a tax standpoint, and you’ll still have the real estate tax as well.

Hang onto the money you have in the bank. Don’t tap into that cushion. That should be your emergency fund.

Clair

I have thought about paying off our home mortgage… here is our scenario: our mortgage is about $375,000, and we have about $80K in the bank… we are expecting about $300K (net) from the land purchase. We will be able to pay off our home if we wanted to, but I’m not sure that’s the best decision financially (though I bet it would feel great!).

We’re 35 and both have decent jobs (about $90K per year each… though I’m considering quitting my job from too much stress), and our kids are still quite young (6, 5, and 3). I’d be concerned about the tax liability if we had no write-offs. I wonder if we would be better off investing in something, but I’m not a stocks kind of guy and risk of losing money would worry me. We’re quite fairly conservative. Anyway, I’ll continue reading comments on this site and make a decision when the time comes… thanks to all.