Paid My House Off - No One Else to Tell

[MarkY3130]

Long time silent member/long time lurker - 37 Years Old

Well, today I made the final payment on my house. Felt mostly anticlimactic if I’m honest. What’s funny is the biggest feeling I had was one similar to a #showhole (look it up if not familiar with the phrase) after I updated my spreadsheets and made the final entry into my amortization schedule/payment tracker. It was like, you’ve been updating this spreadsheet for years, now what are you going to do?

As much as I want to hold a party and shout from the rooftops, it just doesn’t feel appropriate. I understand that I’ve been blessed with employment that is better than many (and don’t want to rub it in peoples faces), but I’d still like a little credit for the financial discipline my wife and I have stuck too!

Yes I would have been ahead just investing that money in index funds, but no debt was truly the biggest goal of mine.

Right or wrong, my approach has been to firstly max out 401k/IRA’s/HSA (all of them) and secondly pay down the house. Now I will replace the second step with index funds in taxable accounts. Never had auto debt.

Thanks for hearing me out. Thanks for all the great content I’ve read here over the years.

Time to refresh my goals and targets

 

[Katoslake]

Long time silent member/long time lurker - 37 Years Old

Well, today I made the final payment on my house. Felt mostly anticlimactic if I’m honest. What’s funny is the biggest feeling I had was one similar to a #showhole (look it up if not familiar with the phrase) after I updated my spreadsheets and made the final entry into my amortization schedule/payment tracker. It was like, you’ve been updating this spreadsheet for years, now what are you going to do?

As much as I want to hold a party and shout from the rooftops, it just doesn’t feel appropriate. I understand that I’ve been blessed with employment that is better than many (and don’t want to rub it in peoples faces), but I’d still like a little credit for the financial discipline my wife and I have stuck too!

Yes I would have been ahead just investing that money in index funds, but no debt was truly the biggest goal of mine.

Right or wrong, my approach has been to firstly max out 401k/IRA’s/HSA (all of them) and secondly pay down the house. Now I will replace the second step with index funds in taxable accounts. Never had auto debt.

Thanks for hearing me out. Thanks for all the great content I’ve read here over the years.

Time to refresh my goals and targets

Congratulations ! You’re way ahead of the game ! You and spouse should be proud !

 

[Figaro]

Great job! Keep it up - nothing better than accomplishing your goals (investment returns aside).

 

[Calico]

Congratulations!!!

You and your wife deserve a LOT of credit for reaching that goal. You certainly got there at a much younger age than I did!

I also think it shows a lot of character to refrain from "shouting it from the rooftops" - especially during the times we are living through now.

Don't worry about the actual payoff moment feeling anticlimactic. Every month going forward you will find yourself doing a little happy dance (even if it's just in your head!) on the day you don't have to make the mortgage payment!

 

[NW-Bound]

Congrats on your paid-off mortgage. And on your 1st post too.

I paid off my mortgage at the age of 47. That's 10 years older than you are now. It was a 15-year mortgage.

Now, you have that much more money to invest. Have fun.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Congrats. I can relate a bit. There were few people I could reasonably share the news with. (I did tell one sibling.) But, nonetheless, we felt contented. Best to you.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Congratulations Marky3130! You and your wife are entitled to celebrate, so let the festivities begin!

You could do the Dave Ramsey radio show routine: Do a verbal countdown "3-2-1", then scream at the top of your lungs: "We're debt free!" Then, if you have some noisemakers and confetti, work those in as well.

All joshing aside, you are to be roundly congratulated for your discipline and drive on achieving a desireable longtime goal. I am sure the sense of financial freedom you feel going forward will be very gratifying to you. My wife and I got our home mortgage paid off when I was in my late forties. The money that had gone to mortgage payments then went straight into savings/investments. It was one factor that allowed me to retire early when I was 54, and our three kids were then ages 7, 11, and 17.

Congratulations to you. And all the best in formulating your next new goals!

 

[Zona]

This is a great accomplishment! Congratulations!

 

[MarkY3130]

Thanks everyone!

 

[street]

Very well done!
The earlier the better was my plan, so I could invest more early in my career. The power of compounding is huge and the earlier the better.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

You should be proud of yourself. I recommend ice cream.

Not telling others is the wise/safe way of doing things.

I have 3 paid off homes and I had some ice cream tonight because I'm still pleased with myself.

