{"id":1288,"date":"2017-04-13T08:50:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T12:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2020-06-15T01:32:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T01:32:58","slug":"what-our-mortgage-freedom-looks-like-at-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marriagekidsandmoney.com\/what-our-mortgage-freedom-looks-like-at-35\/","title":{"rendered":"What Our Mortgage Freedom Looks Like at 35"},"content":{"rendered":"

The home mortgage is quite often the largest expense in your\u00a0typical annual\u00a0budget. Since your\u00a0mortgage eats up such a huge chunk of your monthly income, completely ridding yourself of it\u00a0could be quite freeing.<\/p>\r\n

My wife Nicole and I completely agree with this sentiment of mortgage freedom. We're just not interested in having a mortgage anymore. So, we're getting rid of it.<\/p>\r\n

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In 2013, our goal was to have the mortgage on our newly purchased $350,000 house paid off in less than 5 years. By following these 6 nerdy money guy rules<\/a>,\u00a0we'd be completely debt and mortgage free by the time we turned 36 years old.<\/p>\r\n

Fast forward to today, our mortgage balance sits at $33,069.20<\/strong> and we're on target to completely pay it off by December 2017. That's 1-year ahead of schedule! Mortgage free by 35!<\/p>\r\n

\"April
Our April Mortgage Statement. Now I'm excited to get my mortgage bills!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

We're thrilled to see the principal balance continue to drop rapidly each month. Each time we see a smaller and smaller number, Nicole\u00a0and I look at each other and say, “Wait a second … We're actually going to pay this thing off!!” When we have that epiphany, we start to dive into what's next for the Hill Family.<\/p>\r\n

By my calculations, we'll have about $35,000<\/strong> more each year (after taxes) to upgrade our lives.\u00a0So … what to do with all of that money?<\/p>\r\n

What are our plans\u00a0when the mortgage is paid off?<\/h2>\r\n

Vacation More<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

We live in Michigan. Our winters can be long and brutal. The first thing we put on our “mortgage freedom list” was to get out-of-town for a tropical vacation each winter. We've already got our winter 2018 trip planned! We're going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary for a week in December. We're going to play with our kiddos on the beach, order poolside all-inclusive drinks and soak up some much-needed vitamin D. I can feel the sun now!<\/p>\r\n

Each year, it could be somewhere different. Disneyland (through travel rewards)<\/a> is on our list for 2018.<\/p>\r\n

As our kids get older, we'll get more adventurous with skiing trips or European travel. Nicole and I are so excited to make these memories together with our kids. They'll remember these experiences for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\r\n

How do the numbers break down?<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n

$35,000 – $5,000 (additional vacation spending annually) = $30,000 left<\/p>\r\n

Max Out Roth IRA<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

Last year was the first year we were able to max out our Roth IRAs<\/a> at $5,500 each. We were able to do this because of an unexpected tax return and a bonus I received from work. Going forward, we'll have a lot more money available to ensure this is an annual part of our budget.\u00a0By maxing out our Roth IRA accounts each year, we'll be rapidly increasingly our retirement savings\u00a0and taking advantage of tax-free growth.<\/p>\r\n