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Ben Stein How Not to Ruin Your Life

Ben Stein, How Not to Ruin Your Life

When Paying Off Doesn't Pay

by Ben Stein

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Posted on Friday, June 22, 2007, 12:00AM

I was going to write a humor piece about the horrors of summer business travel, but after a spectacularly terrifying experience last night flying from Chicago to L.A., I decided I'd better put that in the "too awful to be told" category rather than the humor one for a while.

Instead, I'll deal with some frequently asked questions about finance, and personal finance in particular.

Plenty of Liquids

I get many letters asking whether it's better to pay off your mortgage or invest the money in the stock market instead. This is a complex question, but I'll offer several ways of thinking about it.

First, no one ever spent a sleepless night because she had millions in the bank and stocks but didn't have her home paid off. On the other hand, if you pay off your mortgage and deprive yourself of liquidity, you could be in for some miserable times.

As I see it, if money is even the slightest bit tight, hold onto it and pay off the mortgage month by month. There's nothing magically good about having a paid-off mortgage, but there's something seriously bad about not having ready liquid assets even if your home is paid for.

Slow and Steady

Yes, I know you can refinance and borrow against your house. But that takes time and creates aggravation. Why not just pay off the mortgage slowly but steadily and hang onto the liquidity that makes life so much more comfortable instead?

This is especially true if you're an older person. It doesn't do you one bit of harm to leave a home with a mortgage to your heirs. That's their problem -- and it's a very small problem.

It's far better in your later years to have cash on hand when you need it than to burn the mortgage note in the proverbial fireplace.

On Returning

But what if you can pay off the mortgage and still have plenty left for your liquidity needs? Even then, I'd think twice about rushing to pay off the mortgage.

As pointed out to me by my fraternity brother Larry Lissitzyn -- a very smart investor -- we earn, in rough terms, what the rate of interest was on a mortgage (not counting the immense tax benefit of the mortgage interest's deductibility) when we pay it off.

That is, if you have a mortgage with 6.5 percent interest, you'd earn roughly 6.5 percent by paying it off early. That's a fine rate of return and nothing to sneeze at. But the rate of return on broad U.S. stock market indexes over very long periods is closer to 9 percent -- a substantial difference.

Stocking Up

To be sure, there are long periods when the stock market doesn't return even close to 9 percent per annum. But it usually does, again on average and again over long periods. So you might be better off -- again -- just paying off your mortgage month by month and not taking the money out of the stock market.

On the other hand, if you have plenty of stocks according to your investment advisor and a huge surplus of cash -- which many people do have -- you might well want to use some of that to pay down your mortgage. A standard mortgage is now in the high sixes, and you won't get a risk-free return of that scale on any cash instrument I know of.

In short, unless you're sitting on surplus cash, I see no urgent reason to pay down or pay off your mortgage in a hurry.

Gold-Standard Advice

The second question I'm frequently asked is, Should I buy gold? I've never been a fan of gold as an investment. I know that since the early 1970s it's gone up from about $35 an ounce to (at one point) the high nine-hundreds. But it's also fluctuated wildly.

Gold has been "limit down" day after day in some bad periods. It dropped by almost two-thirds from the late '70s into the early '80s. It pays no dividends. And it's subject to attempts at market manipulation.

If you feel you absolutely must participate in precious metals I suggest buying gold jewelry, or else buying stock in highly diversified precious metals ETFs and mutual funds that combine many gold and silver mining stocks from all over the world. They fluctuate far less often than the raw material, yet they can grow dramatically if the metals rise.

Gold is lovely as a gift, then, but I don't see it as an investment for the ordinary citizen unless he or she is compulsively attached to its luster.

Trust Funds

Third, how do you play the falling dollar? Again, I wouldn't recommend speculation in the currency itself. That's far, far, far too treacherous for the ordinary investor.

But you can buy mutual funds and ETFs that own European, Asian, and Australian stocks, plus Canadian and South American stocks. These are usually denominated in the local currency. As it rises against the dollar, your investment is translated back into dollars and gets to be ever more valuable. Plus, you have the gain in profitability of the foreign stocks should there be any.

