We thought we would do Q&A With The Doc a little different this week, and let SD's readers be the experts and answer this reader question as there is no easy answer and it deserves group think wisdom from SD readers. Mike writes:
Hey Doc,
I've been a follower of the SilverDoctors site for about a year now. I am seeking some advice or just looking to get my thoughts out to some of you guys on here. I wouldn't mind having this question on a public page so I can get a wide range of advice. This is about my parents' home and retirement. Currently we live in a home that has a $100,000 mortgage. They've paid probably well over $150,000 over the life of the house. My parents refinanced the home in the past because of being laid off from work and/or needing to pay for children's medical bills, etc. My dad is 56 and my mom is 55. My dad just lost his job where he made $60,000/year.
I've been trying to convince them that paying into this house is a waste of time and resources. What should they do about this house? They've lived in it for almost 30 years. Too bad I wasn't old enough to be able to give them better advice than taking up an impossible mortgage back then. My dad recently took out $10,000 to pay off the second mortgage on the house and he has about $33,000 in his IRA. I've suggested he take that out and put it into physical gold and silver. Now do you or anybody else have sound advice to do this? Just cash out and buy phyzz? What about the house? I've recommended we stay in as long as possible, save the money, and put it towards more phyzz or something we want - maybe braces for my sister, lol. But in all seriousness, I can't see my parents paying off this house and I can't see my dad maintaining his money in a US dollar denominated IRA. Thoughts and advice would be great. Thanks Doc!
