How We Paid Our Mortgage off in 5 Years

The council are compulsory purchasing the house I live in (my brother's house), and I need to look for somewhere else, so they can take your house off you if you own it in the UK 😭

what a great in depth video!! Now that mortgage rates have increased exponentially I am sure you will be getting far more views on this topic. Developing and following a budget is the KEY to saving money and having financial freedom.

Back in the day, when I purchased my first home to live-in; that was Miami in the early 1990s, first mortgages with rates of 8 to 9% and 9% to 10% were typical. People will have to accept the possibility that we won't ever return to 3%. If sellers must sell, home prices will have to decline, and lower evaluations will follow. Pretty sure I'm not alone in my chain of thoughts.

We didn't eat out in 3 years to save for our last home. It does work. We did order the occasional pizza or lunch with friends. If we wanted to get out of the house, we went out for coffee or pie. We also would share a meal if we had to eat out with family or traveling. But it did really work and we saved. We paid off all our debt in 3 years. Time flew too.

This is truly good information and it’s relevant today. My goal is to pay off my two homes over next two years. Consumer debts paid off, thanks to Ramsey Baby steps. God is Good! Stay Blessed!

Love you guys, such a team

A person needs to be pre approved -- NOT pre qualified -- big difference. Because the lender will be giving the potential buyers a commitment due to the people are qualified for that money.

I really love hope’s enthusiasm when she’s talking and love Larry’s examples that he gives us. I obviously believe you are preaching what you do/have done but it’s nice to know the little examples of the tips and how they impacted you. I now feel even more willing to be stricter and tighter with the budget so me and my partner can save for a house. Thanks for the tips!

Awesome video! First off.. CONGRATULATIONS! (little past all that I’m sure). You kids did great and really nailed it. I was waiting for the last big plusser... How much you saved in interest by paying your house off early. An eye raiser, I’m sure. 😊. Myself, when shopping... I personally and intentionally think off how hard I had to work to buy each item. Hourly wage in mind... and do I really need it? My story now..😊. Prior to going to Afghanistan for two consecutive years I was all caught up with bills. There was a problem we faced after Hurricane Katrina with Countrywide bank. We were given forbearance for three months. We had only lived in our new home for 3 weeks before the storm. CWide said they’d put it at the end of the loan being that the loan was so fresh. CWide months later (bare in mind we were up to date) Informed us that they wanted that three months in payments back in full. Through the skin of our teeth we caught up before I left for Afghanistan. My wife could never get a real person on the phone. We needed copies of all of the paperwork and exactly how much our new mortgage was. Capital One bought CWide... this was the problem. Apparently the parties handled the purchase like rookies and had problems figuring out what they purchased I suppose. Fast forward.... my wife, once again, tried calling. This time she was in shock. Lol. A young lady answered the phone and my wife commenced to field her for looming questions and answers. The young lady apologized and sadly informed her that our home was sold on the court house steps and she had to vacate. My wife didn’t know what to do. She was scared and I was far away and contact was extremely limited for me. She found help with moving and rented a house. Left a brand new $10,000 barn style shed there. Had no way to move that. Fast forward again. Coming home was hard. I WAS IN PAIN. Hurtin for certin 😅. Retiring in a couple years, I focused on eliminating debt and I achieved that. Hallelujah Jesus. After retirement (27+ years served in the Navy) I secured a job as a contractor back in Af. 2 1/2 years later I amassed a large enough to buy a house with cash. Hard cash! Free and clear. Can’t take this one. Soon after, we purchased another home that we had made offers on during our prior search. Originally it was $225,000. Foreclosed on and now going for $120,000. OK. Now we have a mortgage. Bought with VA loan and had to live in it for at least a year. No problem. Just minutes away from our home. I began putting extra $ down every month ( I call this power paying). We moved back to our home 2 years later and started renting. Not always so easy but we’ve been lucky these past years. We’ve been renting since ‘18. Current tenants have lived there for 4 years. Great tenants. Reliably and consistently pay every month. Rent pays almost twice the mortgage so all extra $ goes to the principal. This plus throwing any windfalls on the principal as well.. We’ve already paid our mortgage down 50%. Past and current renters paid that. Paid $120,000. Market value for both homes had increased well over 100K. That’s a lot of money in equity. Sorry for the long story.... back t o you two. For anyone who has or will watch your video “Your Story” ... You are sure to inspire and touch some hearts. God Speed! <3

