I'm wondering...would it be better paying off my mortgage (80K) or keep the money in market investments?

[OAITW r.2.0]

Seems like this might be the smartest play, given I have no idea how Trump will wreck the economy.

[Ocelot II]

1. I'd pay off the mortgage. If the economy goes to shit at least you'll own your house

and you won't have to worry about making mortgage payments.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. That's what I am thinking too. And who knows how they will screw with SS.

[Turbineguy]

3. Are you familiar with the

feeling of satisfaction that comes with paying off a mortgage? If not, you might enjoy it.

[OAITW r.2.0]

6. I did, once, about 30 years ago.

Then the house burned down. I took $50,000 out 5 years ago to re-roof, add solar back-up, paint, new deck railing, and improve the driveway. And I could wipe out the mortgage by draining a significant part of my current investments.

[2naSalit]

4. If you've got it...

I'd pay it off for the very reasons you state.

My buddy here had a windfall inheritance a few years ago, it included property in another state and was a suitable chunk of change. He paid off his mortgage and has been feeling good about it since he was able to do it two years before he retired. I think it was a wise decision.

I'd pay it off in a heartbeat if the funds were available and there was enough to live on afterward ...or even close.

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. I have 2 CD's that would about cover it. About 6 months from maturity.

But I lose tax benefits w/o a mortgage...so I'll be checking this out now.

[2naSalit]

10. Hmm...

Definitely something to weigh out.

[question everything]

14. Only if you itemize your deductions. Many do not since they changed the law

[Shellback Squid]

16. I thought that didn't matter now with the higher personal deduction, especially on 80k

[IbogaProject]

17. It comes down to the total annual interest cost plus annual property taxes

As there is a SALT cap on State Taxes and Property Taxes, I'm not sure about the interest part but it sort of depends on your tax bracket. A lot of the old middle class tax breaks were effectively eviscerated by the 2017 Trump Tax cuts. And they eliminated the deduct-ability of Home Equity Loan Interest too.

[Felicita]

21. You get a tax deduction on the mortgage interest

but that's because you're paying much more in interest to the mortgage companies/banks. In the long term, you pay way more $ if you keep your mortgage, tax deduction or not. On the other hand, if your interest rate is very low like 3%, it might be worth keeping the mortgage for a while longer so you don't deplete your savings, but pay it off more quickly if possible and keeping some savings.

[OAITW r.2.0]

23. Good advice, thanks. Maybe paying down chunks. over time, is the better way to go.

[usonian]

5. The fed has signaled that inflation and interest rates are going up, IIRC.

Tariffs and $86 Billion for deportation planned, so that's logical.

Depends on your mortgage.

We may all lose purchasing power in one way or another, guessing more for frivolous things like food, electricity, medical care and prescription drugs as profits spin out of control.

But we'll have AI to help fill in unemployment claims.

[msongs]

7. you'll give up $80K and lose a tax deduction. whats the interest rates for mortgage vs possible

money markets? it will take a long time to earn the $80K back. at least if you have to sell the house u keep all the money for that. no tax on an owner occupied house if youve lived there long enough.

[Renew Deal]

8. How much interest is in your payments?

If it's almost nothing, the investment might be better.

If you have 30 years to go, pay the mortgage.

[greatauntoftriplets]

11. Pay off the mortgage.

I did it in 2012 and it's saved me thousands on interest payment. Gave me a lot more disposable cash every month. A friend did the same thing last year, and she's thrilled that she no longer has that monthly obligation.

[PSPS]

12. What's the interest rate on the mortgage and how old is it?

If it's a new mortgage and its rate is higher than what you're earning on the investment, pay off the mortgage (or at least as much as you can.) On the other hand, if your mortgage is over half paid off, most of the interest has already been paid and you may be better off leaving your money in your other interest-bearing investment(s.)

[alfredo]

13. I paid mine off, with $500 to spare in my account.

It took a great weight off my shoulders. It didn’t do anything to my credit rating. My wife had a better credit score, so she was able to get a card. She passed away, but my name was also on her card. So I am using her card even though she has passed on.so I’m stuck with an LL Bean card.

Could be worse.

