The House Payoff Dilemma: Peace of Mind vs. Maximum Wealth

Good morning {{first_name|Reader}}.

Five days, gone

You've been there. Plans with family. Then work calls. And suddenly your time isn't yours anymore.

Five days. Gone. Emergency at work. My family understood. They always do. Because right now, that's the deal.

As long as you need the paycheck, your schedule belongs to them. Work-optional changes that. Not retired. Not grinding forever. Just free to say no when it matters.

You're staring at years of mortgage payments ahead. Decades of trading time for housing costs. Let's talk about what that actually costs you—and whether there's a better path.

TL;DR: Work called. Five days with family—canceled. That's the deal when your paycheck depends on someone else. This week: Bangalore Watch Co. Agumbe ($1,450). Mortgage calculator shows three options—pay early, invest extra, or pay in cash. Math says invest. Emotion says own it outright. Pre-wrote 5 newsletters. Built products at 4 AM. No excuses. Poll: Peace of mind or maximum wealth?

(Thoughts on this newsletter? Send me your feedback)

You're scrolling through microbrands. Everyone's buying the same Swiss alternatives. You want something different. Something with story.

Enter Bangalore Watch Company's Agumbe.

No lugs. The case flows seamlessly into the strap. Clean. Purposeful. No excess.

A friend of mine collects green dial watches. I didn't get the appeal at first. But these designs—this brand—grew on me. Not because of hype. Because of intention.

You're not just buying specs on paper. You're buying what the watch represents.

Bangalore puts a tree at 9 o'clock. For some people, that's just design. For me—someone who's lived in Washington State and now Alaska—pine trees mean something. Growth. Steadiness. Starting life as a newly married couple figuring things out, those trees always in the background.

If you're going to wear something for years, the story behind it matters.

Case: 316L stainless steel (or matte black PVD)
Dimensions: 44mm diameter, 31mm lug-to-lug, 13.75mm thick
Movement: Swiss Sellita SW200-1 Automatic
Power Reserve: 41 hours
Water Resistance: 200 meters
Dial: Circular brushed, enameled, BGW9 Super-LumiNova
Crystal: Domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Strap: High-density rubber with quick-release pins

You're not buying this to flip it. Microbrands don't hold value like Rolex or Omega. You buy this because you actually like it—not because you're building an investment portfolio on your wrist.

You want something different. Something with color, story, and intention. Around $1,450 USD gets you that.

Plenty of microbrands compete in this range. This one stands out if you value story over status.

Wondering if this watch is right for you? Walk it through the Watch Decision Framework. Six questions. Two minutes. Clarity before you buy.

You have a mortgage. Maybe it's $200K. Maybe it's $500K. Either way, you may be facing the same question:

Should you pay it off early and own your home? Or keep it and invest the difference?

The math says one thing. Your gut says another.

You're looking at decades of payments. You're wondering if there's a faster way out. Or if investing that extra money makes more sense.

Here's the tension: owning your home outright feels like freedom. No payment. No lender. Just you and the house. But mathematically, keeping a low-rate mortgage and investing the difference often wins.

So which do you choose?

Let's run the numbers. Here's my situation—and here's how you calculate your own.

I ran it through the calculator. Three options. Here's what it shows.

You're adding $85/month to your mortgage payment. Not a fortune. But consistent.

You save $39K in interest and cut 2.3 years off the mortgage. That's real money. That's real time.

You keep the mortgage on schedule. Instead of paying extra, you invest that $85/month at 8% annual return.

You're $18,932 ahead compared to Option A. Mathematically, this wins.

But you still have a mortgage. You're still making payments.

This is the nuclear option. You write a check for $371,000 today. You own the house outright tomorrow. Zero mortgage payment. Ever.

You save $397K in interest. But you give up $2.9 million in investment growth.

Peace of mind costs $2.6 million in this scenario.

The calculator says Option A wins financially: Pay off early with extra payments. You save $39,226 compared to the normal schedule.

But here's the real answer: it depends on your situation.

Maybe you're moving soon. Maybe you have a 3% mortgage and investing is the obvious choice. Maybe your mortgage is 7% and paying it off may make sense. Maybe you're five years from work-optional and liquidity matters more than optimization.

For me? We're moving soon. Paying extra now doesn't make sense. So we're keeping the mortgage. Staying the course.

But your situation is different. Your rate is different. Your timeline is different.

Run your own numbers. Takes two minutes. Gives you clarity. Trade-Off Calculator Suite

You're facing this decision. Pay off the house early, invest the difference, or pay it off in cash.

Here's the framework:

1. What's your mortgage rate?
If it's under 4%, investing probably wins. If it's over 7%, paying it off might make sense.

2. What's your timeline?
If you're moving in two years, extra payments don't help. If you're staying 30 years, they might.

3. What's your liquidity?
$371K in your house is $371K you can't access without selling or getting a HELOC. $371K invested is liquid if you need it.

4. What's your peace of mind worth?
Some people sleep better with no mortgage. Some people sleep better with maximum wealth. Neither is wrong.

The calculator shows you the math. You decide based on what matters to you.

Calculate your scenario and help support the newsletter: Trade-Off Calculator Suite

You're busy. Full-time job. Maybe kids. Maybe side responsibilities. The excuses are logical:

"I don't have time."
"I'm too tired."
"I'll start when things slow down."

Here's what I did instead.

February is coming. I'll be gone most of the month for work. So I wrote five newsletters in advance. Not outlines. Full newsletters. Ready to send.

I also spent tens of hours building digital products. The calculators. The frameworks. The comparison worksheets. Tools my wife and I have used for years—now formalized so you can use them too. (head to the product page and check them out)

When did I do this? 4 AM. Between workout sets. Early mornings when nobody else was awake.

Not because I'm special. I’m neither more special or smarter than you. I do it because I wanted it more than I wanted comfort.

"I have a full-time job" is the most common excuse I hear. It's logical. Rational. But still an excuse.

You have the same 24 hours everyone else has. The question is what you're willing to sacrifice to build something that matters.

I could've taken February off from the newsletter. Nobody would've blamed me. But I didn't. Because this matters.

Your turn.

What excuse are you using right now? What do you actually want to build? And what would it take to stop letting the excuse win?

You don't need more time. You need to want it badly enough to be uncomfortable. (A newsletter is a great thing to build)

Work called. Plans canceled. That's the reality when someone else owns your time.

But the path out is clear: make intentional choices. Buy watches with story, not status. Run the numbers on your mortgage before emotions take over. Build something at 4 AM when everyone else is sleeping.

You're facing these decisions every week. The calculator shows you the math. Your gut shows you what matters. But only you can make the call.

This week, I chose to keep the mortgage because we're moving soon. You might choose differently. That's the point—run your own numbers, trust your process, make your decision.

The compound effect is real. Small choices today become big outcomes tomorrow.

Time is wealth. Your choices compound.

—Ian