Princess

Is it only my husband and I who still have a substantial mortgage left on our house at retirement? Refinancing was a necessity due to hard times, - - unemployment, illness, credit, etc. and so we felt that was the only route to take.

We have been to Europe and really want to return, but we will not be as free to go with a continued mortgage to pay. Also, I agree with a few posters that one really should travel when good health is on our side.

Don't know what the future holds.

PatrickLondon

Have you considered home exchange?

WTnow

Wow, that sounds rough. House exchange sounds good, but I would do whatever you can to get that albatross off your neck asap ( first).

Those payments are not going to get easier as time goes by ( or if one of you ends up with more illness) and debt in retirement makes no sense.

Can't you sell and downsize considerably & maybe move to a cheaper area? A "substantial mortgage" is insane in retirement.

I would handle that before considering travel, then you will be free to really enjoy yourself with peace of mind.

ira

>Is it only my husband and I who still have a substantial mortgage left on our house at retirement?

Nope

copain1

"unemployment, illness, credit, etc. and so we felt that was the only route to take. "

And you still want to travel and spend more money?

I believe you answered your own question.

Christina

I think this is what happens when all the folks on here talk about how they should spend money, go into debt, etc., to take vacations when they are younger because you shouldn't deny yourself travel. I often wonder what happens to those folks when they get older. I have my house almost paid off and I'm only in my mid-50s and didn't even buy a house until I was around 40. Credit is a problem one creates themself by buying things they can't afford. Anytime someones takes out a mortgage to pay routine bills, they are in deep doo-doo in my opinion. My parents were only lower middle-class, I suppose, and they had their home paid off by retirement, also. They didn't spend on vacations they couldn't afford or buy things on credit when they were working, though. I never have, either. I've been unemployed but not too long because you can always find work of some kind. I mean I've definitely been unemployed in my career position for longer, but I don't believe in folks sitting around doing nothing for months on end. There is always work out there, so I don't buy that unemployment is much of an excuse. I've always had to work for a living since the age of 18, though, and put myself through college and grad school while working, so I've never had the idea that you should spend money you don't have.

If I were you, I'd get to work. What are you doing retiring, if you have debts and want to travel?

Luisah

<<Is it only my husband and I who still have a substantial mortgage left on our house at retirement?>>

No, but it depends upon how much other debt and how much savings that you have.

I don't see anything wrong with a person who is paying off a low-interest mortgage and has a healthy retirement/savings account traveling occasionally but if debt outweighs the savings it's a different story.

bettyk

We still have a mortgage but don't consider it to be "substantial". Our payments are reasonable and we still get the interest deduction on our income taxes.

Of course, we have not had the problems you've had with unemployment, illness, credit, etc. We were big savers when we were working because we wanted to retire early and have enough money for travel. We did without the bigger house and nicer car so our later years would be more secure.

No one knows what the future holds. If travel is that important to you, then maybe you can find a way to make it happen without endangering your financial future.

suze

I'd also keep working. Or find new employment. Because of necessary financial choices you made when you were younger, you may need to work longer than you anticipated to get set up better than you are at present.

WillTravel

I hope your illnesses are a thing of the past. Otherwise, I agree the best thing would be to find more work. The second best thing would be to see if you can downscale your expenses. I can't advise whether this is a good time to sell your house and get a cheaper place, or anything like that, but maybe there's a better approach you can take. If you get those two things in place, you probably can travel.

nytraveler

If you're retired and want to travel do you still need such a large house?

How about switching to a townhouse or a condo - so you can eliminate or really buy down the mortgage.

Another option is some sort of consulting or part-time job - so you're not working full time and have time to do what you want - but can get the monkey off your back.

Luisah

<<How about switching to a townhouse or a condo - so you can eliminate or really buy down the mortgage.>>

You didn't say if you have a larger house than you need, but do beware of "downsizing" to a condo or townhouse. The prices for condos where I live aren't any less than houses of the same size and all have monthly maintenance charges that have a way of increasing, which is not good for retirees on a fixed income.

There is also the very real possibility of being charged an assessment fee for repairs that are not covered in the monthly fees.

All units in our complex were charged about two thousand dollars a couple of years ago to cover repairs over the insurance payout for two units that were damaged in a severe storm. Rumor is that another assessment is coming soon for work to the pool. A friend has a $20,000 lien against her unit (as do all owners in her complex) for unpaid repairs (flood damage) to lower units after a hurricane.

Unless you do have more house than you need, it's probably best to stay where you are for now since the housing market in most states is not good.

I agree with the posters who suggest that you find work. I think it's the best solution for you.

I hope 2008 will be a better year for you.

kenav

If you are healthy now, yes, I do agree, find some work. Yes, downsize if you can. And, just because someone is retired, doesn't mean that they don't have a decent income! I know retired people who have a higher income than I'll probably ever have. So a "fixed income" is not necessarily a low income.