[OAITW r.2.0]

24. Well, I can tell you, 1st hand, LL Bean's sells quality product.

Don't know anything about their credit cards, though...

[Shellback Squid]

15. your current interest rate on the mortgage?

[OAITW r.2.0]

18. I think it's 3.5%

Took it out 5 years ago. Pretty low interest rate.

[carpetbagger]

20. CDs and short-term treasury bills/other bonds are currently over 4 percent

You'll do better with relatively safe investments, my savings (54 yo retiring next year so needing to limit exposure as I'm going to chew through this until I get to pension age) is about 5/6 in bonds, CDs, and treasury funds right now. My mortgage is also low (2.25).

[rubbersole]

19. Debt free is great state of mind.

The road ahead isn't going to be normal. Just not having to worry about your financial situation might be worth anything you might gain by investing. Tangible assets seem as practical as they have been in decades.

[OAITW r.2.0]

25. I'm leaning that way, too.

[woven]

22. I paid mine off earlier this year.

I listened when Trump insisted he didn't need the votes, he already had all the votes he needed.

[OAITW r.2.0]

27. Welcome aboard!

Thanks for commenting!

[HariSeldon]

26. No advice, just analysis here

If inflation spikes, holding a fixed-interest loan is like watching water evaporate in the desert: the loan still pays off according to it's predetermined schedule using nominal dollars, but each of those dollars gets easier and easier to earn via inflated prices (if you're still working).

High inflation usually causes the Fed to jack up interest rates, which makes business reluctant to invest in additional productive capacity. In short, most businesses will tank to some extent if Trump follows through on the plans he expressed in his campaign.

Commodities are a large part of how inflation is determined. I therefore expect commodities to roughly track inflation.

The fact that any of Trump's loans (I mean, he's called himself "The King of Debt&quot that are fixed-interest will effectively melt away if he drives up inflation pretty much tells me how he'd like inflation to behave.

[OAITW r.2.0]

28. Something to consider. Thanks for posting.

[GoneOffShore]

29. We were in the same situation 25 years ago - Paid off the mortgage

When I asked our financial guy about doing it, he said that as we had the cash and if paying it off made us more comfortable, we should probably do it.
It was a good decision and the 50K it cost was money well spent. It reduced our monthly expenses at a time when our business was in a slump.

[FirefighterJo]

30. Pay off the mortgage

1. You subtract yourself from the volatility of the markets and workers troubles that are ahead of us.
2. You will feel relieved every day to be able to live debtfree.
3. If you play it wisely, every month you put the sum of your mortgage monthlies on your savings account and you will have one nice nest egg in no time to invest in anything you want (we invested in renewable and isolation, further reducing our monthly dues)

Just an idea

[Renew Deal]

32. This is good advice

Actively reinvesting the money via automatic transfers goes a long way. Also, something might come up in the future that might make the money to pay off the mortgage unavailable.

[viva la]

31. I never regretted paying off my mortgage early.

No matter what, I always have a house.

[3Hotdogs]

33. 2008 - and the Maidoff led market collapse. I sat down with my wife. "Lets pay it off now because we don't know

what is going to happen." It was the same type of economic turmoil and uncertainty.

The mortgage was about $140k. We still smile when we talk about "I'm glad we did it."

It is one less cloud in the back of our minds. I am now 82 and we are both retired with a defined benefit pensions and SS.

There ain't no Beemer in the driveway and we don't have a second house in Aspen but we sleep good at night.

[MontanaFarmer]

34. How old are you? And are the investments mostly

securities? At 3.5% I would keep the mortgage and keep the investments. If you're close to retirement age, what you're suggesting might make more sense.

[Beachnutt]

35. Invest a small portion into Quantam computing and

pay your mortgage off or down with the rest.

[Ocelot II]

36. I did it shortly before retiring - smartest thing I could have done under the circumstances.

I had to take early retirement because my job was being shipped to Atlanta, where I very much did not want to live. I had enough money from an inheritance to pay off the mortgage, which then made it possible for me to retire without worrying about that big debt. Depends on your circumstances but if you're near retirement it's a good move. Also, if you're over 65 you don't have to pay a capital gains tax when selling your mortgage-free house if you want or need to do that.