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kaljaz said:
I am knew to all of this financial stuff...wondering what to do to pay off my mortgage faster. Heard of Tardus and Mortgage Free America. Wondering if I could do their tactics on my own such as use credit cards and then pay off card at the end of the month on time. pay off mortgage with a HELOC and put my own paychecks toward the HELOC until I need to pay off credit card bills? Does this make sense to anyone?
:confused:
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Welcome to the board, kaljaz.

I think it makes sense to pay down the debt with the highest interest rate first. If your highest interest rate is the mortgage then you'll save more money by paying it off first. But most people have a higher interest rate on their HELOCs and their credit cards, so it makes sense to pay those off before worrying about a mortgage.

I think it also makes sense to stay far away from "helper" companies like Tardus and Mortgage Free America. The math is the same either way, but it's a lot cheaper to do it on your own...
 
kaljaz said:
I am knew to all of this financial stuff...wondering what to do to pay off my mortgage faster. Heard of Tardus and Mortgage Free America. Wondering if I could do their tactics on my own such as use credit cards and then pay off card at the end of the month on time. pay off mortgage with a HELOC and put my own paychecks toward the HELOC until I need to pay off credit card bills? Does this make sense to anyone?

:confused:
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Why not leave the mortgage alone and take the deduction. Put the extra money you would use to pay it off quicker in a balanced account and earn money on it. When you are ready to cut back expenses in ER and the deduction isn't a lot of use use that fund to pay off the loan. That is what I did. But, if you want to enter ER without a mortgage make sure you don't coulnt your pay-off fund as part of your portfolio for SWR calculations.
 
Thanks for the info. Another question, I guess I was told by my Mortgage company that in order to pay bi-monthly for my mortgage and not once monthly (in order to pay off mortgage faster), I would have to pay like $250 annually for this "special" request. If I just pay bimonthly on my own by sending in checks twice a month, will this help in the long run and cut my years down a little bit?
 
Get an amortization schedule off the web and play around with it. Just increase every payment by what you can and that makes a huge difference. Also, everytime you have enough money, send in a payment.
 
kaljaz said:
Thanks for the info. Another question, I guess I was told by my Mortgage company that in order to pay bi-monthly for my mortgage and not once monthly (in order to pay off mortgage faster), I would have to pay like $250 annually for this "special" request. If I just pay bimonthly on my own by sending in checks twice a month, will this help in the long run and cut my years down a little bit?
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Kaljaz, I'll answer your question here, but this thread is intended to be used by first-time posters for their introductions. If you have more questions on this subject then please start another thread in the board's "FIRE and Money" section.

If you pay a mortgage biweekly (twice a month) then a 30-year mortgage will be paid off in about 24 years. Many mortgage calculators now include a biweekly feature to check this option. If you're sending in an additional payment in between the regular payments, however, you may have to specify to your mortgage company that the payment be used to reduce the loan's principal and not credited against the accumulated interest.
 
Hello to all!

Spent many hours reading the posts on this great site before now joining. This is going to be fun! Thanks for having me...

Hillbilly :D
 
Yello my name is Patrick I am a 37 year old Sales manager been working for corporate usa for eleven years. Started working when i was 12 delivering newspapers did that till my senior year. I saved 10k and put that into mutual funds and returned 27% through 1983-1999. After working a few part time jobs which i saved approximately 20% of my check i went to college., dropped out in 1991 to raise my son and worked construction for three years and saved 10% of my money, had a girl three years later. Worked from 1996 to 2006 for large corporation where I enjoyed 27% returns on mutual funds putting in 15% of my pay, as well as stock options. At age 38 decided i want to retire. with my 401k savings, resuidual income and cash i think i can. i lived on half of my 90k income bought an affordable 2300 sq ft house , drove a used car 5 years old and took 2 week vacations but never splurged on expensive accomadations. My father always said its not how much money you earn but how much you spend and how much you save. Looking forward to travelling, life coaching ,and spending more time with my kids.
 
Welcome to the board, Patrick. Have you run your ER portfolio and your expenses through FIRECalc?
 
One year from FIRE and counting. Although I am sobered by the old adage that "God laughs when men plan." Gozzie
 
About 7-10 years from replacing my job (that's how I think of it - replace that income stream with one from my investments). Personal finance is a hobby of mine.

Married, no kids, 45 years old, work in corporate finance. The grind is wearing on me, I'm considering a career change to a more "fun" job for the last 3-4 years of my career.

I do have expensive hobbies in woodworking and hi-performance cars, but I can afford them and still live below my means (we save 32% of our income).

Dave
 
Hello, been reading for awhile, Work in management for a large organization.

43 years old married two kids,12 son & 9 daughter. Same interests you guys are talking about, roof over the head will pay cash for kids college. Hope to FIRE at 55, looks doable from here.
 
Re: One year and counting

Planning on hanging it up one year from today. I have concerns about health care and money in general but figure that if I wait until I'm sure, I'll be too old to enjoy it or be dead. Gozzie
 
Hi all,
I'm one of the young dreamers -- I'm 28, my husband is 27. He's a computer programmer and I'm finishing up a PhD in a lucrative field, so hopefully early retirement is a realistic goal for us.
 
S said:
Hi all,
I'm one of the young dreamers -- I'm 28, my husband is 27. He's a computer programmer and I'm finishing up a PhD in a lucrative field, so hopefully early retirement is a realistic goal for us.
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Welcome to the board, S.
 
Almost 51, I am looking for ways to retire from my full-time job and seeking advice from others who are on a similar quest. On my blog, I am analyzing my situation and dreaming up strategies while sharing progress and information with others.

My goal is to have fun while working, not to work a lot so that I have fun doing other things, and to eventually finance old age. Another goal is to delay old age as long as possible!!
 
Welcome to the board, Sheryl.

You've read Bob Clyatt's "Work Less, Live More"?
 
I am 34, was just referred here from another board...

looking to retire in my 50's and on track (I THINK) for age 55 retirement. Interesting threads I've read thus far.
 
jIMOh said:
I am 34, was just referred here from another board...
looking to retire in my 50's and on track (I THINK) for age 55 retirement. Interesting threads I've read thus far.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the board, jIMOh. 20 years of compounding can do a lot for you...
 
Hello all. Been here for about a year, but never seen before. I have learned lots because you all make it fun. I have about a year to FI, based on FireCalc and budget. Thanks for your help!
 
Thanks for the Welcome Nords! The link you provided returns this message, but I think I get your drift ;) Message: "Sorry -- you cannot visit this page directly. Please visit firecalc.com and fill out your information to get results."
 
Hi I am Glenn from Upstate NY. And joined here to find out how the heck I can retire early. :D Actually I love my work and as my wife says being a work-a-cholic not sure what I would do with to much free time besides drive her crazy. Oh by the way to all those in the south and west, we just got 6 inches of new snow here in NY. It is Spring right:confused:?
 
Welcome to the board, Glenn.

I still remember my time in lovely Ballston Spa, NY, where my steering wheel froze & brittle-fractured in the sub-zero cold so low that only one car in the lot had a battery powerful enough to start the next morning...

I recommend the "Best of the Board" threads as the first place to start reading.
 
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