The Least/Most Frugal Thing — A Paid Off Mortgage
by Katy on September 20, 2025 · 16 comments
Sooo . . . my husband and I paid off our mortgage.
We bought our house in 1996 with an 8.58% 30-year mortgage, which we later refinanced over and over again as interest rates went down. A couple of those times we folded other debt into the mortgage, which I later regretted. (Think credit card debt related to rehabbing our fixer-upper and my husband’s student loans.) Repeat refinancing lowered the amount of interest we paid, but pushed the finish line farther into the future.
2013 brought one final refinance at 2.875% interest as a 15-year loan. We threw extra money at the mortgage when we had it, but the years of sending kids to college put a stop to this practice.
We’ve since had the money to pay off the mortgage, but our high yield savings account was at 5.5%, so it didn’t make sense mathematically. (especially since the mortgage was now mostly principal.) However, HYSA rates dropped and my husband especially wanted the peace of mind of a paid off house. We have no credit debt or car payments, so this was our last financial goal to reach.
I’ve yet to experience that “great sense of relief” that people talk about, but perhaps that’ll happen in time as October and November roll around and there’s no mortgage to pay.
Either way, we’re now officially debt free. Yippee!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Yippee is right. congratulations.
Without having that monthly suck, you can focus on ‘adding’ to whatever savings you are doing.
Even if it all literally IS the same pot, there is something different about paying into your depleted savings versus into the black hole of the never-ending mortgage.
When it comes to money, perception is just about everything.
Congratulations. We got our 30 year mortgage and had a similar pay off course! We paid it off 2 years ago, which allowed us to retire early!
Congratulations! This is a great milestone. i would think just knowing your home is paid for will make you appreciate it even more. I agree with your husband about getting it paid off.
congratulations and welcome to the club. It feels wonderful to not have a mortgage. Congratulations again to you both
Congratulations! DH and I did nearly two years of not buying a single unnecessary thing to pay our mortgage off early, so we had full-on “whee, the burden is lifted!” joy. It made it possible for him to retire early.
Congratulations! I sure wish I could do that. But I will keep plugging along. At least I am paying a low fixed rate and my payment is reasonable. Enjoy your new freedom — as soon as it sinks in!
Congrats! We paid ours off in February and have zero regrets.
Yay! Congratulations!
Congratulations! Feelings come and go, but a paid off house, that’s solid.
Good for you!
If you avoid lifestyle creep from having more money each month (which I expect you will), keeping the money you are not putting into a mortgage to put into some savings or investment each month will eventually make up for what you paid out. The money is now yours to save for years, or spend as you wish.
That is a beautiful thing!
Congratulations!!
Congrats! You will get that great sense of relief in time. And it’s a great feeling.
If you used escrow for taxes and/or insurance, don’t forget to update those.
Congrats, that’s great. Good job
Congratulations. We have similar stories. Got a fixer upper in 2000. Rolled our debt from it into a lower rate with another 30 year. Re financed again with 2.75% in 2016 for a 15 year. Paid it off earlier this year. Helped 3 kids go through college, 2 weddings and now we are debt free. We went yesterday to meet with our financial planner to see how our retirement funds are doing. He said Hubby can definitely retire by 60.
Congratulations!!! I can’t wait to hit that milestone!