Home again...

[susandennis]

Nice nice day. I left earlier than necessary this morning. The traffic I expected never turned up. So I had a very leisurely Walmart visit. This was at 8:30 so the shopping crowds were not yet at their stations and I had the store to myself which was lovely.

I tried to kill time but still wound up at my financial guy's a half hour early. He wanted to walk and it was really nice out so we walked up a really nice path into some woods about a half mile or more and then back while we chatted about this and that.

My main agenda was my mortgage and he agreed that now was the right time to pay it off. So, YEAH!!!! I am really more excited about this than is warranted. I'll be selling some investments to pay it off and those investments, could make me more money than the interest I would save but maybe not and the very idea of being totally debt free is just to tasty.

The first thing I did when I got home was get on Chat with CitiMortgage and order a payout. Sept. 30. No more mortgage. Real estate tax and home owners dues still come to about $900 a month but... no more mortgage!!

After Tyler, I went over to the fancy dandy swimming pool. It's so deep and so clear and so nice. It was a wonderful swim. The problem is after. And I'd forgotten about how bad it is. The pool is next door to a kiddy pool/slide/waterfall/walking river/massive kid play area. The pool itself is 10 lap lanes so even if there were 25 kids in it (which there aren't), it would be a quiet and peaceful swim. But the locker room??!! OHMYFUCKINGGOD. Think concrete structure so NO sound absorption and 25 screaming small children with their hassled mothers and everyone talking and screaming. It's horrible with a capital H and a capital ORRIBLE. It very nearly wipes out all of the lovely of the pool. So while I enjoy swimming there, I will be thrilled to get back to my nice, adults only pool and lockeroom tomorrow!

Time now to unpack my Walmart treasures - lots of doll hair (felt) and pipe cleaners and other accoutrements. I'll be tracking tonight's baseball game on my phone or laptop as the asshole announcer who destroys the broadcast will be back. I have a Vera episode to watch instead.

Comments

[pinmedown.livejournal.com]

Congrats on being debt free!!

(please tell me your guy is getting you WAY better returns than the mortgage interest though?!)

[susandennis]

The decision to pay off my mortgage covers many points - investment profits, tax deductions, other income - and is made thoughtfully with the advice of professionals. It makes sense for me in my financial situation at this point in my life.

[susandennis]

My first reply was dashed off in haste and as I thought about it later, I realized that your interest deserved a better reply.

My investments currently pay me about 11% a year. My mortgage is a little under 4% so, yes, if you are looking at just those numbers, paying it off does not make much sense. But, the payoff represents a little under 20% of my investment holdings and I view it as a gift to myself.

I don't travel. I don't have a family to support or need/want massive expensive things. Without a mortgage payment, I will be able to live on my retirement income and not need to use any of my investments at all. They can just sit there and make me more money.

This is something I want and according to my very valued financial adviser and CPA, it's a justifiable expense without a large downside. So while my actions don't meet your criteria they work fine for mine :)

[pinmedown.livejournal.com]

sorry if i gave off the impression that i had criteria or an opposing opinion. i dont and i fully understand why someone would want to pay off their mortgage :) congratulations, its a big accomplishment!