I think the problem with money management "in general" is that we grow up with ideas and thoughts from our past/parents/etc. EVERYONE wants a paid off house... Well YEAH! But it doesn't make FINANCIAL sense if you have adequate cash flow and adequate assets to retire on. It's simple math rather than simple thinking.
The key to "retirement" --- is not about how much money is coming in -- it's about how much money is going OUT... if you don't have much going out you can make it with not that big of a nest egg. The problem with most people is that they don't have ANY plan. So til the day they retire - they're spending like the pay check will never change... If you're 35 and have a 30 year mortgage and you pay it off the month you retire... then you don't need "X" coming in to pay the mortgage. This is all a manor of actually sitting down with pad and pencil and doing a simple spread sheet. How old you are - when you plan to retire - what you owe MONTHLY when will things be paid off - and make sure you don't owe a ton of dough come retirement time. The thing with a fixed rate mortgage was that you should be making double in 20 years and still have that cheap mortgage payment. Now days people are buying bigger more expensive houses and they're like 55 years old - and they have a 10 year variable rate mortgage that's set to go UP at the same time they're set to retire. That's just DUMB. Sorry. DUMB DUMB DUMB. Do ya really want to be 70 years old and a greeter at Wal Mart to make ends meet?
Make a plan -- realistic -- and stick to it and don't fudge the numbers. Do so at your own peril. Retirement is what you were SUPPOSED to be working for. You can have a nice relaxed retirement - or you can struggle to keep the lights on and watch as everything around you is falling apart.
So here's what you really HOPE FOR! You have a fixed rate 30 year mortgage at 4% --- and INTEREST RATES go to 10%... I LOVE inflation. I can make a killing in income in an inflationary environment. If you already own your house on or near retirement and your savings are earning TWICE what you're paying out --- PERECT! I'd love to be able to park money is a CD at 9 or 10%! I'd double my income!
