If you don't have a 15 year mortgage, you're living beyond your means?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home many in DMV actually have a 30 year mortgage?!? DH and I have a 15 year at 2.25%. Of course, we could have gone with a 30 year and invested the savings in the stock market, but how many people actually do this? Most of my friends have homes worth twice ours, but they have an HHI that is maybe 1/2. Most of our neighbors with similar home values are sporting used Toyotas, unkempt yards, IKEA furniture, and vacations to Rehoboth. Meanwhile, we have BMWs, several millions in savings, well manicured gardens and maintained home, heirloom Stickley furniture, and multiple int'l vacations per year in first class. One of our neighbor's trees fell down 2 years ago near the edge of our property line and they still haven't removed it. They want to split the $800 cost for removal. For real?!? Are we way off base, here?

You sound like a complete and total jerk.

Right? Though I also think maybe a troll. One or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home many in DMV actually have a 30 year mortgage?!? DH and I have a 15 year at 2.25%. Of course, we could have gone with a 30 year and invested the savings in the stock market, but how many people actually do this? Most of my friends have homes worth twice ours, but they have an HHI that is maybe 1/2. Most of our neighbors with similar home values are sporting used Toyotas, unkempt yards, IKEA furniture, and vacations to Rehoboth. Meanwhile, we have BMWs, several millions in savings, well manicured gardens and maintained home, heirloom Stickley furniture, and multiple int'l vacations per year in first class. One of our neighbor's trees fell down 2 years ago near the edge of our property line and they still haven't removed it. They want to split the $800 cost for removal. For real?!? Are we way off base, here?

You sound like a complete and total jerk.

Right? Though I also think maybe a troll. One or the other.

[Anonymous]

A $500K 30 year mortgage at 2.5% generates $213,323 in interest payments over 30 years. A $500K 15 year mortgage at the same rate generates $100,146 in interest. This is a $111,177 savings over 30 years. Furthermore, most 30 year mortgages carry higher APRs, thereby increasing the value of a 15 year even more.

If the plan is to just pay extra principal...why not get the 15 year to begin with?!? Answer: the obsession with living beyond ones means. Proof: the fact that so many other expenses incurred are for substantially lower quality goods and services. Look at me ma! I live in a 5000 sqft plastic palace. Oh, BTW, we're eating Kraft mac and cheese for dinner on cheap plates from walmart. And don't mind the air matress on the floor in the guest bedroom....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we have a 15 year and Ikea furniture - what does that make us?

We do too. And to blow OP’s mind even further, in addition to our 15-year mortgage and IKEA furniture, we drive a BMW and fly in first class.

+1
AND Our 15 year old Ikea bookshelf is between to our Chesterfield imported from one of the finest furniture shops in Chester, England and a 16th century inherited armoire!

OP, you're a bit judgy...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are assets that appreciate and assets that depreciate. You invest in them DIFFERENTLY, OP.

This makes sense. Fine furniture is an asset that appreciates. The fond memories associated with exceptional and global travel experiences apprieciate with time, as do those of owning and driving a fantastically engineered automobile. These experiences make one a better and more worldly person, do they not? A person that understands, nurtures, and even incubates exceptional performance and achievement vs. one that celebrates plain-Jane mediocrity masquerading as a false idol of accomplishment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely either a troll or Jerky McJerkface.

We paid cash for our house, our newest car is a 9 year old Subaru, and our furniture is mostly from Craigslist. What are we? 🤪

OP here. Okay...lots of honest critique. Maybe I am way off base and somewhat of a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are assets that appreciate and assets that depreciate. You invest in them DIFFERENTLY, OP.

This makes sense. Fine furniture is an asset that appreciates. The fond memories associated with exceptional and global travel experiences apprieciate with time, as do those of owning and driving a fantastically engineered automobile. These experiences make one a better and more worldly person, do they not? A person that understands, nurtures, and even incubates exceptional performance and achievement vs. one that celebrates plain-Jane mediocrity masquerading as a false idol of accomplishment.

