Spend on the House or Pay for the House?

Hey, what happened to paying off the mortgage before your kid is even in school?

Well, I’ve been on pace now for over a year to have my mortgage done and paid for in early 2014 — not that far away — but I’ve decided to take a different route and here’s the reasoning…

The primary reason is that we *need* to renovate the first floor. While I can envision having my main entry way looking as it does for another 40 months or so, I don’t want to.

The other reason is because I’m afraid that if we don’t do the renovation now (or I’m guessing in the next 18 months), we’ll run the risk of never getting it done.

See, I’ve come to the conclusion that in a worst case scenario (a major job loss), we could keep up with the mortgage as it stands now on just my wife’s income.

Now say, for instance, that worst case scenario arrives before we’re able to renovate the first floor…

See where I’m going?

Yeah, we’d be strapped for cash *and* be living in squalid conditions.

Seeing the ends are nearer for a renovation than they are for a mortgage payoff — and the benefits of a renovation far outweigh, well, the alternative (a worst case scenario = nothing), this is the wisest plan that I’ve come up with so far…

Seriously, I thought about this for like 5 minutes straight…

So I’m going to institute my “Mortgage Ladder” plan in November and start saving like a mad man.

Notice, though, that I did *not* say that I’d curb my spending…

One thing at a time…