To pay off the mortgage early, or not to pay off — that seems to be the question on many personal finance blogs. The arguments against paying off the mortgage early go like this: you’ll lose the tax deduction, and you’ll be better off by continuing to make minimum payments (or even by continually refinancing) and investing the additional money elsewhere. » Read more
When folks start working on getting out of debt, a debt consolidation loan often seems like a good idea.
It makes sense on the surface, especially if you can get a relatively low or no interest loan. Why not just lump everything together so you can make one big payment each month and be done with it? » Read more
I borrowed about $19,000 back in 1997 in order to finish graduate school. (That was stupid and completely unnecessary on my part, but that’s another story.)
This is the story of how I paid off the balance of my student loan in less than five months. » Read more
We set out with the best of intentions: we’re going to stick to the budget this time, cook every meal at home, and pay off our debt in record time.
At first we do great! We’re pumped.
But…then we pass our favorite restaurant on the way home one day after work. We’re tired, and hungry, and we just don’t feel like cooking. So we stop and pick up takeout. The next day comes, and a bill we’d forgotten about shows up. We figure we’ve already blown the budget, so what’s one more thing? » Read more