Paying Off a Mortgage

I paid off my mortgage. I have the letter from the mortgage bank to make it official. The letter is about step five in the process. My friends are more interested in this story than I had expected, but it makes sense when I think about it. In a world where perpetual debt has become the norm, who do I know who paid off their house while still living there? Sure, people are constantly selling houses, buying new ones, paying off the old mortgage, and taking out a new one, but that’s a different process. What is it like, in the Internet mortgage servicing era, if you are going to pay off a mortgage and keep living in the house? Friends are looking to my story to find out.

Independence, Debt, and Clutter

The four big forms of everyday suspense in America are clutter, a busy schedule, debt, and excess body fat. More often than you would think, they go together. This makes sense when you consider the effect of a person’s time and energy — when you don’t have the time and energy to solve one problem, you won’t have it for the next problem either. The positive side of this is that when you break free from suspense in one form, you are probably well on your way to solving it in its other forms too.

Today, Independence Day, has me thinking about the link between money and clutter. I’ve been spending the day going through my house, taking away some of my excess possessions.