So I have a mortgage. It's shiny and it's all mine.
When I got the mortgage, I made sure there were no pre-payment penalties. In fact, my mortgage company seems to encourage extra payments. They even make it easy to specify where the extra money goes (you always want it to be applied to the principal).
But should I be making extra payments on the mortgage?
Right now, the answer is an easy no. Why? Because there are a lot of things I want to do to the house, and for that, I need money. So instead of putting an extra $100 to my mortgage, I'm putting that extra $100 into savings so that I can replace the fence and put in a gas fireplace and pave the driveway and have an attic ladder installed. All things that will improve the value of the house. But once those things are done, should I make extra payments?
If I planned this as my forever house, I would say yes. It's an easy answer. But I'm not sure that this is my forever house. I have trouble envisioning where I will be in 30 years, when the mortgage is up. Do I think I will still be in this house? Who knows! Maybe. Maybe not. A lot can happen in 30 years.
I guess it's not a decision I have to make right now. Right now, I need to scrimp and save to do all sorts of improvements to the house. But what do you think? Do you make extra payments to your mortgage?