As I've said many times, I recommend the EFA ETF for investments in European, Australian, and Asian developed economies -- it's especially heavy into the United Kingdom. I recommend the EEM or the ADRE for investments in developing countries in Asia, South and Central America, and Eastern Europe. All of these have benefited greatly in recent years from the dollar's fall, and they do pay dividends, unlike gold.

The growth in value of these funds has been so immense that I wouldn't expect it to continue at anything like the recent rate. And there have been some serious fluctuations in the developing markets, even to a stomach-turning degree. But even if the EFA, the EEM, and ADRE grew at half their recent rate, you'd handily beat the Dow and S&P's recent moves. I wouldn't put most of my savings into these vehicles, but for a quarter to a half, you might consider it..

Ben Stein has no financial interest in the ETFs mentioned in this column.

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  • wealthencyclopedia.com - Tuesday, November 6, 2007, 10:37PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Excellent article, with practical suggestions. So few people remember that liquidity matters. What good is a paid off million dollar house, if you cannot afford the property taxes. Especially in today's climate, where the dollar is falling and inflation is accelerating, having a large fixed rate mortgage is doubly advantageous - it provides liquidity, as well as a hedge against inflation - you will be paying off that mortgage with much cheaper dollars.

  • Vadim - Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 2:18PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I love Ben's articles, but the only problem is that Ben usually assumes that the audience he is addressing is on a similar intellectual level as himself. The people criticizing this post simply do not see the big picture. People that want to pay off their entire mortage as soon as the money is available are basically saying "I don't know what to do with my money so I will pay off my mortgae" or more accurately "Well, I don't know enough about investing to actually turn a profit on this money so let me do the no thinking appoach, pay off the house, and stay poor". If you do not know enough about investing, pay off your house. If you don't happen to understand what Ben is saying, here it is in simply laymans terms: What ever amount of extra money you have should be earning the highest rate of return possible based on your experience with investing and your personal risk tolerance. A house, especially nowadays, is not the best of all investments. Also keep in mind that your money today is worth more than the same money 10,20, or 30 years from now. The money you have now has more purchasing power and if you can get a rate of return higher than the tax benefits of buying out your house, than you would be foolish not to do it, provided that you know what you are doing. Your money should be working for you and the more you can get out of every dollar; the better. If you can get a rate of return that is a few percent above your mortgage rate, then you would be turning down extra money for peace of mind. Peace of mind is great, but to be truly successfull, one may sometimes need to take some risks and risk a bit of peace of mind to achieve the results they want.

  • Invest - Thursday, September 13, 2007, 12:38AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Ben does a good job of summarizing the primary concern of most retirees -- a steady cash flow, and a source for that cash flow. From an investment standpoint paying off your mortgage can result in a very high concentration of your assets in real estate -- resulting in poor diversification. The equity in your home does NOT produce liquidity for an investor or income for a retiree. Also, if you have to dip back into the equity in your house it is going to cost you -- with closing costs that can be as high as 5% to 7% of the amount of the loan. As long as your mortgage payment isn't much more than the cost of alternative housing (renting), you are usually ahead of the game, with the mortgage interest deduction and (usually) consistent appreciation of the overall value of your TOTAL house (not just your equity). Which brings us to the last point of leverage -- it is the average person's one opportunity to really play like the big hedge fund investors. You control a large volume of assets (the entire house) by investing just a percentage (the down payment) the interest cost on the loan, and you reap the gains in the value of the entire house. Again, as long as your mortgage payment is not much more than rent on a similar dwelling with similar features, the interest on the loan is not consequential -- you would have had to pay that money anyway for another place to live. Meanwhile you continue to gain the benefit of price appreciation for the entire house, plus get the home interest deduction from your taxes, plus shelter $250,000 (if single) or $500,000 (if married & filing jointly) of your gains on the appreciation in the house if you live there for at least two years. Except for VERY FEW instances, home prices consistently rise year over year.

  • Jeffrey - Friday, August 10, 2007, 11:39AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    I paid off a good portion of my 7% mortgate with this reasoning: I'm mostly invested in stocks and needed to balance my portfollio with bonds and other safer investments. Where else could I get a no risk 7% return on my money?