Are you…a college freshman? If not, this is embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Home many in DMV actually have a 30 year mortgage?!? DH and I have a 15 year at 2.25%. Of course, we could have gone with a 30 year and invested the savings in the stock market, but how many people actually do this? Most of my friends have homes worth twice ours, but they have an HHI that is maybe 1/2. Most of our neighbors with similar home values are sporting used Toyotas, unkempt yards, IKEA furniture, and vacations to Rehoboth. Meanwhile, we have BMWs, several millions in savings, well manicured gardens and maintained home, heirloom Stickley furniture, and multiple int'l vacations per year in first class. One of our neighbor's trees fell down 2 years ago near the edge of our property line and they still haven't removed it. They want to split the $800 cost for removal. For real?!? Are we way off base, here?

You must have terrible credit. We have a 30-year mortgage at that rate. Why can't you get your financial life in order?

[Anonymous]

You have several millions in savings and have a mortgage on your house? And you think other people are the dumb ones?

LOLOLOLOLOL!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Home many in DMV actually have a 30 year mortgage?!? DH and I have a 15 year at 2.25%. Of course, we could have gone with a 30 year and invested the savings in the stock market, but how many people actually do this? Most of my friends have homes worth twice ours, but they have an HHI that is maybe 1/2. Most of our neighbors with similar home values are sporting used Toyotas, unkempt yards, IKEA furniture, and vacations to Rehoboth. Meanwhile, we have BMWs, several millions in savings, well manicured gardens and maintained home, heirloom Stickley furniture, and multiple int'l vacations per year in first class. One of our neighbor's trees fell down 2 years ago near the edge of our property line and they still haven't removed it. They want to split the $800 cost for removal. For real?!? Are we way off base, here?

I’m laughing about the BMW. Do you think that’s a quality car?

[Anonymous]

You are not as cool as you think you are.

[Anonymous]

Frankly when I hear people have a 15 year mortgage it tells me that they don’t have the money to pay it off. Perfectly fine in your 20s and early 30s but beyond that you should have the liquidity (or cash equivalents) to pay it off. If you do a 30 year or no mortgage make sense.

Op seems a little snooty without the actual wealth to justify it.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you been listening to Dave Ramsey? He shrieks about 15-year mortgages all the time. He's mostly nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is dumb to tie yourself to a 15-year mortgage. Get a 30-year mortgage and make double payments. This gives you flexibility if, for example, one or both of you lose your jobs and you have cash flow problems for a month or two. Apparently your idiotic plan worked out for you and your husband, OP, but it isn't the best choice.

This doesn't work as well as you think. We refinanced to a 15 as the interest rate went way down and between the lower interest rate, our payment went down. So, sometimes a 15 makes far more sense. We paid in extra and recast twice which lowered our payment a lot. Each time we recast we continued to pay the same amount. We have a very low principal at this point and will probably pay it off soon.

It sounds like they are fine financially even if one loses a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Home many in DMV actually have a 30 year mortgage?!? DH and I have a 15 year at 2.25%. Of course, we could have gone with a 30 year and invested the savings in the stock market, but how many people actually do this? Most of my friends have homes worth twice ours, but they have an HHI that is maybe 1/2. Most of our neighbors with similar home values are sporting used Toyotas, unkempt yards, IKEA furniture, and vacations to Rehoboth. Meanwhile, we have BMWs, several millions in savings, well manicured gardens and maintained home, heirloom Stickley furniture, and multiple int'l vacations per year in first class. One of our neighbor's trees fell down 2 years ago near the edge of our property line and they still haven't removed it. They want to split the $800 cost for removal. For real?!? Are we way off base, here?

You must have terrible credit. We have a 30-year mortgage at that rate. Why can't you get your financial life in order?

You realize you will pay a huge amount more in interest. Why cannot you get your house paid off?