Kelley wrote recently with the sort of dilemma I get asked about all of the time: Is it better to invest or to prepay a mortgage? We’ve covered this topic in the distant past, but it’s time to review the debate for current readers. First, let’s look at Kelley’s e-mail:
My husband and I are on the right track. At age 25, our only debt lies in our home mortgage. We have the six-month emergency fund in place, I currently meet the 3% 401(k) match offered by my employer, and I started a Roth IRA for myself and my husband last year. I started each Roth IRA with $4,000.My financial advisor recommended for us to max out each of our Roth IRAs each year. My husband disagrees. He thinks paying off the house is a bigger priority. Starting this year, we’ve made an extra payment on our house each month. If we continue doing this, we can have our house paid off in nine years rather than 30 years. However, we can’t do both.
Currently we’ve decided to throw $1,000 into each Roth each year until the house is paid off. Is this the wise decision? Or is it better to put more toward the Roth IRA and less toward the house?
I understand either option is good because I’m saving money. I’m just curious of which route would be wiser.
Kelley’s right: Both of these options are good. This is like choosing between an apple and an orange. Both taste good, and they’re good for you &madsh; but is one better for you in the long run?
What the experts say
Three years ago, when we last covered this topic (holy cats! — where has the time gone?), I collected the following roundup of advice from personal-finance books:
- Ric Edleman (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth): Never own your home outright. Instead, get a big 30-year mortgage and never pay it off — regardless of your age and income. “Every time you send an extra $100 to your mortgage company, you deny yourself the opportunity to invest that $100 somewhere else.”
- Suze Orman (The Laws of Money): Invest in the known before the unknown. Paying off your mortgage offers a guaranteed return on investment. “You cannot live in a tax return. You cannot live in a stock certificate. You live in your home.”
- Elizabeth Warren (All Your Worth): Save 20% of your income. Use 10% for retirement savings, 5% to accelerate your mortgage, and 5% to save for future dreams. “Paying off your home also does something many financial planners neglect to mention: It gives you freedom. Once that mortgage is gone, just imagine all the freedom in your wallet.”
- Dave Ramsey (The Total Money Makeover): Prepay your mortgage if you can, but only after you’ve saved an emergency fund, and only if you’re putting at least 15% of your income toward retirement. Don’t use a program designed by a broker; use your own self-discipline.
- Dominguez and Robin (Your Money or Your Life): “Pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible.” This book, too, was written when interest rates were higher. Also, the authors emphasize frugality over investing.
Financial authors don’t agree on this subject. Maybe the personal finance gurus writing for the web can clear things up?
- Liz Pulliam Weston at MSN Money: Don’t rush to pay off the mortgage. “You’ve got better things to do with your money, like saving for retirement, building an emergency cushion or even living it up a little.”
- Walter Updegrave at CNN Money: If you’ve funded your retirement, and if it will make you happy, then pay down the mortgage. Otherwise, it makes more sense to invest.
- Laura Rowley at Yahoo! Finance: Using very conservative figures, investing instead of prepaying the mortgage yields an extra $400 per year. If you feel compelled to pay down your mortgage, do it. But realize you’re paying a price to do so. (She offers more details at her blog, as well as tips on how to estimate the investment return you need to earn to make it worthwhile.)
- Bankrate: Pay down your mortgage if your investments would be conservative. Invest if you’re planning to do so for the long term.
- USA Today: It depends on your income, your monthly expenses, your risk tolerance, and your desire to own your home free and clear.
- Kiplinger’s: Invest unless you’re near retirement
- The Dollar Stretcher: Mathematically, it makes more sense to invest, but it all depends on your risk tolerance.
- My fellow pfbloggers at Bargaineering and Million Dollar Journey recommend that a person do a little of both: pay down the mortgage some and invest some. Free Money Finance says: “If you have the discipline to save/invest the money you would be using to pay off the mortgage, it’s likely that saving/investing is the better option. But if you’re more the “average” person out there managing your money, I still believe it’s a better option to pre-pay your mortgage.”
