For someone like me, throwing a party is hard. I’m not eager to make a public spectacle of myself, but I do love making personal connections with good people. My shyness is partly why it took me nearly three years after I paid off my mortgage to actually throw a mortgage-burning party in celebration of being debt-free.

I’m happy to report that my mortgage-burning party went perfectly. About 70 of my friends came and enjoyed great food and conversation, and they got a signed copy of my joke book. I gave a little speech in which I read the poem I wrote called “Ode to the Bank” and then I burned the mortgage itself.

Here are three things I learned from throwing this party.

1. It Takes a Lot of Work to Have Fun

The whole event lasted two hours, but it felt much longer. Perhaps that’s because of all the preparation and cleanup involved. From ordering food by a caterer to getting tables, chairs, and tents set up in my front yard, there was a lot to do before the party even began. Thankfully, many family members were happy to help by loaning outdoor furniture. It was a group effort to make everything work smoothly. I did my best to express my gratitude to everyone who helped me get ready for the event, as well as to everyone who came and made it worth putting on.

In addition, I was so grateful for the warm weather free of rain or excessive wind. It was a perfect day for a celebration. That’s something you can’t plan. But I made sure to thank God for that wonderful gift. When we finished cleaning up, I got to donate the extra food I had ordered to a worthy cause. And my family members were happy to help me return the furniture to its proper place. The cleanup was definitely quicker than the preparation. There might be a lesson in that, too. If we put in the work upfront, things tend to go much better than if we try to wing it.

2. Inviting People Over Is a Good Motivator to Clean Up One’s Act

My wife and I decided to host the event at our home, which was appropriate since the entire celebration was surrounding the fact that we had paid it off. But that came with a few challenges. We needed a place to put everything. The caterer required access to a number of power outlets for the food warmers, so we figured it would be best to put the food in our garage. However, we hadn’t cleaned the garage in years. So we set out to clean up our act and put our best foot forward. We organized it and prepared space for the food and tables.

After the party, we went even further and got rid of a lot of old things we never used anymore. Our garage is much cleaner now. Throwing a party really inspired us to beautify our living space, and we’re happier as a result.

3. New Friends Are Often Waiting Right Next Door

I invited every neighbor to my party, and I learned some amazing things about them as a result. It turns out that I’m the fourth homeowner in my direct vicinity to have paid off a mortgage. I’ve joined quite an exclusive club! We all got to bond over our shared freedom from mortgage debt. They didn’t know what a mortgage-burning party was when they paid theirs off, but they liked the idea when I told them about what I was doing and had a great time joining in the festivities.

One of those neighbors has been hard for me to approach since I moved in 12 years ago. They just seemed so cool and aloof. Yet when I approached them a few weeks ago and asked if they wanted to come to my party, they were all smiles. They actually came, and they turned out to be incredibly humble and kind people. They were just as shy about approaching me as I was about approaching them. When I finally broke the ice, it gave us all permission to become fast friends. I’m excited to get to know them better. All it took was getting out of my comfort zone and throwing a once-in-a-lifetime party. Hopefully you’ll be wiser than me and get to know your neighbors sooner rather than later. A good friend might be waiting next door.

One More Lesson

The stack of papers representing my mortgage itself took quite a while to burn. It wasn’t as easy as simply lighting them on fire. My wife helped me crumple some paper underneath the main part of the mortgage to act as kindling. It was a long time before the pages at the top started to catch fire, but by then the entire thing was burning nicely. In the end, nothing was left but ashes.

That was a good object lesson for paying off a mortgage. At first, making extra payments seems to do nothing to it. But each act of sacrifice accumulates and contributes to a roaring fire that destroys the debt. Only at the end does it become apparent that the debt is truly gone. Paying off a mortgage starts slow and small, and it ends big and fast. Our final mortgage payment was more than one-third of the total balance of our mortgage at the beginning. We got to the finish line far ahead of our 30-year mortgage by making slow and steady progress across nine years. I suppose that’s why The Tortoise and the Hare has always been one of my favorite stories.

I want to take all of these lessons to heart and do a better job appreciating my family members, keeping my house clean, and making new friends. And I won’t give up when my efforts appear small and insufficient at first. Perseverance is what makes it all work.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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