  • RobertA - Saturday, July 14, 2007, 10:09AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I think Mr. Stein explained it very well the simple fact that focusing on paying off your mortgage first will cost you a lot in the long run. You can always pay off tat mortgage later in life after your other financial goals have been met, including retirement.

  • p4pp1 - Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 11:43AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Even if you speed up payments and pay extra, it will take at least 15-20 years to pay off a 30 year note. Invest it wisely, use ETFs and Index funds and get a return that is greater than your mortgage rate (which is even lower than the actual loan rate because of the tax deductibility of the interest)

  • Stephen M - Thursday, July 5, 2007, 9:11PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Ben is right. Paying off your mortgage early will not increase the value of your home, but it could definitely decrease the growth of your net worth if you dumped good stocks to pay off the mortgage.

  • Heidi - Thursday, July 5, 2007, 11:57AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    No one in their right mind would borrow against their home to purchase stocks, yet that is what you are doing if you keep plenty of money in the stock market and still have a mortgage. If you have an emergency fund of 3-6 months that is pretty much all the average person needs in liquidity. Get out of debt America!! Pay off your mortgage, then invest all of the money you were paying to a bank on your home in the market.

  • cristian - Sunday, July 1, 2007, 10:26AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I age, I would rather have my money growing at 9 to 10 percentage avagage evry year that 6 percent. Plus the longer you are invested the longer you hedge inflation

  • Dee K - Sunday, July 1, 2007, 9:52AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    This type of financial advice is not for the faint of heart or those who do not have a firm grasp of "more than simple" economics. I would say that paying off the mortgage is a good rule of thumb for the majority of people. However, for those who are willing to take on more risk and want their money to work for them at it's greatest potential, Mr. Stein's advice is good and founded on firm economic principles. His pedigree and ideas are far superior to most of the other "yahoo financial advisors", (ie. kiyosucki)

  • YT - Sunday, July 1, 2007, 7:57AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    1. Liquid cash is always a must. It's a nest egg for hard times (losing a job for example). 2. The money you have that was intended to pay off the mortgage to be debt free being lost in the stock market is a BAD scenario. 3. Just owning your home and having the assurance that no one can kick you out during bad times is a major plus. 4. Getting money back from the government on the interest you pay is one of the biggest shams being run by the gov and financial industries as a TEAM. When is the last time happily gave a friend 50 dollars and your friend gave you gave 10 dollars as a reward. Yeah right. 5. Being in debt from a household perspective is could bad or good. Its better to list the pros/cons/risk 6. Everyone's situation is different; most people are not savvy investors. Why encourage them to take a risk at the expense of their home. I have seen far too many articles like these. Its irresponsible of the author to write such things. I have yet to see an article that list the pros and cons with risks. There is no correct magic bullet solution.

  • Boyuan - Saturday, June 30, 2007, 10:04PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    I usually like Ben Stein, but disappointed by this article. Living debt-free is the 1st step of declaration of financial freedom. I have done this, feel great of no mortgage.

  • Nick S - Saturday, June 30, 2007, 2:29PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Once again, this is another great article from Ben Stein - one of my favorite writers in Yahoo Finance. From personal experience, let me say this. I bought my first stock in 1985, back when the DJIA was sitting at 1,350. Today, some 22 years later, it is at 13,500 (approximately). That is a ten-fold increase in the blue chip index over a span of 22 years. And, this does not include the dividends paid to me during that same period (which have also risen in most years). I will even take Mr. Stein's argument one step more and suggest that buying a home is not as good of an investment as renting one...and here is why. When you buy a home there are several expenses that you will incur each year, such as; (1) property taxes (2) insurance (3) upkeep. Many years ago, at least some people realized what a bad investment it was to buy a "whole life" life insurance policy. They argued that a person buying such a policy would be better-off buying term life insurance for the span that they needed insurance, and then took the additional funds that they would have paid into the whole life policy and bought into a good mutual fund each year. The person would still have life insurance, but instead of having only part of their annual premium return a meager 2% a year, they would have a 10% return instead. People interested in owning a home need to study the math in owning versus renting. Most might be surprised at how it often pays you back more to rent. Nick http://www.creditmanagementworld.com