A 6 month emergency fund.....n no debt oh to be so free

We wouldve never been able to buy a home with 20% down but our home has a ton of things that need fixed. I think we do have 20% in the house ill definitely have to do this with PMI. Its impossibile to really plan out everything expense wise especially as a new homeowner it definitely wouldve been nice to have a $10 k home fund. Atleast we did buy a cheaper n smaller home but our mortgage n insurance has increased so much

Great advice. This video is so bad for banks, food companies, shopping centres, tourism and entertainment centres. Thanks for great upload.

Rewatching this video. You two are truly a super power couple. Thank you for educating and inspiring us.

When I was a kid, my parents did the same thing and threw every extra cent toward the principal. They paid off our first house in a few short years and within 8 years were able to upgrade to a new, 2 storey, 4 bedroom home by paying cash. I had no appreciation for how smart they were, and only complained that I was the only kid in class who didn't go on fancy vacations during winter break. Now that I'm old (lol), I am in awe of their brilliance! Thank you for all the great advice, Hope and Larry!

Just discovered your channel and I must say I'm loving it 💗!!! Thank you so much for sharing these great tips!!

I am curuous how much 1 year of savings was at that time when Larry was laid off. It seems SO impossible to me as it would be 75,000.

I have to say, I resonate with this video so much. These lessons are so spot on! I wish I had this information when I was buying my house. I did ultimately pay off my mortgage in 5 years and 8 months and this info is great! You guys are awesome!!

I do staycations! I call it destination "Puerta Backyarda." I think Victoria Rice is where I heard that phrase and loved it!

I have way more home than I need but there was a major consideration: the neighborhoods with smaller, right-sized homes have high crime rates in this city. I looked at houses all over (at least 30 homes) and the safety factor concerned me. I ended up with this one because it has a big back yard which I can now grow a big garden and it is very safe. I can walk my dogs at night, I don't worry about break-ins. As a single female, that is important to me. I also got in at the bottom of the interest rates so it turned out okay. My old house was in a starter home neighborhood and I loved the house, but the neighborhood was getting sketchy. I still wish I could have safety in a right sized home.

I would’ve stayed in that cute starter home!

Your talk would be much more interesting if you said how much your mortgage was, and how much of it you paid off each year for five years; and how much you paid each month.

"Loan' is not a verb; you should say "lend."

I cannot believe I was just referred to as being an “older part” of the audience…I loved Larry Burkett…

Amen. I’m planning to buy my first house thanks for your great tips. May God bless you , your family, and your channel!

Loved the idea about thinking about what food you are eating!

Ohh I'm so glad to have come across your video! I'm trying to pay off debts right now and I'm really hoping that I can budget and try to live simply and below my means. You both are so adorable and fun to watch 😊 and thank you for the inspiration.

how much did your payment increase, when you refinanced you home?

Great advice from a lovely couple!
I just want to point out that it is a 2 people effort, it doesn't work if your partner is not on the same boat as you.
My wife understands and we both have the same goal in mind

Do you give to the church? Tithing?

This is one Blessed video I seen in a long time with people trying to sell you something. Congratulations on paying off your mortgage. My husband and I are one our way. God Bless yall❤🙌🏾😊

Buy what you can afford, not what you want.

I got a 10 year mortgage with 20 % down, my credit union actually holds my mortgage because it is a 10 year mortgage.

Thank you for sharing
Very informative

i see the true love here! all best wishes for you 💝❣

Using these tips for paying off my car.
Thank you!

Great advice but I think 2 income is way different than a single parent house. I had 3 boys and no 2nd income but thanks

Love your advice!! Thank you for sharing!!

