Un-mortgaged!

Today is a great day since my wife and I made our last mortgage payment on our house. This marks the second time I've been mortgage-free, and this time is even sweeter than when I paid off my condo. A couple posts ago I calculated that I spent about 18% of my monthly income on my mortgage.  For the remainder of 2014, the amount I would have spent on the mortgage will go towards my son's RESP. Then next year...well...the future is wide open :)

My quick tips regarding mortgages:

- Always use a mortgage broker to find you the best rate

- Don't necessarily take the lowest rate mortgage; make sure the low rate comes with acceptable options regarding pre-payments and accelerating payments.

- If you can manage it, make mortgage payments weekly instead of monthly. Your mortgage will disappear much faster

- My experience with Tangerine (formerly ING Canada) was much better than my experience with First National. Tangerine is more flexible in their payment options, while First National doesn't seem to have much experience dealing with actual clients (vs brokers).

- Make sure to get your mortgage discharged by a lawyer when you're done paying it off. 

Here's hoping my days of having a mortgage are permanently over. Financial independence feels that much more attainable :)