Comments on Chief Family Officer: Re-thinking the Mortgage Payoff Plan

@Camille - Yep, maybe your husband ought to consid...

2009-07-15T21:05:36.338-07:00

@Camille - Yep, maybe your husband ought to consider a different subject as a backup plan. I'm okay with supplementing that kind of thing outside of school, but we can afford it. I feel bad for all of the families that can't, and of course, for all of the teachers who are losing the subject they love. I definitely think you're wise to be prepared now!

@Tia - Those furloughs are devastating. I don't understand how the governor or anyone could think that state workers should just take a 10-20% pay cut, when salaries are supposed to be bargained for. Good luck to you, and I hope those additional furlough days don't happen!

I think it is a smart move to put the extra away i...

2009-07-14T08:14:24.198-07:00

I think it is a smart move to put the extra away in savings right now. If you had asked me a few years ago if I would be unemployed and our family would be also dealing with 2 day (and now possibly 3-4 day) furloughs a month I never would have believed it. The 2 day furloughs have meant the money that should be paying down my husband's student loans has disappeared but if they hit 3 & 4 days it will mean no money even going into savings and probably a bill or two starting to eat the existing savings away. The more prepared you can be the better.

I hope your local school PTA can ramp up and keep the precious extras because the schools have already lost so much.

My husband is a high school band director so we ar...

2009-07-13T20:03:56.927-07:00

My husband is a high school band director so we are putting extra way "just in case". As LAUSD proves, the arts are the first to get cut -- such a shame! I didn't see any mention of cutting funding to sports, but maybe they did that already. We were ready to start cutting down debt, but instead we're preparing for a possible lay off or pay cut for the 2010-2011 school year.

Sounds reasonable to me!

2009-07-13T16:20:25.400-07:00

Sounds reasonable to me!

We're doing mortgage payoff too, and although I fe...

2009-07-13T13:06:05.994-07:00

We're doing mortgage payoff too, and although I felt like we had enough "emergency fund," I'm still holding back a little more each month for fluidity. You just never know. In the long run, an extra year on the mortgage won't make that big of a difference when we've saved 10-15 years total over the term of the loan.

We must be on the same wave-length. A couple of we...

2009-07-13T11:48:20.384-07:00

We must be on the same wave-length. A couple of weekends ago I woke up with a perspective on debt, and decided for the first time that becoming debt-free was at the top of my priority list. I figured it was better for my consumerism, my childrens' future, and even my family's shorter-term financial security. It was so heartening to read about your student-loan payoff journey since my husband and I both have loans from our MBAs, and to read this article about your re-evaluation. It is hard to change sometimes, to pull back, or redirect our thinking...but you are inspirational, and your flexibility to put the real priorities first is very nice to read. Thanks for this wonderful post! and I don't usually leave links, but if you wanted to take a peek at my post about our journey to becoming debt-free, it is here: http://www.organizing-life.com/create-inspiration-and-beauty-at-home/
Thanks! Abbie

We are in a similar situation. We are down to one...

2009-07-13T11:30:01.668-07:00

We are in a similar situation. We are down to one payment and then we will have an extra money to go somewhere. While its exciting to think about adding it onto the double mortgage payments, sometimes its important to think about the short term future and the possibility that in a year, or two we might not have a steady income. We should probably also consider putting at least a few hundred dollar a month into a high yield savings account.