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    Miguel Vaca's Avatar
    Miguel Vaca Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Jul 21, 2012, 07:17 PM
    Pay off mortgage or save as much cash as possible for emergencies at age 76?
    I'm 76 years old and my wife is 81. We only have about $100K left in savings but are able to "live" off our $2500 or so we get through Social Security on a monthly basis. But, the 1 expense which causes us to pull about $1K a month from our savings is to pay our remaining mortgage. We have around 7 years left on our 15 year mortgage and pay $985 a month. We estimate that by paying off that mortgage ($48000) now, we'd save $9100 in interest vs paying the mortgage for the next 7 years. We'd then only have around $50K left for a savings plan but we wouldn't have that mortgage payment and still be able to "live" off Social Security. Just wonder if this is wise not knowing our health situation moving forward. I guess we could always sell the house if we needed more cash someday but just think that saving that $9100 in interest makes a lot of sense. Suggestions? Help?
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
    Computer Expert and Renaissance Man
    		  
    #2

    Jul 21, 2012, 07:23 PM
    First you need to see how much of a tax deduction the interest gets you. As well as how much your savings is earning you. If the value of the deduction and the interest earned on your savings mitigates the cost of the interest, it might not be worth it.

    You might considered accelerating your mortgage payments. That might be a good compromise.
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