[USER]

Hello! I owe roughly $79,000 on my mortgage. My goal is to have it paid off by this time next year.
With my 2025 income, $60,000 will be going directly to principal.

Does anyone have any ideas for the remaining $19,000?
I am a SAHM with no other debt. My bills are already at the lowest and are non-negotiable. I am trying to think outside the box.

(I had planned to pay it off this year, but had a second baby and used the money I had saved to add rooms onto my house. This is my forever home.)

I already have the lowest every day living expenses with the exception of groceries. I buy healthy organic groceries and am not willing to change the quality of our food.

I have college payment plans established for my babies- not willing to stop those either as they are long term investments.

When I bought my house, I did a 15 year mortgage at 3% so I have a high payment. I hate it now, but I know I will thank myself for it later.

I’m so close, and then I will finally be free.

[Brian]

I personally would never pay a 3% mortgage off early. It’s the lowest loan rate you will ever seen. I’d rather have any extra money invested.

CD or HYSA are around 4.5%. Paying the low rate mortgage off early is essentially throwing money away.

[Barbara]

You are doing amazing. Curious how are you a SAHM with two little ones making this kind of income?

[Shelley]

Your doing amazing! Don’t stress it. Take an extra 4-6 months to pay it off.

[Kim]

Grow your own vegetables and you’ll have even better quality.

[Sarah]

Could you work on a weekend if you have a partner or do you have a skill that’s wanted? do bake that sort of thing.

[Helen]

We paid off our home in 15 yrs. Peace of mind for us–we always have a home. Taxes are always due no matter mortgage or not. Paying off the home had no affect on them.

We then put what the house payment would have been in high yield bank notes.

Always knowing if we needed the $$ for emergency it was there.

This has worked well for us.

[Mary]

3% is a very low rate !! congrats on that !!! definitely make the extra payments on the principle. but think about anything you’d like to invest in right now.

charitable contributions. is there some traveling you’d like to do?

how many years of that 15 year mortgage do you have left??

if you have less than 5 yrs left then perhaps getting it paid off sooner rather than later might be best.

good luck!!!

[Sheila]

You sound as if you have a well thought out plan. And are doing well with it. I know with children comes unexpected emergencies. So, to have that emergency fund available is crucial.

But keep doing what you’re doing and when you can make extra principal payments toward the mortgage whenever possible.

Koodos! To your persistence and dedication to the plan.

[Mari]

I suggest browsing a book called the Tightwad Gazette for large and small money-saving ideas. Usually available at a library.

[Julie]

I honestly would not stress to pay if off in the 12 months Take 18 months knowing this is fully achievable Plus you have the write offs into the next year Well done!

[Lucinda]

Wow, that’s amazing! A couple of extra cost saving ideas I have used this year are Gas Buddy app to check for lowest price, Rakuten, buying pet food using Chewy when they have their “spend $100 get a $30 gift card,” and activating the cash back/discounts on my credit card.

I just saved $2.70 on gas and probably $25 for the year on groceries.

The trick is to actually apply the savings to your mortgage principal.

[Diana]

I agree with watching a child or two. The cost for daycare has gotten really expensive.

[Kody]

I am trying what I saw a friend do. For major holidays that parent celebrate (NYE, VDay) and the such, she offers overnight child care for a flat fee to allow the parents to have a date night.

It wouldn’t be consistent extra income, but every little bit helps and you can start tonight.

[Natasha]

Watch one child full time along with your own 2 children and charge the parents the $19K broken down by month. Charge like $1500 per month for an infant that will leave once the child turns 2.

I had my daughter at a lady that only had one other child she was watching for pay and 4 of her own children that were school age.

It was perfect for me.

[Robin]

I would just put in the 60,000 this year and take four months the next year to pay the balance so that you have the tax deduction one more year.

Then, start investing in tax deferred investments so that you don’t get a huge tax bill.

We paid off our house in three years years ago, and the tax bill the next year was a whopper.

No need to go to extremes unless you fear loss of income could be pending.

[Ling]

Do you have a spouse? To help you? if you are sahm, who brings in the 60k or you work from home just wondering

[Margie]

There is a way to split your payment into twice a month that reduces it quickly.

Can anybody here advise?

[Virginia]

If your spouse works full time, could you (or they) add a weekend job for 6 to 8 months? Something with cash tips might be helpful; sticking to your budget at the store is easier if your spending has a hard limit.

Babysitting might also be possible, but it’s not easy to do for the short term unless you chose to watch children during summer break.

[Tina]

i’m glad your business is doing well and i understand the high payments are stressful. cause no one knows what tomorrow brings.
see if you can split the payments up it will help

you if the lender can accept that. p

one be thankful you can be a stay at home mom.
make sure you have life insurance for you and your husband is the most important thing.

this past year I know 4 people who lost their lives suddenly at young ages starting from 22 to 35 years old and left behind children without life insurance.

at two of them were single parent and the others were stay at home
moms.

keep up the good work and have a happy and healthy new year. Try not to

stress about things life is to short and you have to stay healthy for the new baby

[Stacey]

I want to say something that you can take with a grain of salt. Will your kids have to use the college investments at a college?

Will a trade school work? What if they want to start work and do an internship instead?

Will that money be “lost?” Asking if maybe there’s a better place to invest the money for your children?

Make more money/be used for whatever they need it for? Maybe they will need it for a down payment on a house instead of college?

[Melissa]

Amazing. When you pay off the mortgage you will have funds for children’s college and investing and saving for retirement.

Check out Dave Ramsey!!

[Tricee]

If you are bound and determined to pay it off in one year, you or your hubby can take a second job delivering pizzas, driving Uber, etc… But, I wouldn’t stress about taking a little bit longer and paying it off in 18 months.

Enjoy your children and your life!!

At 28 years old, you are killing it!! You have done a fantastic job managing your finances!!!

Plenty of time to invest for wealth. Congratulations!!!

[Amanda]

Your mortgage is so economical that you can earn more with your money in your possession that paying it off. I would keep that mortgage as long as possible.

The closer you get to the end the less it’s costing you to keep.

Take that money and make investments instead. a lot of investments have doubled this year alone savings are paying 4 to 5 interest right now

[Susan]

Your interest rate on your mortgage is lower than many homeowners. Maybe try investing in an account that earns more interest for you, that is also easily accessed if needed.

And then reassess the need to pay off your mortgage at a double monthly payment (to the principal only).

(Also 2025 income may not be guaranteed.)

[Diane]

I would pay extra on the principle monthly, but rather than pay the loan off; I would invest the max allowable into an IRA. That way you get the tax deduction, draw interest and HAVE the money available should some unexpected hardship arrive.

If you already have an IRA and are fully funding it, then I would set up a high yield Trust account or investment account.

Consults with companies like Vanguard, T Rowe Price or Dean Witter are free and they can offer you diversification based on percentages that accommodate your comfort of risk level.

You’ll Still have the house paid for in LESS than 15 yrs and that’s quite the accomplishment.

[Terri]

I’m guessing a lot of the 19K is interest. Run an amortization schedule with your planned monthly payment and see what it looks like.

Make sure you have enough set aside for an emergency fund.

[Author]

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