By Yeh Shyong Huang, April 15, 2019 — In April of 2020, my home loan will be paid off. I retired from Beigang Middle School in 2001. I was the director of the education department for 46 years. I participated in the 18% deposit plan implemented by the government at the time, deposited my retirement money (401k) in the bank, and with the monthly interest, I paid rent and living expenses. I have lived a warm and peaceful life with my wife. We have four children, two sons and two daughters. I have many grandchildren, two of them live with my third daughter in America. I have not seen them in 15 years, but I hope to see them soon.
In my second year of retirement, the landlord, Mr. Fang, told me that he wanted to sell the house and asked us to move. I discussed this at a family meeting with my wife and my children. At that time, my daughter Lisa suggested me to buy the landlord’s house. The total of the house was $60,000. My daughter Lisa helped me by paying the $10,000 down payment, and I got a bank loan of $55,000, which is paid for monthly by $450. I have always planned to make a down payment to purchase a house for my wife and children. In this way, after 15 years of day-to-day, I can finish my mortgage by next year. I was very happy to listen to the children’s suggestions. After 15 years, I successfully bought the house. The 18% interest from my retirement money that was left in the bank helped me and my wife live happy for all those years. The house when we bought was worth $60,000, and now, today, it is worth $90,000.