Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Paying off the house and all debts- that's my #1 goal right now.
Looking for advice on where to put the cash that would normally go towards your debts - and what would you do with your house- would you keep it or liquidate it? What other changes would you make in your lifestyle?

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Keep a decent cash hoard keep the house if you like the area. If you have enough Silver buy Gold.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

If you have a fixed rate mortgage I'd pay off the debts before the house.

You know what that payment will be each month.

Pay off the highest interest rate first and so on.

We all know inflation is coming this way. You can pay off the house down the road with inflated dollars. (as long as you have an income that is...)

One extra payment to principle per year will knock off 9 years on a 30 year mortgage.

Each extra payment TO THE PRINCIPLE will reduce the amount of interest (cost of money) you pay over the term of the loan.

The sooner you pay off the mortgage, the sooner that monthly payment stays in your pocket.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

if I had a printing press which can print perfect $ bills,and I would print 10 trillions $,and than I would bury these $$$ in my backyard garden
what increase in inflation would we have ????

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

If I lived in the US I'm not sure I would pay off the house. If the dollar does a real crash I would not want assets that could only be realistically turned into US$. I would be looking for items I could use like food or exchange for the new reserve currency like PM's. Investing in a house will give you somewhere to live but it won't preserve your wealth. The only thing standing between the US dollar,imho, and the abyss is Foreign confidence. Once the confidence is gone so's the dollar. Try and put yourself in a foreigners shoes and ask the question "how long do you think the confidence in US$ will hold"?

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Once the house is paid off have a party...

Then if you have any other debts take the amount of money that was going towards the mortgage and pay them off at an accelerated rate...i fully realize that many on this board will say no to that but my view is no one knows the future for sure...be as debt free as possible is my advice, right now...

If you have no debts invest in ways that make your house more efficient so it costs less to operate...light bulbs that burn less energy, water saving devices, better insulation...etc...lower your overall living and operating expenses in general...

Then invest in ways that make you more independent of the system in case of unexpected problems...lets say the power grid became unreliable, perhaps you would like to have a backup generator or solar panels with batteries...a wood stove for backup heating system, etc...build a large pantry for food storage perhaps...increase the security of your residence...

That will keep you busy for a while, but remember life is also about living in the moment and not always just planning for the future...take some of the extra money and go enjoy yourself...

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

There you go! A perfect formula.

A coworker told me about his dear friend, a school teacher, who saved her whole life and lived austerely; and when she finally retired, she bought herself the new Mercedes she had dreamed of all those years and then died of cancer a few months later. Dream over.

His motto, therefore, was "save for tomorrow; live for today."

That's my credo.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

I agree with that, I am realizing too there are some things in life you better do today because eventually you'll be too old and stiff to do them. I guess I'm having a crisis of purpose when I look past the time when the house is paid off. Monthly expenses will drop (but not for long, inflation will almost certainly worsen and new bullshit taxes and fees are already showing up) so I still won't be free of the system. I have no delusions on this - without income, I'll be staring at the abyss just like any other poor retiree. And I'm getting the uneasy suspicion that owning one's own home in these times is just another form of prison. I know a few neighbors walking away from their home mortgages, and more with for sale signs rusting in their front yards - no buyers. There's at least 8 within a block of my house.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

ok , the only debt is a jeep payment for another 2 years and a house payment , then just general monthly bills , no other outstanding debt .
house is down to just under $20,000 . wife has been paying extra each month for a few years to get it payed off quicker . 15 years into a 30 year loan of @$90,000 on a house appraised at just over $180,000 payed down by adding profit from sale of first house .So if inflated dollars are coming is that suggesting *finance is slightly above me* that if a loaf of bread right now that is $1.50 is inflated to $1,500 does that suggest I'll be able to pay off the house for just under $15.00 of today's money ?

And my home loan is fixed in amount and the % interest so if the money is inflated it will remain fixed as well and wont be inflated to go along with the loaf of bread in price ?
And does that suggest that a 1oz round of silver which is $16.00 now will be at inflated value just over $20,000 and I could drop a round at the bank to pay off my house and expect change back ?

Or am I totally off in this ?
note statement above
*finance is slightly above me*

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

That's sounds like a pretty good position to be in.

ONLY if you get a pay raise equal to the amount of inflation. If your income doesn't keep up with inflation, you'll be spending all of it on that loaf of bread.

Correct.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Pqying off your house and other debts--that's a big goal. I was fortunate to have accomplished that in 2001. What a GREAT FEELING it was then. You come close to getting an extra tax-free pay check each month!! It takes some discipline to not go out and buy some jet skis or big screen TV etc. but its your choice and YOUR priorities!!

It was lucky timing after paying off the house that I started buying gold bullion in late 2001--lucky that gold was at or near its bottom then. in 2002 I started buying silver bullion and some precious metal stocks too with the extra money in my pocket. In 2003 I started buying a gun--nothing real expensive for personal protection--, once every couple of years. A year ago I bought a year supply of freeze dried food for the 2 of us. Recently I bought a small generator.

My current goals and/or needs include getting some communication equipment when the SHTF. No decision on exactly what types yet but may include portable CB, walkie talkie and scanner to be able to pick up FEMA, police etc.---hey, guys I'm still open for radio ideas and suggestions....

I also want to look into some renewable energy source, such as some kind of solar panel to recharge batteries, also maybe a bicycle driven generator too.

There have been several very good ideas already posted in this thread. Hope my purchases and goals helps you consider a few of the same too. Good luck

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Pay off all debt and save like a mf. Buy Gold or Silver or just save greenbucks but don't spend it until this thing shakes out.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Wrong-do not pay-off your house first. Do not think old school in a new school. Many reasons.
1- That money should have been going into PM's whose value increases quicker than house values.
2- Do refinance to a lowest rate that you can so as to get the monthly payment to a low affordable rate and have left over for PMs.eg, an $800/mo mortgage payment with $800 left over for PMs guarantees less loss in case of PM failure or housing price explosion-guess which one has been obvious for the last 5 years?
3-One may have to leave their "house" for destinations unknown,civil or natural disasters-in which case a roll of Eagles would be advantageous.
4- Inflation is here, hyper-......when? When it will cost $400 to fill up your car's gas tank, and your mortgage is only twice that-PMs value will be exponentially higher(much higher than the old house).
5-In a housing disaster (we have only seen a housing "crisis" up till now-Freddie and Fannie own most as of today) the govt entities in charge WILL change rules, modify mortages,pass laws, etc to ensure the houses stay occupied.After a few short years of vacancy-houses become a huge money pit. In short-you will still have a place to live in.I witnessed this in Louisiana in 1984/85, (a true housing disaster)banks begged folks on 10 oclock news not to walk away-offered 50 year mortgages etc.....
6-Even more beneficial if we have a currency collapse.I have a friend who experienced the Argentina collapse,millionares were made in a short period of time but by those that had PMs. and bought properties for silver coinage.
7-Throughout history-population shift due to economic hardship, war, civil unrest,revolution etc exceeds those that remained in one place for 30 years.Just ask Iraqi's, Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, Russians, Lebanese,
Georgians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians,Somalians, Africans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Colombians, Indians, -get the picture? Socialism,Communism, was responsible for most modern day shifts,any recent clues as to where we are heading?
8-Think of all the variables in a collapse-and think, and think again.Unless you are just hell bent on standing your ground,be prepared to have to move to survive.

Re: Once you've paid off your house, then what?
 

Paying off your mortgage is investing in US$. Investing in US$ is not a smart thing at the moment; the $ is going to crash; imho. Exchanging your US$ for food is better than than investing in US$. I'd go with the PM's fwiw.