We made the last payment earlier in the week, but the bank finally marked a zero balance today. There will definitely be champagne!
I detailed a lot about the payoff plan here, where we hit the half way mortgage mark in March. Since then, we decided to sell our vacation house. In previous years, that wasn't on our radar, and it also wouldn't have helped much. Once we were closer to the finish line, and the huge uptick in property value thanks to COVID, we decided to go for it!
What comes next?
- Saving for taxes. We put all of the profit from the vacation home on our mortgage (saving ourselves about $10k in interest, vs front loading our savings for the taxes). Now, we will start tucking away money to pay the capital gains
- Saving for me to quit my job. I'm still planning to quit somewhere between end of February and June next year. Some of the timing is dependent on my compensation plan that I'll be receiving in December, so it's hard to predict right now.
- Significantly more financial flexibility. This is a huge game changer for us. We bought our house in 2017, and I really thought this house was out of reach, financially. We not only managed, but sold our rental house & eventually vacation house.
- Peace of mind. I already feel so much lighter! We have no debt of any kind, and our monthly expenses have just dropped tremendously.
I'm going to have to figure out the next challenge for myself, as I love a good financial challenge. I've been putting all of my eBay sales towards this goal, and frittering away all of our "extra" money towards the mortgages for at least a decade. Now, I'll need a new motivation. I'm thinking of something travel related (e.g. an experience we can splurge on, funded out of the "extra" savings.)
Any other goal related suggestions? How do you keep yourself motivated?
ReplyDeleteI remember the relief I felt when I had no mortgage. Congratulations.
Thank you! Very excited to hit this milestone.
DeleteRegardless of families individual financial circumstances, setting and achieving goals is such a huge win on so many fronts. Planning to work on your own terms by next spring seems like a huge goal of its own, so not sure where else you might want to focus. I guess I'd just think on it for a bit-and know you have the financial stability to do just that-thinking is often a luxury we don't give ourselves. To keep me motivated, I use my big picture vision of us retiring earlier than many (though 62 is not really that early for retirement), while still doing all the things we want to do now, in moderation of course. It helps keep me from making stupid purchases-most of the time-and prioritizing in vesting in our family rather than just spending on our family.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely a huge goal to leave work. I love the idea of thinking of your retirement. I am all about small steps & small progress leading up to bigger goals, and need that constant & steady influx of motivation. I'll have to see how to create that for myself.
DeleteThis is so inspiring. We are close to having sufficient cash to our mortgage off, so its a matter of deciding how much we want in reserves when we pull the trigger. I need to project out our tax bill for next year after stock vests, recalculate our emergency fund and maybe we’ll make this our Christmas gift to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteYes! That's a great idea. Fingers crossed for you.
DeleteYay congrats!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you have two of the biggies locked down: no mortgage, and you quitting your job. Does your spouse want to quit anytime soon? Maybe that plus a big family adventure could be your next goals?
Pre-COVID I had a goal of planning a big 3 week family vacation to almost slow travel somewhere. Real slow travel (6-12 weeks to my mind) is too much for me but half of that could have been really fun. Now that's off the table for a while longer.
M doesn't plan to quit before the kids are out of high school (4 years). That would put him at 59, so able to tap into his 401k, should we choose.
DeleteI love the idea of slow travel. It's hard at this phase, with the kids ages, and I'm expecting both of them to have jobs by next summer (or, at least Sam, as he'll be able to drive). That will definitely factor in as well. Things get more complicated as they get older, schedule wise.
Slow travel did seem easier to schedule when the kiddo was younger but much much harder to manage financially and as a parent (JB was a triple handful).
DeleteI don't know when the next "less hard" time in their lives would be once you're in the school merry-go-round.
Just the freedom you have in your budget, will be amazing, plus not having to work is so great.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited!
DeleteSince your blog is called "Hawaii Plan," because you wanted to move there, why not make your next financial goal that of saving sufficient to buy (without taking out a mortgage) a condo in Hawaii which you could rent out when not using it? Roderick
ReplyDeleteA lot has changed in the ten years since I started the blog. Living in Hawaii permanently isn't in the cards, but we've thought about a part time option. My husband doesn't want to rent it out, and we don't have the schedule flexibility to use it regularly right now. But, we're considering it for when the kids are out of the house.
DeleteI stay motivated because I am a worry wart… lol. Youngest has entered law school and although in full tuition scholarship, I do not want him to take out loans for living expenses. I want to have enough for my retirement to live comfortably, and I am having difficulty in Covid era trying to determine what that amount needs to be. I like the suggestion for you above, a condo in Hawaii paid for. You seem to love it there. Maybe they would be a good rental, like the post above said? I do not know. I decided not to buy a condo to rent at beach where I vacation, because of insurance and maintenance costs and being three to four hours away. It would be doable, but I was afraid to pull trigger. You might be braver than me… lol. Maybe save for yearly trips to see the children’s grandparents in Middle East? I would think that would be very expensive. I have a friend who used to own apartment in Egypt and I have always regretted not going when he still owned it. Congratulations again on such a fabulous house paid off accomplishment!!!Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome your helping your youngest, and saving enough for retirement is a fabulous goal. I think we're out on having a rental condo, given that we'd find it hard to use right now. But, it's something we're thinking about when we have more flexibility (4+ years or so).
DeleteWe are actually considering a trip to Singapore with M & the kids to meet up with my mother in law next year. My father in law is not able to travel at this point. It's a great idea to think about covering those expenses. It's highly unlikely the kids will go to Iran, but other locations for visits would be great.
I stay motivated because I am a worry wart… lol. Youngest has entered law school and although in full tuition scholarship, I do not want him to take out loans for living expenses. I want to have enough for my retirement to live comfortably, and I am having difficulty in Covid era trying to determine what that amount needs to be. I like the suggestion for you above, a condo in Hawaii paid for. You seem to love it there. Maybe they would be a good rental, like the post above said? I do not know. I decided not to buy a condo to rent at beach where I vacation, because of insurance and maintenance costs and being three to four hours away. It would be doable, but I was afraid to pull trigger. You might be braver than me… lol. Maybe save for yearly trips to see the children’s grandparents in Middle East? I would think that would be very expensive. I have a friend who used to own apartment in Egypt and I have always regretted not going when he still owned it. Congratulations again on such a fabulous house paid off accomplishment!!!Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! That will really free you up now as you think about leaving work and retirement. well done :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! We're very excited.
DeleteCelebration time!!!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!! So much fun
DeleteWay to go on getting rid of that mortgage.
ReplyDeleteI stay motivated by making a list and marking things off as I get my goals or extra cleaning done. Love seeing a line through things.
God bless.
I'm such a big list maker! My preferred method is to use a highlighter, so I can visibly see the items, but still see the progress.
DeleteCongratulations ! What a dream to pay off your mortgage!
ReplyDeleteThank you! We are so excited.
DeleteGetting down to one property and debt free is amazing. So much less stress!
ReplyDeleteIt's true. I know we will miss some of memory making opportunities at our vacation house, but I haven't missed the stress one tiny bit!
Delete