 

[travelover]

It is a big step. After my last mortgage payment, my investing and net worth zoomed. Congratulations.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not had any debt to pay off in a long time, but youse guys make me want to have ice cream too, so I am going out to the fridge now.

 

[Montecfo]

Mark,

First welcome to the forum!

Second congratulations on a milestone that many never achieve!

Third, I admire your good manners and restraint to not discuss with people who might not be as able to share your milestone with enthusiasm as we are!

 

[Ronstar]

Congrats! I did the same thing at 45 years old. Just don't make the same mistake that I made. I should have invested the house payment amount every month after I paid off the house.

But I didn't. I invested some, maybe half of what my house payment was. I should have invested more, but I blew some dough.

 

[MarkY3130]

That’s good advice. That’s the plan, but I’m sure it’s easier said than done

 

[Dreamer]

Congratulations. It is such a nice feeling. Celebrate a little.

 

[njhowie]

Excellent! We felt the same way when we paid ours off 11 years ago. However, I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions. Savings will now bounce back and grow faster. Your stress level will go down by multiple notches. You'll feel better day to day as that financial burden has gone away.

Now, don't forget that if you've been paying property taxes with your mortgage payments, you have to pay your property taxes directly going forward. Give it a week or two for your township/county tax records to get updated as mortgage servicer notifies them you've paid it off, but be sure that they have their tax records correct and the bills are to be sent to you directly and not the mortgage servicer.

 

[RobbieB]

You got me beat too. Age 50 when I was mortgage free. And yeah, once I started buying equities with that payment the dough stacked up fast -

 

[Jerry1]

Congratulations. Quite an accomplishment, especially before 40.

As for your feelings, I liken it to a reporter asking an athlete how they feel after they’ve accomplished something like a gold medal. At that moment, they can’t really describe how they feel. It hasn’t sunk in yet. In time, you’ll appreciate how big of a deal this is. Keep your energy focused and soon you’ll see how this isn’t so much about retirement as it is about freedom. Paying off the house was a big step. Again, congratulations!

 

[target2019]

Long time silent member/long time lurker - 37 Years Old

Well, today I made the final payment on my house. Felt mostly anticlimactic if I’m honest. What’s funny is the biggest feeling I had was one similar to a #showhole (look it up if not familiar with the phrase) after I updated my spreadsheets and made the final entry into my amortization schedule/payment tracker. It was like, you’ve been updating this spreadsheet for years, now what are you going to do?

As much as I want to hold a party and shout from the rooftops, it just doesn’t feel appropriate. I understand that I’ve been blessed with employment that is better than many (and don’t want to rub it in peoples faces), but I’d still like a little credit for the financial discipline my wife and I have stuck too!

Yes I would have been ahead just investing that money in index funds, but no debt was truly the biggest goal of mine.

Right or wrong, my approach has been to firstly max out 401k/IRA’s/HSA (all of them) and secondly pay down the house. Now I will replace the second step with index funds in taxable accounts. Never had auto debt.

Thanks for hearing me out. Thanks for all the great content I’ve read here over the years.

Time to refresh my goals and targets

I wasn't familiar with #Showhole, and looked it up. I've had that #Showhole feeling plenty during the last year. I didn't know what to call it, so now I can impress the younger generations.

For sure dedicate that "payment" to the taxable account. Maybe once a year celebrate by buying something special for yourself.

 

[retired1]

Congratulations !! Well done. Now enjoy the feeling of "true" home owner.

 

[Gumby]

The quiet satisfaction of a job well done is priceless. And you have done very well, indeed. We didn't pay off our mortgage until my 58th birthday, which was 23.5 years after we bought the house.

 

[Markola]

Ha, ha. Thanks for the new phrase, OP. “Show hole.” Perfect.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=show hole

There’s a lot of it as one progresses through big ,FIRE goals like yours, and smaller ones, most of which you can’t talk about with others without generating unwanted envy. Fortunately, the new goals don’t have to be as massive to be satisfying. For example, I get a kick out of pursuing cash back bonuses from credit cards. You’re obviously a goal-oriented person and you’ll fill that show hole soon enough. But first, do a trip or find a way to celebrate your accomplishment [emoji322]

 

[jollystomper]

Congratulations! You have me well beat, I did not pay our mortgage off until last year, 2 years after I retired. It is a great feeling!