"HW "Skip" Weldon" <skip5700removethis[at]hotmail.com> wrote:
- quote -


--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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avacohen100[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

You can come to any conclusion desired simply by varying the
assumptions. Everyday I encounter people in debt who can
give a variety of lucid reasons why being in debt is not a
bad thing.

Having said that, I don't recall any DEBT-FREE people who
expressed a desire to go back into debt because they missed
the benefits. <grin
-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

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"Rick Merrill" <rick0.merrill[at]gmailNO.SPAMcom> wrote:

- quote -

Yes

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D. Stussy wrote:
- quote -

Or no other fairly safe investment opportunity at the same
or higher rate of interest than you are paying for the
mortgage.

Suggestion: pay off half the balance of the principal due.
The result will be that you are paying the same monthly
payment, but instead of paying a lot for interest, you will
be paying off the balance faster.

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avacohen100[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

No other [fully] deductible interest at a higher rate.

- quote -

Incurring non-deductible interest (e.g. credit cards,
student loans over the $2,500 maximum, etc....).

- quote -

Paying off a mortgage generally means no deductible interest
in the next year. Time to check one's
withholding/estimated-tax-payments for adjustment.

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avacohen100[at]yahoo.com wrote:

- quote -

The math/financial remarks are somewhat straightforward, but
the emotional question needs to come into play. Is the
monthly mortgage payment a concern to them? If they lost
their jobs do the risk losing the house, etc?

When mortgages were up near a 10% or above interest rate, it
was easy to view paying it off as a 10% guaranteed return on
one's money. Now, the numbers are quite different.

If they have a rate of 6%, in the 20% bracket, their cost is
4.8%. Given the lower cap gain rate, they'd need to have a
portfolio return just over 5% to be ahead. The longer their
horizon, the more likely they are to be successful. But, the
market can also go flat the next 10 years, in which case
they'd have made a mistake. On average over the years, the
better choice has been to invest and not pay the mortgage
down. The invested funds can provide a short term cussion
between jobs or for emergencies.

Before even making that choice, have they;
a) eliminated any credit card or short term debt?
b) set up an emergency fund 3-6 months monthly expenses?
c) maxed out retirement savings (401(k), IRA, etc)
d) set up a college fund for kids, if any.

If the rest of their affairs are in good order, there are
worse mistakes one can make than to pay off the mortgage.
And at their ages, paying the mortgage before retiring is
also wise.

JOETAXPAYER (at Earthlink dot NET)

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Should one pay off one'e home mortgage ?

If one has the money should one pay off one's mortgage ?

Under what circumstances should one:
-pay off the mortgage
-NOT pay off the mortgage

What are the tax negatives and positives ?

My sister is in this situation. I think they are in the 20
to 28% tax bracket. Have reasonable income. Ages around 47
and 50.

Is there an article, website that has written a good article
on this topic ?

I am sure a lot of people would like an answer to it.

Thanks
Ava

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