The Rowley article offers some interesting background to this debate:
Why do so many people choose to put extra money into a mortgage when other options would likely increase their wealth? “This is really remnant of Depression mentality that has persisted from generation to generation,” says [one expert]. At the time, most mortgages had one- to five-year terms, with a lump sum payment due at the end.“Any shock to income meant you couldn’t afford your payment — mortgages were much more susceptible to economic uncertainty,” [the expert says], and roughly one-quarter of Americans were unemployed during the Great Depression. “It’s fine to pay down your mortgage if it gives you peace of mind, but you should recognize what that peace of mind costs.”
If you’re facing a similar decision, you may find this calculator useful: prepaying your mortgage vs. investing.
The bottom line
My conclusion in 2007 (and the one I still hold today) is that unless your mortgage rate is very high, it makes more sense mathematically to invest your money. But most gurus agree that psychologically, you should do what works for you. If paying off your mortgage would take a weight off your shoulders, then pay off your mortgage. Sure, you might be losing a bit in the long-term, but you’re still making a smart choice. As I said earlier, it’s like choosing between an apple and an orange. One may be better for you, but they’re both good.
Ultimately, I kind of like the choice that Kelley and her husband have made. They’re prepaying their mortgage and putting some toward retirement. But enough of what I think. Kelley really wants to know what you think.
Which option is better? Should she and her husband be pumping as much as possible into their Roth IRAs? Or should they be paying down their mortgage as quickly as they can? Have you been faced with a similar dilemma in the past? What did you choose to do? And would you make the same choice again?
The social media revolution has given way to a generation of tech-savvy and interconnected young Americans. Youthful social media users share their personal lives online, tweeting and posting everything from their relationship status to their current location to their latest purchases. Yet, when it comes to discussing deeper personal finance issues or seeking personal finance advice online, the majority of young adults typically shy away from the web.
AARP recently conducted a national study of young adults in the 18 to 34 age bracket; 57 percent of respondents said that money (specifically the burden of paying bills and carrying debt) was their primary concern. Facing a recession and a brutal job market, young adults are starting to pay more attention to their financial autonomy and planning, yet only 1 in 10 respondents reported sharing financial information or seeking financial advice through social media.
This is starting to change with the advent of trustworthy, unbiased online personal financial resources -- websites that enable users to monitor their own spending, create short-term and long-term financial plans and get trusted financial advice. In fact, 85 percent of young people who have used social media for personal finance advice have reported that doing so made them feel "more confident" about their finances.
These new financial resources are breaking down the taboo of sharing, discussing and managing personal finance online. Whether you are a tech-savvy, social media guru or someone who spends a limited amount of time on the web, you can very easily leverage the internet to gain a greater understanding of your personal finances in a few short steps.
1. Make the most of online banking to make your life easier and keep your finances organized. Online banking is great because it offers quick, easy, 24-hour access to your checking and savings accounts. Here are three ways to make the most of online banking:
- Set up direct deposit for your paychecks so your salary (or other form of income) gets transferred directly and securely into your checking account.
- Set up online bill pay for your monthly bills -- your monthly payments will automatically be transferred from your checking account on a designated date each month. If you are not ready to commit to monthly bill pay or simply want to monitor your bills more closely, you can choose a one-time monthly payment. (*Remember to only set up automatic payments to companies or people you trust)
- Set up calendar alerts two to three days before your bills are due to remind you to pay on time -- never miss a payment or your credit history will take a hit.
2. Start utilizing trusted and unbiased personal finance sites to learn more about personal finances.
LearnVest and other personal financial sites help you manage and understand your finances through tools, games, discussion pages and often, targeted daily newsletters. Whether you need help figuring out how to open an IRA, pay down credit card debt and student loans or find the right health insurance for you and your family, these sites offer expert, step-by-step advice -- for free. Many of these sites employ financial experts to answer your questions or guide you through a financial issue.
3. Use these websites for financial advice pertaining to family life or career changes.
Whether you are preparing for a baby or changing jobs, these sites will help you understand and navigate your way through these life changes. Learn how to negotiate for a raise, handle a tricky situation with your colleague or boss, and choose the employee benefits that are right for you. While personal finance websites are small in number, most of them include live discussion pages (similar to Facebook or Twitter pages) where you can chat with other users whose financial circumstances are similar to your own. Ask users on the site about techniques they use to give themselves a financial advantage in the workplace or to maintain financial autonomy in their marriage.