I'm in my late 50's and can't even think about retiring in the future. We travel, but have cut down in other areas. We don't have a car; but we're in NYC and don't need one. We don't spend on clothes, etc unless we really need new ones or are given some birthday money and then treat ourselves. Our bathroom could use an update, but we haven't done it. Why? Because we'd rather spend our extra money on travel. I think we're lucky we can do this/have this choice.

whoknew

It seems from your post that you've refinanced your home to cover non-mortgage debt. So I'm assuming that you have no other debt currently except for the mortgage.

Obviously, I don't know your personal circumstances, but if you have no other debt other than the mortgage, you are probably in a position to travel. Maybe you won't go as often or spend as much as you want, but you could still go, if you planned carefully and didn't go into debt to do so. I'm never an advocate of going into debt for entertainment of any sort.

Maybe do some part time work or consulting to bring in "travel money".

wondering

I could be way off base here, but if I owed a lot on my home (I don't) I would just figure it is never going to be paid off and my kids won't get much from it, and I'd just refinance again (of course, piling up frequent flier miles for the transaction) , get a reverse mortgage, or whatever and just go. I would sit down with a financial advisor and see what plans he comes up with. We have watched too many friends wait and wait and wait until someone gets sick, etc. and the they lose the opportunity. (Or have to go on a very modified schedule due to health concerns) I am not saying pile up debt to go, but decide what is most important and do it. I have travelled on very limited means and had marvelous experiences. (Lived on peanut butter and banana sandwiches for months to pay for a trip--never regretted it.)The key is that you and your hubby need to be on the same page. Let us know what you decide.

cruiseluv

Even if I was a financial advisor ( which I am not) I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do or not do.

I have no idea what your monthly income is at the moment or what is the amount of resources from which you live on a monthly basis, and what percentage of this is your monthly mortgage payment.

I can't believe there are posters actually telling you to "go for it", or that you can "probably travel if this is your only debt". Their crystal balls must be better than mine! LOL!

Pls, hire a financial consultant who might be able to advice you on how to secure more advantageous terms for your mortgage ( if at all possible) and how to organize your finances so your objectives might be met.

Good luck.

j_999_9

You didn't ask the question about whether you should travel, but rather whether others who are retired have a mortgage. The answer to that, I think, is an obvious "yes."

But just having a mortage doesn't tell anyone anything about someone's finances or ability to travel.

I'm with cruisluv: No one can say what financial condition anyone is on w/o knowing the whole picture. And people who say, "Go ahead and travel," are the same ones who'll tell you how dumb you are next year when, because of travel expenditures, you can't meet your mortagage payments.

Christina

Obviously, that is right -- having a mortgage doesn't really have anything to do with what one can afford, nor does being retired -- per se. Some people even plan to have mortgages rather than pay them down because they think they can make more money investing elsewhere (and right now, mortgage interest rates are pretty cheap, actually, and I do have some investments that pay more than the interest on my mortgage).

If a mortgage is only a modest percentage of income, and that is no more than a modest rent, it really doesn't matter much. I always do get a little annoyed whenever people complain about how they are on a "fixed income" and that is supposed to mean they are somehow different than most everyone. I'm on a fixed income, just a regular salary, and I get no more increase each year than people on social security get.

However, I think anyone who worries about not being able to travel due to a mortgage means that mortgage is a good chunk of their income and they have no extra disposible income. Anyone who takes out a large mortgage because they are unemployed a bit or have credit card debt or anything obviously has no savings for emergencies and can't even live a few months on savings without being employed. I assume the credit reference means they have lousy credit or else owed a lot on credit cards, not sure.

This isn't hypothetical as to possible problems if you can't pay your mortgage and other bills -- I do have a relative who is facing the prospect of losing her home she's had many years due to this. Partner who is perpetually unemployed and somehow too good to take almost any job, is lazy and irresponsible with money, owes back taxes, etc. For a lot of folks who have never saved much in the U.S., they are only about six months away from losing their homes, in which they may have almost no equity or even owe money.

I don't think just having a mortage is any problem, really, any more than someone who willingly is just renting an apt. when retired (and I know a lot of people doing that). So if the mortgage payment is no problem in comparison to income -- I agree, it's not a big worry just that you will basically be "renting" forever and not owning your home.

suze

I don't see how anyone can fault the suggestions they should both continue to work longer, and not retire until they are in a better financial situation.

Pegontheroad

I'm retired, have what I consider a substantial mortgage payment and I still travel, but then I bit the bullet while I was working full time and put money into mutual funds, from which I now draw.

That extra money makes life much easier. Of course, I have always been single and without a lot of expenses that come with having children, so I was able to sock some away while I was working.

For about five years after I retired I did a lot of substitute teaching. That really made a difference in ability to travel. But I eventually got really sick of that, so I quit, for the most part.

Now I just try to be careful about expenses--drive a 14 year-old car, don't do recreational shopping, etc..