Ahh, the age-old question: pay off your mortgage early or invest? It’s no wonder so many members of the financial independence community have strong feelings about one or the other. With a paid-off mortgage, you’re less in debt, with more free cash to invest or spend on things you love doing. But, there’s another side to that cash flow coin. If you’re paying off your mortgage early, you’ll have less money to invest, leaving you with less compound interest.
If you’ve been asking for someone to answer this question for you, be sure to thank today’s guest, Javier. He’s been doing a phenomenal job paying down his mortgage as quickly as he can, especially at such a young age. Javier has a respectable net worth and works not only at his W2 but also as a real estate agent on the side. Javier is struggling to find where to best put his extra $1,300/month once he pays off his primary residence.
And while this is a BiggerPockets Podcast episode, Scott and Mindy do not immediately vouch for real estate investing. Instead, they take a look at his overall risk tolerance, personal finance situation, and work backwards from his goals to find what he really wants out of early retirement, instead of just grasping for cash.
Scott:
Welcome to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, show number 272, Finance Friday Edition, where we interview Javier and talk about where to direct your investing focus.
Javier:
So that leaves me with 1,300 leftover. And I’m just trying to understand what would be the best place for me to put that if I wanted to retire, or not even retire, just be financially free in let’s say 15 years or something like that.
Scott:
Hello. Hello. Hello. My name is Scott Trench and with me as always is my sunshine in her pocket co-host, Mindy Jensen.
Mindy:
What a glowing introduction, Scott.
Scott:
Yes, Mindy and I are here to make financial independence less scary, less just for somebody else, to introduce you to every money story, because we truly believe that…