  • All Paid Off - Saturday, June 30, 2007, 1:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    If you want to stay in debt, don't pay off your mortgage. If you want to get out of debt, do pay off your mortgage.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Saturday, June 30, 2007, 9:54AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    pretty basic! may be of use to beginners!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Saturday, June 30, 2007, 6:33AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    People should understand that debt and leverage are your best friends when markets cooperate, but they can wipe you out quickly when markets don't cooperate. Many posters are obviously Dave Ramsey fans judging by their logic (would you mortgage your house to buy stocks). Ramsey makes some good points, but remember, he had a debt and leverage problem in his past which is why he tells everyone not to have any now. Ben Stein, on the other hand, is an Ivy league educated economist who never let debt get the better of him. If you want to pay off your house, fine. Don't disparage Ben though. His advice is generally as good or better than anyone else's you're likely to read online or hear on the radio. I rate this article two stars only because we as a nation have entirely too much debt and too little savings, and Ben assumes that the people who read this are disciplined enough to keep their money invested when chatter is telling them to liquidate. Most small investors get nowhere near 9% in the markets because they don't stay invested. If that's you, you might be better off eliminating debt.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, June 28, 2007, 2:53PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Pay off the mortgage and take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), effectively converting the mortgage to a HELOC. Keep a minimal balance (~$100) on the HELOC so that your monthly payment is only about $1.00. That way you have peace of mind and liquidity. No need to worry about the time it takes to refinance or the aggravation. The risk attached to the potential upside of 1 or 2 extra percent of gain is not worth it. The peace of mind of a paid off residence is worth far more than the possible gain with its attendant risk if you invest in stocks.

  • MU4Life - Thursday, June 28, 2007, 2:34PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    As a the owner of a mortgage brokerage for the last 14 years, I have seen people on many occassions come in to refinance their paid off homes. I am constantly surprised by the number of clients who have large equity positions in their home, but struggle to do any serious investing in the equity markets, and have a low net worth compared to their annual income. They have missed a golden opportunity to increase their overall net worth. Ben is right, having liquidity and a diversified portfolio of stocks and other investments is much more important than having equity in your home. The return on the equity in your home is 0%. That's right! Your home will appreciate in value regardless of whether you have equity in it. So why not put that money that's tied up in brick and mortar in you home to work? If your concerned about stocks, consider investment grade life insurance policies that pay a guaranteed return in down years, but are indexed to the S&P 500 in good years. Now you get additonal insurance, deductible mortgage interest, and an opportunity to participate in the stock markets long term. A great book to learn about this is "Missed Fortunes" by Douglas Andrew. He's been doing this for many years, and is now teaching financial planners how to follow in his footsteps. Ben fails to mention that pulling cash from your paid off home "when you need it" is probably the worst time to do so. I see clients who are at the beginnings of a financial crisis (medical, divorce, etc.), or who have a great investment opportunity, and who suddenly need cash, come in to do a refinance only to find out that they have some small item on their credit that they weren't aware of. Now they have to pay a higher rate to get the cash that they have to take out "now". It would have been much better for them to have taken out the cash earlier, before they needed it, and at a time when they could have waited if necessary, to take care of any small credit issues. Diversified portfolios, and liquidity are the key to long term financial security. Thank you Ben for stating what has been obvious to mortgage professionals for years.

  • Ray - Thursday, June 28, 2007, 11:26AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Interesting but nothing new here.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, June 28, 2007, 2:21AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    This is the kind of article we need -- educational to educated people with specialies other than finance/economy. We are ready for more...

