Paying off mortgage

BAGHOWE

If one had the capital to pay of ones mortgage would it be better to pay it off, thereby avoiding interest payments or not?

If not what would be best to do with the money - minimum risk stategies preferred.

Ian_W

Minimum risk basically means a "high" interest savings account in a bank. Very few pay much over 5%, less after tax. Weigh that up against interest charges on a mortgage, most 4.5 - 5.5% and, in strictly monetary terms, paying off the mortgage is almost always the best option IMO.

There may be reasons not to, you may need money for some other purposes in the not too distant, then it may be better not to pay off mortgage if you're going to need unsecured [generally more expensive than mortgage] lending in the forseeable future. That being the case check out the best buy links on the savings section of this site. They do change pretty frequently.

My strategy was pay off the mortgage and save what we were paying each month - builds up very nicely, thank you!