4. Use social media to find great discounts and deals.
There are tons of discounts and deals to be found on the web. These range from Twitter-only deals from sites like AmazonMP3, JetBlueCheeps, CheapTweet to Promo Code Websites like RetailMeNot, Coupon Cabin, CouponChief.
The AARP study found that young people feel a pinch on their social budgets -- 69 percent say that they suggest low-budget entertainment options and 57 percent say that they sometimes skip going out with their friends for financial reasons. Use social networking to communicate with friends and share information to come up with fun, budget-friendly things to do.
5. Get online and get (free) help to get out of debt.
Many websites offer step-by-step guides to help you take the right steps to get out of debt. With these online checklists, you'll learn how to get a free credit report online (I recommend using creditkarma.com!) differentiate between good debt and bad debt, and take the necessary steps to pay down your credit card.
While I strongly encourage my readers to take advantage of the internet and social networking platforms to gain a greater understanding of their personal finances, it is extremely important to be safe, smart, and responsible when it comes to sharing, discussing, and managing your finances online. There are many random, unprotected sites online that appear safe to use and are ready to accept credit card information. You wouldn't give a stranger off the street your credit card information, so be extra cautious about who you are sharing it with online. For the most part, never share certain personal financial information, i.e. credit card information or bank account information, unless it is with your bank, or a site that you have confirmed is trusted, secure and password protected.
internet marketing course
Personal finance home files are going to be needed in a few short months to prepare your tax return. So don't wait until the last minute. Start preparing those home files now before tax season rolls around. This will help you keep your personal finances in order and make tax filing a breeze.
Three Reasons Why You Should Set Up Personal Finance Home Files
1) It makes tax filing much easier and faster to accomplish.
2) If something happens to you a family member can jump right into your "personal finance picture" and have a clear idea what is due and when. And they will have quick access to information about your insurance and will without having to jump through a lot of red tape with providers and the court system.
3) It helps you stay on top of what you are spending---and where--as well as helps to keep you from overspending so you will stay on your budget.
How Long Do I Have to Keep My Tax Records?
When setting up your personal finance home filling system you might be glad to know that you can discard your old tax records after they are six years old. But hold onto them until then--and afterwards (to be on the safe side) if you had some unusual cirumstance that occurred financially during that period (sold a business).
What Should Be Included in Home Files?
Break the files down into these categories: taxes, investments, retirement and estate planning, and personal planning.
The following tax records should be included in your tax home file category: tax returns from the past six years, paychecks, W-2 forms, 1099 forms, charitable contributions, alimony payments, medical bills, and property taxes.
In your investment record file category you should have: bank records, safety deposit box info (in case of an emergency), stock, bond, and mutual fund transaction records, all brokerage statements, and dividend records.
The retirement and estate planning file should contain a copy of your will, pension plan documents, IRA documents, Keogh plan transactions, and social security information.
Lastly, in the personal finance personal planning file you are going to include the financial statements you recently prepared (if you have been reading and following my earlier personal finance articles, that is): a balance sheet, income statement, and personal budget.
In addition, for the personal planning file you will also include insurance policies and documents, warranties, major purchases receipts, receipts for home improvements made, birth certificates, rental agreements (if renting a living space), and all credit card information (account numbers and company phone numbers).
Resource
Personal Finance - Turning Money Into Wealth by Arthur J. Keown (5th Edition)
penis enlargement
Intel delivers cheaper six-core game chip | Nanotech - The <b>...</b>
Chip giant is shipping a less expensive six-core processor for the highest of high-end PCs. Read this blog post by Brooke Crothers on Nanotech - The Circuits Blog.
<b>News</b> Roundup: Doris Roberts Heads to 'The Middle,' Scott Porter <b>...</b>
Doris Roberts and Patricia Heaton are going to do battle once more, but this time it'll be on 'The Middle.' The two famously sparred often.
Daily <b>News</b> Moving Downtown
The New York Daily News has signed a lease for new space in lower Manhattan and will leave its 450 W. 33rd St. headquarters for 4 New York Plaza next year, the paper's owner, Mort Zuckerman, announced Monday.
how to lose weight fast
No comments:
Post a Comment