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Originally Posted by JenTay
no no no. don't get bogged down in that kind of ultra conservative thinking. true, that if you have a paid up house, you will have 'shelter' no matter what. i think that kind of thinking is a little myopic.
when you 'retire', you want to own 'income-producing' assets. unless you intend to rent out rooms in your paid up house, it it non-income producing. i respectfully disagree with you on this point.
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I guess Shakespeare was an ultra-conservative too ("Neither borrower nor lender be.") All our cars are paid with cash, credit cards are paid in full every month. The mortgage is my only outstanding debt, and I can't wait to be out from under it. It will be paid off long before I retire, having saved tons in interest, and then having a big home equity credit line available if I ever need it.
Some of you guys talk about great investments with good returns, but my experiences in the stock market and mutual funds have left me somewhat gun shy. My 'high risk' investing is in energy and health care industry mutual funds for mid- to long term. And only an idiot would not set up a 401K or IRA ASAP to make up the social security shortfall. Other than that, investing in the market is a form of legalized gambling.
Its also a matter of perspective. I was out of a job last year, facing the very real prospect of losing our home to a bank foreclosure. To me, nothing spells 'failure' better than 5 people having to move in with relatives.