Tatyana is about to pay off her house at age 39! What’s next? Her husband, who earns twice as much (and whom she met after she bought the home), has no savings. They want a boat. Should she focus there?
Matthew recently ended a relationship that resulted in a real estate buyout with an 8.1 percent interest rate. With rates expected to decline, how long should he wait to refinance the loan?
Rachel’s friends know her as the finance gal, but she’s stumped about closed-end funds. What should she know about these investments?
Erin and Angelique call in with a loan strategy to tackle Steve’s double mortgage dilemma from Episode 478.
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.
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Tatyana asks (at 03:15 minutes): My husband and I entered our marriage with mismatched financial situations. How do I balance personal goals with our financial goals as a couple?
I purchased my house before meeting my husband. For 13 years I worked incredibly hard to pay off my mortgage. I’m now 60 days away from that goal, just a day shy of my 39th birthday.
My small business pays me a salary of $50,000. I have no other debt. My husband makes $100,000 and pays home expenses such as utilities and groceries.
He has no independent savings or assets other than a paid-off vehicle. He’s working towards a pension with 16 years to go and has an unmatched Roth retirement account.
We won’t be having kids. But we have a goal to purchase a boat to get into the cruising lifestyle, which can be expensive. We’ve saved $40,000 in joint cash to start that dream.
I’d also like to rebuild my cash savings and open up a retirement account, though I’m not sure what kind of account to use.
How do I decide what to do with my extra income once the mortgage is paid off?
Matthew asks (at 15:55 minutes): How do I determine the optimal timing to pull the trigger on a mortgage refinance?
I recently got out of a long-term relationship and had to buy my ex out of our jointly-owned house.
This was the right move, emotionally and personally. But I didn’t have much control over the timing and I was stuck with an 8.1 percent interest rate on the refinance.
It’s a $78,000 loan with a $920 payment. I can afford it comfortably with my current take-home pay of $4,250 a month and a lodger who pays half the mortgage.
Regardless I think it’d be wise to refinance when rates go down. The question is, how do I know when it’s the right time to do it?
I understand the economy is unpredictable, but it seems likely that interest rates are going to fall in the next couple of years.
Should I set an arbitrary target rate, like five percent, and refinance once rates reach that level? Or is there a different way to run the numbers?
Not questions but feedback from 2 callers re: Steve Stewart’s question from Episode 487.
Angelique (at 36:49 minutes): Steve is in the same situation as I am. I chose to take a loan with a recast provision on our new house.
When I sell my current house, I can put the money toward the mortgage. They’ll re-amortize the loan, creating lower minimum monthly payments. I’m not charged a fee to use this provision.
Erin (at 37:54 minutes): After listening to episode 487, I had a comment for you. One thing you didn’t mention to Steve was the option of mortgage recasting, where you go in and make a lump payment and then the mortgage lender recalculates your monthly payment going forward.
I know some friends who do it when they make home purchases and want to change their monthly payment on their existing mortgage after they sell other properties.
Rachel asks (at 38:55 minutes): What’s a closed-end fund and is it a good investment?
One of my friends inherited several investments. Among them is an investment called the Blue Rock Total Income Real Estate Fund.
As far as I can tell, it’s a closed-end, private, interval fund. I don’t believe the returns are very good, it has a very high expense ratio and she wants to get rid of it.
How should I advise her? Should she participate in the quarterly buyback? What else is there to know?
Resources Mentioned:
#487: Ask Paula: “Should I Put My Dreams on Hold … and Buy a House Instead?” – Afford Anything | Podcast
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