Carrying Mortgage Debt Into Retirement

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Mortgage

I am 58 and have no debt. I have a federal pension which is adjusted each year for inflation. It represents abut 65% of my pre retirement salary. Spouse is a Registered Nurse, and I have three houses and a triplex, all paid off. The rental income stream is not much less than my pension. I constructed an excel spreadsheet 13 years ago and have been tracking all expenses ever sense. The spreadsheet allowed me to project into the future, based on my past expenses. That's how I decided to retire at 56. Pension, rental income stream, etc. Maybe I could do better in stocks, maybe not. My net worth is around $1,500,000. I think I will keep this hand rather than worry about a stock portfolio. Why? I want to have fun. Investment scenarios took up much of my life. Even now I still manage to sock away around $1800 a month in savings.

Now, I just want to enjoy life to the extent my finances will allow. Isn't that the whole idea anyway? Actuairle tables only give me another 15 years or so. I feel the need to fish.

Buck of ME @ Mar 02, 2009 20:47:16 PM

Re:Carrying Mortgage Debt Into Retirement

There are about 110 million households in United States, with 70% of them owned residences. Let's say there are 75 million owned homes. Not all have mortgages, but if 70 million do, and the average mortgage amount on such homes is $200,000, that comes out to a scary $14 TRILLION of mortgage debt in the USA.

Inlinebusiness of FL @ Sep 25, 2008 07:17:03 AM

Are you sure?

Is that why the highest number of bankruptcies right now is our generation of baby boomers...overextended, overmortgaged McMansions, little or no retirement assets yet have an illusion of affluence? How many really have 'investable assets of 1 million"...so how relevant is this article. It will be misread as simply don't pay off your mortgage and crapshoot your retirement away on a questionable stock market.

And...if you are paying more interest on your mortgage then you can earn on investments isn't it smarter to pay off the note (even if you qualify for a deduction) then earn less on investments while paying taxes on the gains?

And the millenials get slammed....geez

Inheriting this mess of ID @ Jun 21, 2008 05:30:02 AM

Are you sure?

Is that why the highest number of bankruptcies right now is our generation of baby boomers...overextended, overmortgaged McMansions, little or no retirement assets yet have an illusion of affluence? How many really have 'investable assets of 1 million"...so how relevant is this article. It will be misread as simply don't pay off your mortgage and crapshoot your retirement away on a questionable stock market.

And...if you are paying more interest on your mortgage then you can earn on investments isn't it smarter to pay off the note (even if you qualify for a deduction) then earn less on investments while paying taxes on the gains?

And the millenials get slammed....geez

Inheriting this mess of ID @ Jun 21, 2008 05:30:02 AM

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