we owe a tad less than 20,000 on our home with a note of 450 per month -

What is your current interest rate?

How many years was the original loan?

How many years do you have left on the loan?

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we re-financed about 10 years ago from a 30 to 15 year loan, have about 5 years left and I think the interest rate is in the 5% area....

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Normally I would recommend stretching out a mortgage for as long as you possibly can. That's what I'm doing right now - I refinanced a year ago at 30 years for 3 1/4 % and have no intention of ever prepaying a dime. When your rate is lower than inflation you don't want to pay it off - and don't forget the tax deduction for interest.

But your situation is different. I don't know your tax bracket but let's assume 25%. If so, then your after tax interest rate is a little less than 4%. Still pretty low.

OTOH you're only talking about 20K, in which case it may not be worth the trouble to keep up with it. Depends on what your time is worth.

Either way I wouldn't worry too much. What I would worry about is that you don't know your interest rate exactly. I can't imagine taking out a mortgage and not knowing exactly how much interest I'm paying.

ETA: If your home has a high enough value your best move may be to refi right now for 30 years fixed. Rates were better last year but they're still pretty good.

450$ a month for housing? Trailer? If you have any kind of decent income that should be pocket change. Keep the 20k and invest it

The way amortization works is that the loan terms are front loaded with interest.

OP only has 5 years left which means he is primarily paying principal for the remaining term.

Paying it off early doesn't make any financial sense but may provide peace of mind.

No -- he is paying interest on the remaining principle.

The question should be would he rather have 20K in the bank or a loan for 20k @ his after-tax interest rate (which is probably 5%). Given the amount of the loan/pmt and the general discussion, I would say there is a good chance he gets no tax benefit from the interest (He would probably get 100% of the benefit from the standard deductions).

Cash Flow is important. Keep making payments.

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ETA: If your home has a high enough value your best move may be to refi right now for 30 years fixed. Rates were better last year but they're still pretty good.

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This would be retarded. Pay off your house

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This would be retarded. Pay off your house

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Not having a house payment right now is retarded IMO. Rates are too good.

I wouldn't throw a big sum of money into the market all at once, so I would just pay it off, and dollar cost average the $450 every month into the market.

Assuming you are in Witchita Falls, TX, you could write a check for taxes every year and not worry about escrow (might be more negligible in LA, but Texas has a higher property tax).