Hopefully, you have not learned this rule the hard way.  The bottom line is whenever you make any financial decisions allowing your emotions to enter into those decisions, you will lose money, and usually lots of it.

I know that all of you are likely emotional about your finances.  Those of you whom have been divorced were likely separated due to your emotions over your finances.  The problem is that emotions cloud your judgement and lead to mistakes, and that fact reigns true in your finances.

If you are currently looking at the stock market being down for a long period of time, or even thought this as soon as it began dropping, chances are you are looking at your investment portfolio and getting emotional over your losses.  Most of you (if not all) have probably moved your funds around to try and minimize your losses. 

Do you realize that doing so causes you to miss the best opportunities?  Do you know that statistics show that over the long term, moving funds around like that almost guarantees you to lose money?

I forget the exact numbers, but if you miss just 3 of the best performing days of the S&P over a period of time, I think the study was five years, then you will have lost money, but the S&P would have a positive rate of return over the entire timeframe.  If you really want to make money, do the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing and STOP FOLLOWING THE "HERD".

That statement holds true in regards to your mortgage.  Sure, you WANT to have a home free and clear, after all, it is the "American Dream."  Sure, there is a SENSE OF SECURITY in having your mortgage paid off and not having that monthly payment looming over your head, easing your FEARS. 

When you look at a home without a mortgage payment, lots of emotions arise, don't they?  When your planning your financial future, your emotions well up when you see programs like the Money Merge Account from United First Financial, or any other mortgage acceleration product, that show you could have your home paid off dramatically faster and your "dreams" could come true.

I will admit, there are many times when my emotions well up and I wish I didn't have a mortgage payment as well.  But then I set my emotions aside and look at how money works and the truths that exist regarding mortgages and home equity.  Taking my own emotions out of the equation reveals a different financial planning strategy, one that maximizes the efficiency of how money works.

Sure, using your mortgage as a financial tool carries risk.  Everything carries risk, plain and simple, just like everything is 100% financed.  Focusing on temporal losses is futile and your emotions will destroy your plan.  Long term strategies require a long term commitment, hands down. 

When I lose $40,000 or more in my investments in a single month, I do not rush out and move funds around, because I know that is not a real loss unless I react to it.  It becomes a loss only when I liquidate my account, sell my property, or even transfer those funds to other investments.  Instead, I don't get emotional about it and trust in what I have learned, which is that over the long term, the strategies I employ are shown to always perform well. 

Yes, I know that is no guarantee, but history tends to repeat itself, just like charts can predict the future fairly accurately.

So, before you get wrapped around the "focus" of paying off your mortgage through a Money Merge Account, Homeownership Acceleration Plan (CMG), or any other mortgage acceleration product, get your emotions out your thought process.  When you can do that, you will likely realize that other strategies provide a better, even faster, path to your financial goals and dreams. 

Get the rules of money working for you today!!