We know how God views debt. We have also looked at the national debt, credit card debt, and automobile debt. But how does God view mortgages? What does the Bible say about mortgages? Read on (or listen) to find out!

Table of Contents* Our Story* Being Upside Down in Your Mortgage* Three Ways to Avoid a Mortgage* First, Consider a Rental* Second, Live Modestly* Third, Purchase a Starter Home* Two Pieces of Advice If You Decide to Purchase a Mortgage* First, Understand "Qualifying"* Second, Choose a 15-Year Versus a 30-Year Mortgage* Trust God to Help You Pay Off Your Debt, Including Your Mortgage

For simplicity’s sake let’s divide our expenses into two categories: nonessential (such as vacations, eating out, entertainment) and essential (food, clothing, and housing). Debt should be avoided for nonessential expenses (such as vacations and flat screen televisions) and it can be avoided for most essential expenses. The one exception is housing because many people don’t have the money to buy a home with cash. If you’re wondering how much to spend on housing, the general rule is 30 percent of your income, whether it’s rent or a mortgage payment.

Some people consider themselves to be debt-free when the only debt they have is a mortgage. This is an odd perspective because a mortgage alone could be larger than multiple other loans combined. When people have a mortgage, unless they are close to paying it off, they should not consider themselves close to being debt-free.

Our Story

When Katie and I first got married, we still owed $160,000 on our mortgage (originally $164,000). Katie also owed about $6,000 in school loans. We owned two vehicles that were paid off. We didn’t (and still don’t) own credit cards.

We considered not paying off our mortgage because of the tax deduction we could receive, but we were deterred for three reasons. First, we were given The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey as a wedding gift and we read it on our honeymoon. Regarding the tax deductions from a mortgage, he wrote:

If you have a home with a payment of around $900, and the interest portion is $830 per month, you have paid around $10,000 in interest that year, which creates a tax deduction. If, instead, you have a debt-free home, you would, in fact, lose the tax deduction, so the myth says to keep your home mortgaged because of tax advantages.If you do not have a $10,000 tax deduction and you are in a 30 percent bracket, you will have to pay $3,000 in taxes on that $10,000. According to the myth, we should send $10,000 in interest to the bank so we don’t have to send $3,000 in taxes to the IRS. Personally, I think I will live debt-free and not make a $10,000 trade for $3,000.Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover (Nashville,