From: "HW \"Skip\" Weldon" 
Newsgroups: misc.invest.financial-plan
Subject: Re: Pay off house???????
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2005 11:28:27 -0600
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On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 16:27:52 -0600, "Randy"  wrote:

>I am getting ready to retire and want to know would it be better to go
>ahead and pay off my house with part of my 401k or 457 or just keep
>paying the payments?

Actually there is a third choice:  Sell your present home and buy one
that you can afford (without a mortgage.)

We don't know enough about your situation to recommend one choice
over another, but here are two reasons why a more affordable house is
a legitimate alternative:

1. Most people in their early-60s have several decades of living ahead
- unknown expenses, unknown inflation, etc.  Spending chunks of our
retirement money now when we have no clue about what the future will
cost gives me pause.

2. Living in a home now that we cannot afford (without debt) also
costs more in other ways... higher property taxes, higher insurance
costs, greater upkeep/maintenance costs and, if the home is bigger,
higher energy costs.  If cash flow is tight now, just imagine how
inflation will affect you.  And then add in new medical costs as we
age and begin to fall apart ....


-HW "Skip" Weldon
 Columbia, SC