Author: Mr. Seriously Frugal

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Best. Financial. Decision. Ever… ?

We just made one of the best financial decisions of our 25 years together, even though it involved signing up for new debt. For about $450 out of pocket now, we will be able save up to $450 per month for the next 15 years. Yes, we refinanced our mortgage. Based on the terms of the new loan, and a few other things we’ll talk about below, we will be able to save all this money without changing our anticipated payoff date. Of course, rather than taking the full 15 years and simply stashing the difference, we plan to put much of that potential savings into early principal payoff so we can really accelerate our path to being totally debt free.

How did we do it? As with most good things, it was not “luck”, but the intersection of preparation and opportunity, plus a fair amount of patience. While there are always many variables at play, anyone who takes the time and effort to be similarly prepared and watchful can have similar results. We’re sharing this account of our experience in the hope that it will help others.

Before continuing, we want to be very clear that we are not attorneys, mortgage brokers, financial advisors, or any other sort of financial professional. We are not giving legal or financial advice. We are not suggesting you refinance your mortgage. We are simply sharing our experience, as consumers, and our actions in our particular circumstances.

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Home Again, Home Again (and Again, and Again)

Home is where the heart (and most of the expense) is.

Of our many mistakes with money, one that is particularly ironic has to do with housing. The irony is due to the fact that our mortgages have been, by far, our largest debts in our lifetime. Yet, by having had so many of them — each with a break in between — we’ve been temporarily debt free several times.

By the time we had been married for 20 years, we had purchased our fourth house with our fourth 30 year mortgage. It’s not like we’ve ever had to move due to some compelling outside reason like a job transfer or being closer to an ailing loved one. In fact, none of our homes has ever been outside a ten-mile radius from our first. Each time, we had different reasons that prompted us to leave. They were generally the wrong reasons and, being honest with ourselves, they generally shared a common theme.

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It Never Looks the Same Twice

When you look at an intricate painting, you tend to notice different things, depending upon your present perspective and what element currently holds your focus. I’ve learned that hindsight is very similar; events look very different as the lens through which you view them evolves. When I started sharing my experience leaving a pension behind, I ended with the question “would I do it again?”. In that post, I was focused on the long-term financial impact. I do realize even pensions aren’t guaranteed; in fact, the one I left had already ended as a benefit for new hires, though it is still in force to this day for those who were already covered. This knowledge made gauging the financial impact of leaving pretty straightforward. Even though financial ramifications are certainly of great import and, likely of great interest to those reading this blog, they are just one piece of the puzzle.

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Unintended Consequences

While cashing in the 401k was probably the most blatantly stupid financial decision, another decision Mr. Frugal Source made for the wrong reasons is in competition for the greatest negative impact on our ability to retire “early”, and possibly eclipses it.

When I was a relative youngster (mid 20s), I found a secure job writing software for a bank. This was the same job I left just before cashing out the 401k. The cash-out notwithstanding, the decision to leave that employer, in it’s own right, hugely impacted our retirement timeline. Why is that? One word. Pension.

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Snowball Versus Avalanche

Recently, we shared our perspective on the first baby step. As you might have guessed, we aren’t in lockstep with Dave on Step 2 either. While we agree that, after having enough saved up for an emergency, tackling debt is the next logical step, we’re not rigid adherents to the debt snowball process. If you are reading this post, it’s probably safe to assume you have heard this term numerous times but, just to be sure, the process is to pay off your debts working from the smallest balance to the largest.

First things first. If you owe the government any money, you should strongly consider taking care of this first and as soon as possible. Owing the government is not something to be taken lightly as any government — be it federal, state or local — has the power to completely alter your life, and in some cases destroy it. Clearly, this is priority one. To be clear, it may not be necessary to get such liabilities paid in full immediately (i.e. you may be able to work out a payment plan), you definitely want to never miss a payment, especially if you’ve worked out a special plan.

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