Score One for Suze Orman

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Maybe they're all her boyfriends and girlfriends?

Hey Bill...I've earned better returns with my money than some debt over the last ten years, but I did it because I was lucky and because I was willing to take a whole lot more risk because I didnt have any debt.

I did a lot better paying off my debt than if I'd had the money sitting in the bog standard 60/40 balanced index. That did 5.82% over the last ten years. My last mortgage was 6.25%.

That excludes the ability to take on a lot more 'risk' with no worries. It also excludes having cut my tax liability to zero or nearly zero for many of those ten years.

[Bimmerbill]

Yeah, my mortgage is also 6.25%. I'll probably start paying it down after I retire my other monthly debts, build up a good emergency fund, and fund my 401K and ROTH to the max. Not sure I can fund it all on current salary, but will see what my cash flow is after some debts are paid off. I should start some plan for DDs college too.

If I could pay it off, I would. I'd like to have no monthly debts, but have day care and other junk. I guess those are just living expenses tho.

In my MBA investing and finance classes the Prof always would ask us why some millionaires have mortages. He always said they have better use for their money and mortgages are fairly cheap debt. Of course, I'm nowhere near a millionaire!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think the reason why it makes sense for most millionaires to hold mortgages is because most of them are still working and have an improving income stream.

[Gardnr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton FWIW, I agree with her. Retiring debt is almost always prudent.

You say you agree with her, but you say "almost always" vs. her stance (according to Shawn's post; I don't really know her stance) of pay off mortgage, "no exceptions." That's not really an agreement. Her unequivocal statement vs. your conditional statement. Just saying...

FWIW, I think it's more complicated and thus conditional, but on the other hand it's never really a bad idea to pay off mortgage debt, especially for the majority of people who would just blow it on stuff if they didn't.

[Gardnr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton (though I take issue with the suggestion that "a mortgage isn't necessarily debt").

Not the way I'd put it either, but there is a significant difference between debt on "stuff" and low interest, collateralized debt on an appreciating asset like real estate (generally appreciating, that is ; present period excluded in some areas).