I have to say, you guys rock!!!!
I actually know someone who is house poor because she is so disorganized. Nothing worse then being un organized! I choose not to own a home for that reason. Its too much responsiblity for me! Currently, I am In the process of selling my cedar chest hopefully and i am also working on growing my business making handcrafted beeswax candles. I also make my own granola with date syrup to help lower my glycemic index. You learn to be very creative on a fixed income because every bit helps!

MY TIPS: 01:) We refinanced our condo twice when the interest rates were low. It was worth the $2,000 (for the process and paperwork as we paid cash for that as opposed to wrapping it into the loan like so many people do.) One of those refinances was from a 30 year to a 15-year loan. That alone saved me $48,000 in interest alone. 02:) Then every time we had a "windfall" as in the Stimulus checks that went directly onto the principal. Every year when we have a income tax refund that goes on the principal as well. 03): My husband is technically retired but works three days a week at a big box store micing paint and every four-week month we put an extra $300.00 onto the principal [in addition to the monthly payment. On a five-week month we pay an extra $400.00 onto that principal every month. Our loan balance is down to just above $100,000 on our $472,000 condo left on our loan.

I would rather rent to avoid maintenance, but rent keeps increasing. HOAs are not worth what you pay them every month, either. There's so much to consider, & it's honestly discouraging to me.

Practical reasonable reachable advice and goals, thank you soooo much ❤

Paying less interest over the time is my motivation! We're capped at a 10% overpayment per year without penalty, and made our first one last year. Seeing that statement was such an amazing feeling! Can't wait to do it again this year.

It will be good to pay off the mortgage but you can still lose your home if you can't pay for property taxes and insurance.

I bought a house that allowed me to add an apartment and an AirBnb that I run 6 months of the year - I shut it down during the winter. That covers my mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities and a little more. It's really sweet! Fifty percent of my income from work goes straight to my long term savings.

I have one year left of paying off my mortgage! It should be paid off by January 2024. The only thing that I did differently, is I did get take out a 30 year mortgage in 2016. Originally, I had wanted to take out a 15 year mortgage, but my realtor suggested the 30 in case something were to happen (job loss, divorce etc.) and to just make double payments every month instead. It is the same thing if you make double payments a habit, but you still have the security of a smaller payment in the case of an emergency. Well, she was right, my husband left me in 2019, so I lost half of the income. I had a nice nest-egg savings when I was married, but my ex got to keep the money so I could keep the house. I have still been able to make double payments since he left, but in 2020 I unexpectedly needed a new car, which temporarily set me back for 6 months from making my double mortgage payments while I got the car paid off. If I had the 15 year mortgage, I wouldn't have been able to afford to pay off the car that I needed at the time (and would have been stuck in more debt). So, even with taking out a 30 year mortgage, my house will still be paid off within a <8 year time frame. The 30 year mortgage gave me more freedom in the case of an emergency, which I did experience, so I was grateful I listened to my realtor's advice. I've made double payments every month from the start- and triple now that I am closer to the end, and add any extra towards principle when I can (tax refund, bonus, extra paycheck etc). I do this while still saving 10% each month, and tithing 10% (personal choice). It's pretty easy to do if you live within your means and are otherwise debt free. I cook at home, don't buy things that I don't need, and I live simply.

House poor is not what my parents said. They said you are stuck with “a millstone around your neck”. And thats what I had with our first mortgage. I felt like we where being shocked to death. A millstone weights 3,300 pounds. Its heavy and that mortgage felt heavy. Once we sold it I said never again. Dave Ramsey would have said “stupid tax”.

I can’t hear the audio ??

You two are heartwarming and very wise! I had so much to learn as a new wife. This year we are doing an aggressive pay down of the mortgage and hope you have only a few thousand left on it by the time next January rolls around.

Ill have my paid off in 3.
1. Get out of debt before you start looking.
2. Dont take out the amount the bank is willing to lend you (20% down)
3. Be willing to compromise on either HOUSE or location
4. Have an emergency fund in place (SOMETHING WILL BREAK!!!)
5. Start paying it down the very first month. You will do more damage on the front end. The earlier you start the better!!
6. Drop the escrow when you can. You can pay your own taxes and insurance

I only have 59K left! I bought my house in 2020!!!! I CAN TASTE THE FREEDOM!!!!

Great info