Welcome back to Your Next Money Move! On today's episode, we answer a user question. If you've ever wondered if you should be paying off your mortgage faster, today's episode is for you. In response to a user's question about whether or not to put more money towards their 30 year mortgage, we explore a few vital questions to ask yourself to find your unique answer to this sort of question. We discuss what you should have in place before rushing to pay off your debt, and some alternatives to paying down your mortgage as quickly as you can. Our advice today can be distilled into two main points: it depends, and, always have a plan. Find out what we mean by this, why your fear-based decision-making might be leading you in the wrong direction, and what kind of difference you can make by choosing to itemize when you tune in today. Thanks for joining us to learn all this, and much more!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The user question we will be answering today: should I continue putting $300 a month towards my 4.5% interest $200 000 thirty-year mortgage?
• Questions to ask yourself to find your unique answer to this question.
• Why it is important to have short and long-term emergency funds.
• The importance of paying off all debt over 5%.
• Considering retirement and college savings.
• What the other option is: to put an extra $300 in a Roth account.
• Why paying down is better than cash, but investing might be better.
• Factoring in your debt comfort level.
• The difference your age and portfolio make.
• Why it is so important to have a plan in place.
• Why not everyone with a mortgage can benefit from a tax advantage.
• Why your fear-based decision might not be the right answer.
• The necessity of itemizing in order to get tax benefits.
• Why Derek has decided not to accelerate paying down his mortgage.
• The influence of inflation.
• Why so many questions can be answered with 'it depends' and 'have a plan.'

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