Originally Posted by
Gen6
Carrying mortgage debt discussion has more to do with where your money is working then whether you are retired or not. If you are under 3% on your mortgage and can average 6% in the market you are better served investing it in the market then paying off your mortgage faster. If you feel the market will return significantly below its historical average then pay off your mortgage.
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There are plenty of safe investments with returns above 3%. Rather than pay off our mortgage, we're investing an equivalent amount in real estate with non recourse financing. The cash on cash returns more than cover the mortgage, plus we are building equity from principle reduction and possibly appreciation over the long term holding period. I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey right up through baby step 6, where he says to pay off the house.