Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2022 · 9 posts · 9 votes
So a window opened and I have an extra $200/month that I had not accounted for coming in each month and I'm deciding what to do with it. I can either put it in my employee retirement account which is not maxed out yet - (btw do I have to personally make sure I don't over fund this each year or is there some kind of monitoring going on?) - or I can pay an extra $200 to the principal of my home mortgage or put it in my Tax Advantage account. The mortgage calculator has me saving $5000 in interest over the life of my loan... 13 years left; vs $200/month invested at 10% return for 13 years is around $3120. So it would be better to pay it towards my home mortgage, right?- Provided that I'm going to live in this home until it is paid off? If I'm going to sell it in the next 5-7 years, does that make a difference? I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet.
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes
4y
Most retirement plans through work will not allow you to overcontribute to your retirement plan. But, always wise to double check.
Mathematically speaking, if your interest rate on the mortgage is 3.5% and you invest in index funds instead, you are likely to generate an 8-10% return over the next 30 years. A person betting on historical averages continuing for the stock market, would arbitrage the two.
However, there is also a non-mathematical peace of mind benefit to paying off your debts. If you wanted to pay off the mortgage entirely and live debt free, you might put the $200 per month towards that, and just throw as much cash as you can at the mortgage to pay it off as soon as possible. There's something very appealing about the freedom that comes with being completely debt free with a paid off home.
There's a "mathemetical" answer and a "debt free" answer, but no "right" answer to this age old question.
Rental Property Investor · Cherry Hill, NJ · Member since 2015 · 626 posts · 495 votes
4y
What if you take the extra $200 and invest it where you get 5% interest per year. Why don’t you do the numbers on that? Instead of the other 2 options you mentioned.
Before you say it is too much, I loaned a note investor $5,000 and he is giving me 8%