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, June 28, 2007, 1:52AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Perhaps some here should re-read the article. Qoting Ben: "As I see it, if money is even the slightest bit tight, hold onto it and pay off the mortgage month by month. There's nothing magically good about having a paid-off mortgage, but there's something seriously bad about not having ready liquid assets even if your home is paid for." Having read most of the posts on here, and at the risk of being assaulted, consider this...If I have a $100K house appreciating at a 4% rate and paid off, my return is 4%. If I have a $100K house with 25% equity and 75% loan appreciating at 4%, I have a 16% return or $16000. less $5688. in principal and interest payments based on a $75K loan at 6.5% I also have freed up liquidity to purchase stocks, or more real estate or to buy groceries or any other things I need. Another aspect to consider is inflation. How much will monthly payments of $474 cost in REAL DOLLARS in say 20 years? Pennies on the dollar I can reasonably assume based on current inflation rates. Essentially my conclusion is: if one has the self control to manage ones finances with self discipline, consider the monies left in ones pocket as WORKING CAPITAL to be used in whatever means is most profitable. If one does not posess the self control to manage his or her money effectively, then by all means PAY OFF THAT LOAN. Just do not assault others who may have the investment skill to use their capital more effectively.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 11:26PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Stop pitching the United First Financial crap on the postings. How long have you been an agent? I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that is your website.

  • CurtisJ - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 9:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Surprising here also that no one has even mentioned Captial Gains tax savings. You get the tax advantage of a having a Mortgage thus reducing your real cost to around 2/3 of your mortgage rate yet you have to pay only 15% max capital gains tax on your real return of investment in the market (hold good stocks for one year) which makes it even more of a reason to take your cash and put it into a good investment rather than pay down a mortgage

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 9:36PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Ben is exactly right. A friend of mine has been dollar cost areraging into mutual funds for about 15 years and now has over 500,000 in stocks. He's making about 50,000 a year as a dietician, tithes, and his wife stays home to care for the home and raise the two children. He refinance his modest home and owes about 60,000, he wouldn't dream about paying the house off for a measly 5%. The smartest way to invest is dollar cost averaging, especially through the downturns, its not how you time the market, but how much time you have in the market.

  • EdH - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 8:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    I usually enjoy reading and agree with Ben's opinion. IN this case I think thta from a purely financial point of view he is correct. However, there are many reasons beyond the strict financial perspective to be debt free. The flexibility of living debt free ( in terms of required income to support your life style) is a big motivator.

  • ML - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 8:28PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Sure invest in stock, if the stock can go higher and higher on bad economy news. I am just wondering how long this going to last. If you want to invest in gold and silver. This idiot's advice is exactly what you should not do. gold jewelry is not investment. and ETF are paper gold. If the gold went up too fast paper gold will bust. Buy gold and silver coins. Those are real money, With inflation as high as 8% a year, the only thing that is very very cheap are gold and silver. You dollar are toilet paper.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 8:11PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Consider a mortgage of 100K. Over 30 years, one would have to pay ~250K to payoff the mortgage at 6.5%. If the 100K is used to buy stock, assuming 9% return, then one would have 1.35M after 30 years (before tax). This last figure sounds very good, but also a very big ASSUMPTION. It's also possible that after 30 years, you would have $0. On the other hand, if one would pay off the mortgage, the monthly expenses will be very small (as the biggest expense nowaday is housing). Quality of life would improve due to the low expense. Extra money left over can be used to invest in stock or mutual fund each month (dollar cost averaging; I think that's what the investors call it). Isn't this a smarter financial strategy? Better quality of life, money left over for investment (stock/mutual fund/saving), debt free/less worry, etc... For people who opt to follow the first strategy, you would either become very rich ($1.35M before tax....woooow; POSSIBLE), or spend 30 years worrying about losing all your money (possible and more likely). In addition, your monthly expenses would be high and will have less money left over each month to enjoy a quality life. The first strategy have alot of IFs and POSSIBILITIES, but the second strategy is a guarantee!!! Silly, silly Ben!!! His article on real estate investment trust was much better than this one!!!

  • M - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 8:09PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Ben,s a pretty smart guy. I'm thankful that he has not just fallen for conventional wisdom and realizes that every individual's situation is different. Personally I don't know why more people don't borrow on home equity and extend term of mortgage to buy stocks rather then open margin accounts fraught with risk.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 7:34PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I think the advise is good for some and bad for others. I will be paying off my mortgage and leaving this world debt free for me and me kids. Living without the mortgage means " no sleepless nights" for me and my kids.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 6:47PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    Not good advice. Not fair balanced. There are MANY reasons to pay off a mortgage, just ask Susie Orman, for one. As my old economics professor said, Debt is never a good thing at the individual level." I do agree in principal though that being "house rich and cash poor" is less than optimal.

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