I can hardly believe I am writing this, but our mortgage has been paid off after 25 years. We’re just wondering what we might do with the approximately €800 per month that has been freed up. We’re in our early 60s and still working. We don’t know where to start.K.O’M. First up, congratulations. Regular readers will know my refrain about a mortgage being the cheapest money you will ever borrow – and it is true – but there is still an overwhelming feeling of relief and wonder when a home loan is finally paid off.Most of us move up the housing ladder as our families grow, so it does tend to be at or close to retirement when the yoke of a mortgage is finally lifted. And given how younger people are, of financial necessity, starting that journey later in life than previous generations, there is little likelihood of that trend changing.So here you are now with €800 a month that is not otherwise spoken for in the household budget. What are the options?First up, without doubt, are your pensions. One of the things that prevents people investing as much in their pensions as they should is the other financial burdens of typical family life – including the mortgage. It means very few of us “max out” the size of our pension funds and the tax relief that goes with it.The amount you can put into your pension while benefiting from tax relief rises as we get older. And once you turn 60, you are entitled to tax relief at your higher income tax rate on anything up to 40 per cent of your gross salary which is paid into your pension.If either of you is paying income tax at the higher 40 per cent rate, that €800 a month will translate into a €2,000 investment into your pension fund – or €24,000 over the course of a year. Even over four years, that is almost €100,000 before any investment return – not far short of the average size of an Irish private sector pension fund – and delivering a healthy boost to your income in retirement.And if you are not already taking full advantage of any matching contributions offer from your employer – assuming you are in a company scheme – the benefit could be even greater as your employer will top up at least some of your extra €800 a month.Yes, your investment window is obviously shortened given your ages, and you will be advised to moderate any investment risk within sight of retirement to avoid being left exposed to volatile investment market swings. But it is still a no-brainer.That aside, if you have any other outstanding debt – especially credit cards or overdrafts – this money should be used to settle those and ensure you live without recourse to such borrowings in the future. There is no harm in a credit card as long as you pay off balances in full each month.If you have children, some of this €800 monthly budget boost could be used to help them out and defray any future inheritance tax bills by gifting them up to €3,000 tax-free each year under the small gift exemption. If they are married, each of you can gift each of the couple €3,000 – which is up to €12,000 a year.Finally, there are investment opportunities. Here I can only advise that you consult a registered financial adviser. I am not licensed to advise on one specific fund over another and the Central Bank of Ireland would take a dim view if I attempted to do so.All I can say is that you need to consider risk and the length of time you can reasonably expect this money to stay invested. That doesn’t mean to say you must be cautious. Some people might feel able to take more risk with at least some of this cash, as it is money they had not reckoned on having.There is no automatic “right” answer on investment choices. It really is down to the individual. So there are certainly options now open to you now that the mortgage is paid off, but if you have not maxed out your pension, I would certainly start with that.