Articles: Get Out of Debt, Manage Your Money, and Live Debt Free

How We Paid Off Our Mortgage 10 Times Faster Than Normal

Paying off the mortgage early: How we paid off our mortgage 10 times faster than normal -- plus where we got the money to do so. Many people don’t even think of doing an early mortgage payoff. Or if they do consider it, they decide not to pay off the mortgage early based on a couple of commonly held beliefs:

that it’s good to keep a mortgage “for the tax deduction”
or that it’s better to “invest instead”.

The thing is, neither of those beliefs are necessarily true.

You can both invest and pay off your mortgage. And you may not be getting any tax benefits at all from having a mortgage.

(Many people don’t, so check with your tax person to see if you even take the mortgage deduction.)

We sure weren’t taking a mortgage tax deduction, and we knew we didn’t have to make a choice between paying off our mortgage early or investing. We could do both!
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How to Open a Roth IRA for Kids for a Financial Slam Dunk

Rocket your child forward with a Roth IRA for kids You can open a Roth IRA for kids if they meet certain requirements, which is a great thing. If you’d like to find out how to set up a Roth IRA for your kids, and what the requirements are for that, read on.

But first, why consider doing this?

A Roth IRA (which is also sometimes called a custodial IRA for kids) can be an excellent way for parents to help their children invest for the future.

While retirement is probably the last thing on your child’s mind, that doesn’t mean you can’t put the idea of preparing for the future there.

You can show them the power of starting early and help them form good habits now, or just start the process for them if they are very young. (Even a baby can have a Roth IRA, IF they meet the requirements. As we’ll go into later, there’s no minimum age to open an IRA.)

Opening and funding a Roth IRA for your kids can be a great way to give them a financial head start in life.
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When You Should & Shouldn’t Refinance Your Student Loans

When you should and shouldn't refinance your student loans Did you know there’s currently $1.44 trillion in student loan debt in America? That’s an astronomical amount of money. So if you have student loan debt, you aren’t alone.

Student loans were meant to help students, and they have, but they’ve also created a huge source of heartache and stress for millions of people.

For most borrowers, student loan debt lingers for years. It starts to affect future plans like buying a home and even starting a family.

What can you do about it?

Of course, you can add them to your debt snowball or debt avalanche.

But one way that borrowers have tackled their student loan debt is through student loan refinancing. We’re going to going into detail on that here.

If you’re up to your elbows in debt and want some relief, refinancing your student loans might save you money. But it’s not for everyone.

Here’s what you should know about student loan refinancing, reasons people choose to do it, and whether it might be right for you.
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Good Debt vs. Bad Debt: What You Need to Know Now

Wondering what the difference is with good debt vs. bad debt? Here's what you need to know about it. We need to talk, because the good debt vs. bad debt information you see out there a lot is often completely inadequate. So, get ready for a point of view you may not have heard before.

First though, since you’re probably wondering what the difference is between good debt and bad debt, let’s go over the standard definitions of the two. Those definitions will be important for what comes next.

What do people consider good debt?

Good debt is usually defined as money you borrow in order to invest in your future or to buy an appreciating asset.

(An appreciating asset is something you buy that you believe will be worth more over time.)

So the idea is that borrowing now can help you make your life better in the future or grow your net worth.

From that point of view, student loan debts are “great” because you might be able to get a better job with a degree.

Likewise, a mortgage could be thought of as good debt because real estate may be worth more as time goes on. (And you need somewhere to live anyway.)

Also, “good debts” usually have lower interest rates compared to other kinds of things you might borrow for. (Which is not the same thing as saying the interest rates are usually low. They may or may not be.) So you might also consider it to be debt that costs you less.
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