I am thinking the SHTF very soon, and I was wondering if I should pay off my mortgage so that I will at least own the house. When the economic collapse occurs in the US I am just assuming life is going to suck badly, and alot of us may not even have a job to go to for awhile, and if we are lucky we may get decreased hours if that. Banks and businesses will fail. I am concerned that when the new world currency is put into place that they will "reset" my mortgage to something much higher than it is now.
IMHO: this one instance where we can say "Bless the USA's JEALOUS little heart" :lolsmash: ... ... if you have the means to pay off an entire mortgage, you might be better off buying (numistatic?) PMs, & wait for the hyperinflation to occur & sell the coins & then pay off the mortgage with what amounts to a loaf-of-bread's-worth of money (think Weimaraner Republic), because that is the only way that the US will be a part of a NWO currency (even with our politicians best efforts to facilitate a US collapse )
There are lots of much debated options here and they can only be proven right or wrong in hindsiight. Based on thousands of future variables. Do I have a little silver, yes, do I hope it hits $100, YES. Do I care if it hits $2.56 NO. The pleasure of having a paid off home is IMHO, the best gift you can give your family and future. No strings attached, No sheriff having an auction on the courthouse steps. Trees and orchards and a shelter that is home that belongs to you your lifetime and can be passed on. Would I max out my credit card in the initial SHTF opening credits while everyone else is dreaming-Yes, but only if I could call it a final event and not one tied to a home equity line of credit. Ownership is the best sure thing. It was during the depression. You can walk away from stuff, but debt will hunt you down like a dog. Families moved to the farms and family that were not foreclosed on. They then had the chance (years later) to move back to the cities when jobs opened up. The saving grace was family and ownership. At least in my family history. It is easier to regulate me from moving PM's into cash and assets than it is to take away a owner occupied paid for home. In the Argentinian experience, reading FERFAL's book, you did not use PM's to buy food. In the hyperinflation, you cashed in a little PM to the local cuurency and ran like hell to the store before the price changed. No one screwed with home ownership. That's just my plan. Thanks for letting me throw my 2 cents out.
Being debt free is good no matter what the situation is. I have heard some people say wait until hyper inflation hits and pay off your house with cheaper dollars - but I think people will be having such financial pressures buying food, gas and other essentials that the debt payments will still be hard to make. typically, wages never keep pace in a hyper inflationary economy. Personally, I make extra mortgage payments as often as I can so I can get this place paid off. Before moving to the country, our previous house was paid in full and we lived debt free for 12 years. Then we decided that living in the country would be a better place to be (our major prep) - and needed to take on debt to make it happen.
Buy the food, gas and other essentials NOW while it's still cheap. You home is already "bought" maybe not paid for, but you and the bank agreed on a price that price is not likely to change while wheat rice cotton fuel and pm's all continue to skyrocket. I suggest make your min house payments and get stock up on as much goods as you can now. When you feel you have enough to support your family go after the house payments. for example I was buying 50# bags of rice last fall for about $13, now $20 wheat went from $7-8 / 50# to $10-13. We all know where fuel could be going. Cotton is up over 200%. That means a 20$ pair of cheap walmart jeans could soon be 80$. I think the developing countries (middle east) are feeling the increases before us because they get the raw material like wheat. Here we get a box of shredded wheat so the increase takes months to trickle through the supply line, but it's coming our way for sure. Tell me, how much did your house payment go up in the last 6 month? It stayed the same didn't it? If it's not up 50%-100% then why would you want to pay extra on your most stable bill and watch the prices of all the other things we need shoot through the roof? I say get as much as you can afford/store while it's still cheap and look for as many alternatives as you can. I can use waste oil for heat and fuel, but I still stocked up on some diesel anyway. I grabbed a lot of coffee, I'm not buying anymore now, unless it's a good sale. I plan to try some alt coffee like dandelion root, I think cattails work too. I have a supply of canned and frozen meat, but I have a fishing pole and a bow as an alt. to stretch my supply. I have a little solar, not enough to run things as normal, but enough to get by. So if energy prices shoot up or rolling black outs go into effect we can get by. If you have no back up power keep an eye on c-list and ebay. pick up a couple 100 watts of panels, inverter and some golf cart batteries. You don't have to install it right now, but atleast you have it. I have 150w on my camper and few more waiting to go on a shed or trailer. Well it's long winded, but that's my plan and more important the thought behind it. I think it's the best I can do for my family, it might not fit your needs.
Having been in a similar situation for a few years now I can certainly relate to your situation. Like others have said in other posts, prepping is a personal thing and what is right for one person may or may not be right for another. The bottom line is non of us know exactly what TSHTF sitatuions we may face at any time and the best we can do is prepare for whatever may come our way. As NJ said, my mortgage is the ONLY thing that is not costing me more today than it did the day I paid my first payment years ago. Even the insurance I pay to protect my property cost more now and in certain TSHTF situations they would not pay a dime (pre 64 or otherwise). For me keeping a mortgage taht I could afford and spending my money on prepping made more sense because I realized I may have to Bug Out instead of Bugging In for any number of reasons beyond my control yet I live in a very safe and secure area. Thing s happen sometimes. Since I am prepared I can come back and rebuild if needed or move on if I have to. Being prepared I have choices in the future.
If the Great If the great SHTF event occurs , there will be a lot of realestate for sale real cheap to survivors!
LOL, true. the houses around here today are selling for $89,000 when just a few years ago they were selling for $175,000+
got one better... a home in Daytona that sold for $1.4M (yes, that is an "M") in 2005 just failed to sell at auction for $200k
OMGosh ... in my neighborhood it is the exact opposite ... $50,000 houses are selling for $90,000. My little bitty non-McMansion type older house is not looking so bad now ... There are "for sale" signs all over the place because the older folks are cashing out their equities. The only foreclosure in this area sat empty for a couple of years and the bank finally had to auction it off because they wanted what was owed on the note (yeah, right ... ) not what the property was actually worth (using comps for comparison). In fact, the house right across the street sold for $110,000 last year. I was aghast ... If you have the means to pay off your mortgage, I say do. Continue to pay the insurance premium and taxes to yourself every month (like the escrow account the mortgage company had) and use what was principal and interest to prep with. That way you have the best of both worlds ... a home you own and the ability to prep. Good luck!!
Id say this depends entire on your situation and what type of STHF scenario you are expecting, or think is most likely. If you are not close to paying off your mortgage, and youre expecting an economic collapse (and ensuing bank failures) then why concentrate on paying off your mortgage? Hell, theres a lot of confusion nowadays concerning who even owns the mortgage. If its been bundled and sold off a hundred times, then whos gonna come looking for your payment if SHTF?
I'd pay it off, prepare to hunker down, and do it quietly so your "friendly" neighbours don't decide to shoot you for the stuff you hoarded and they forgot to do that while they stocked their larders with ammo.......
