I'm keeping my mortgage until I hit 65 maybe longer. Being able to itemize my taxes significantly lowers the taxes I owe. At 65, I'll pick up the over-65 deductible. Of course, if the idiots on the hill eliminate the mortgage deduction, I'll pay off my home right away and bank the payment amount.

Refund? What is that? I pay every year. Enjoy spending my money when the IRS redistributes my money.

I'm with you, I was married for nearly 35 years, no children, but when she died when I was 53, we had a condo with a mortgage, a home equity loan, a car payment, who knows how much in credit card debit, and $10k in savings. $6K went to the end-of-life expenses. Since then I have been at a low of $400 in the bank. I've ...more

Keep the bulk of your money in a savings account. Then open two checking accounts (all of which are usually free under various restrictions). Designate  checking account #1 as your Regular Checking Account (RCA). This is where you deposit paper paychecks, pay for your around town expenses (shopping, gas, eating out, et...more

Me too. I was attending Chaminade Univ. of Honolulu for the final year of my degree under the Staff NCO Degree Completion Program. I was still active-duty but basically on TAD to attend school. To make the world even smaller, my XO is with the sheriff's dept in the county just south of where I live, and a classmate fro...more

#13  The king and queen, but do they have a hair heir? I know both of these ppl. Great friends that I would like to get in touch with. We were all in college together at Marianist school in Hawai'i. If there is any way to reconnect via this comment I would appreciate it. Of course, I'm assuming that there is some re...more

You should have seen my late wife's "doo" on our first big formal date. Marge Simpson would have been envious.

Two were good friends and very nice people. I hope karma comes back to visit your lack of tact.