BOSTON (CBS) – He says it became an obsession, but a 35-year-old dream became a reality for a Milford man as he paid off his mortgage with pennies.

“It started out as a joke,” says Thomas Daigle. “I said I’m going to pay the last mortgage payment off on this place in pennies.”

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Jeff Brown reports

Thomas Daigle says he was looking for a hobby during those long rainy and snowy afternoons in Milford. So he started counting his change and rolling his pennies.

“One thing led to another and all of a sudden there’s a serious amount of rolls of pennies,” he says. “I said you know this is something I can do.”

On his 35th wedding anniversary, Daigle and his wife Sandra walked into Milford Federal Savings and Loan and paid off their mortgage with over 800 pounds of pennies.

Daigle says this is a lesson for younger couples: “Do what you say you are going to do.”

Daigle is happy he no longer has the change in his house.