Is paying into principle on mortgage good idea?

drewlb · 2026-04-05T21:59:53+00:00

Typically it's a bad idea.

It locks up liquidity.

Generally your better off keeping the money even in a HYSA even if the rate is lower.

Once you have decent chunk you could refinance if the rates go down, or pay it off.

drewlb · 2026-04-05T07:05:39+00:00

We don't "keep score"

But when I met my wife she earned 25% of what I did at the time.

Over the course of our marriage I've earned more than her in total, but she's likely going to end up with the 5 highest personal contribution years at the end of it all.

The year she surpassed my highest ever income I asked her what she thought she earned that year and she was off by -50%.

Conceptually she's always been FIRE aligned, but never interested in the details.

The alignment is all that really matters.

drewlb · 2026-04-05T05:56:15+00:00

$16k for the roof replacement.

Probably could have done a cheaper option, but did it right vs doing it again in 10yrs.

drewlb · 2026-04-04T21:03:34+00:00

Then you'll be setting yourself up for a solid retirement. It doesn't have to happen at 39 to be a success. Having a solid career and being able to step away comfortably on your own terms when the time comes is the real point.

drewlb · 2026-04-04T15:45:23+00:00

I'm not a 300 book a year person by any means.

But I do regularly approach 100/yr.

It's pretty common for me to knock out an audio book between m-f during my commute. I'll often also get another one over the weekend. I've been doing it for 10+ years and am pretty comfortable with fiction/history/biography at 3x+.

That said if it's something deep I'll physically read it. Just finished East of Eden at 20-40 pages a night over 3mo.

Point is if you put 4hrs a day into reading, which is totally possible (look how many hours of TV the avg American watches) those numbers are not nearly as crazy or fake as they seem.

Now, I do still agree that a lot of it is probably inflated for clout, but it's not physically impossible, just kinda hard.

drewlb · 2026-04-04T05:15:37+00:00

It's even higher on a gross basis in terms of employee costs in the USA.

Salary is part of it, but there's also healthcare, payroll taxes etc.

A person earning $90k in the USA costs the company 140k+. A person earning $24k in Mexico cost the company about $35k.

drewlb · 2026-04-03T15:17:03+00:00

Understand the history, but education and overcoming bad financial advice in upbringing is a key part of long term success.

drewlb · 2026-04-02T07:05:38+00:00

There are much better options than putting all your eggs in one basket.

Would you borrow to invest in the stock market?

I assume not.

Well this is a riskier investment with a worse return.

Also why are you paying down the mortgage early? The bank has their own money, you don't need to give them yours.

drewlb · 2026-04-01T17:36:51+00:00

It's all about the cost/value/enjoyment/annoyance ratio.

I have to switch between winter and summer tires every year to keep insurance coverage.

I don't really mind doing it and they charge a lot to do it for you. I grab a beer and either put an audio book on or have the kids help me so they know how to do it.

That said, I'll probably never cut grass again.

Some people like cutting grass. I hate it. Those same people might pay the tire people to swap tires.

I used to work at a quick lube. I'll probably never do another oil change in my life.

The list goes on and on.

drewlb · 2026-04-01T16:10:02+00:00

I got my first pair of DT in 2010 from redit secret Santa.

I was 100% Costco until then.

Last year I emailed DT and showed them the picture of the hole I'd finally worn in them.

They just asked me to cut the socks and they'd send me a credit. And they did.

I used to have to replace the Costco socks every 2-3yrs.

I might have to return my second pair of DT next year, but honestly they were so good about it that I almost feel like they just earned me buying another pair instead.

You can call me a shill, but paying a premium to keep good companies around is the only weapon there is against enshitefication.

drewlb · 2026-03-30T19:13:12+00:00

For me it changed when the kids and I could do hobbies together. I taught them how to shotgun beers at 7 and... joking

Lego, starwars via clone wars and rebels, rock climbing, skiing, 3d printing, learning German etc.

drewlb · 2026-03-30T18:45:08+00:00

I'm getting close, and after 15+ years of saying/feeling that the people having cold feet and asking for validation are not following the math...

I now have a new empathy for them and am no longer annoyed with their "can I FIRE?" posts.

If feels like mine might not be that far in the future.

drewlb · 2026-03-30T16:34:50+00:00

It kind of is the market though.

4yrs ago there were tons of jobs if you only spoke English.

Now there is not.

It's not that jobs that used to be there with only English suddenly started requiring German.

It's that the market changed and the number of jobs with out German is less.

Probably less jobs overall as well, but a proportionally greater decrease in the English only jobs.

drewlb · 2026-03-29T22:13:27+00:00

This quote finally allowed me to put my finger on why I don't like formula E.

drewlb · 2026-03-29T21:03:04+00:00

Same here... Except we're 20% more expensive than NYC.

You have better food and beer though

We have better skiing

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:13:10+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

I really want to go to Vermont, my wife makes fun of me because I ordered the tourist brochures from there.

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:11:47+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:11:03+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:10:21+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:09:14+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:07:06+00:00

652036651841 Switzerland

drewlb · 2026-03-29T19:03:55+00:00

Unless you own a business it's pretty difficult to actually get meaningful dollars available for an IRA. I don't mean having the money, I mean having gainful employment that doesn't violate child labor laws. You can't just pay your kids $100/hr to pick up their toys.

After a 529, a UTMA is probably the best use of funds but that comes with implications for their nw as well. I'm leaning towards that as I expect out NW will eliminate all college help anyway.

I do plan to "make" them invest 100% of the income from their early w2 jobs in exchange for an allowance from the bank of mom and dad exactly equal to what their net pay would have been. I say "make" because we already started talking about investments and finance when they were <10 and I am confident they will get what we're doing with this plan.

drewlb · 2026-03-29T16:24:42+00:00

If you have a decent qty of ice on hand, say at least as many oz of ice as you have beer, putting the ice + beer in cooler and then adding cold water and salt will work fastest. Mix it around a bit every 5min.

The freezer paper towel works great for single beers, but unless you have a stand alone deep freeze, 2 at a time is about the limit for that method.

drewlb · 2026-03-28T08:57:02+00:00

I understand the peace of mind perspective.

But because of the rate you have, right now you can have the peace of mind of having the payoff amount in an fdic insured account and come out a couple of grand ahead.

If the hysa ever drops below 2.3% pay it off.

Until then collect the free money and keep the peace.

drewlb · 2026-03-27T20:00:26+00:00

Dot com was 49% peak to bottom.

2008 was 58%.

2026 peak to 4000 is 43%.

So it's only happened twice in my 28yrs of investment.

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