KISS*: Pay off that mortgage ASAP

There's a popular train of thought that dictates that if one has a low interest rate on his/her mortgage (which is not uncommon if you took out a mortgage in 2021), that you should not attempt to pay off your home as soon as possible. The idea being that with a low interest rate, you should hold on to the mortage as long as possible (ie, just make your normal house payments and nothing more), and use any extra money to invest, save, etc.

That train of thought is a pile of 🐴💩.

Holding onto a low-interest mortgage longer than you need to is like letting a minor cold linger on the premise that it's not the flu. Would you ever do that?

"This cough and congestion are a pain in the rear, but let me keep them hanging around—it's not like I have pneumonia!"

I get why people rationalize "holding" onto a low-interest mortgage. But people rationalize a lot of behaviors that aren't in their best interests, and it usually boils down to the same thing: the preference for instant gratification over delayed gratification. People don't want to bite the bullet and pay off their house early when they have the opportunity to because it'll look like their money is just going up in smoke. But any time you can get rid of debt where the interest rate is anything above zero (which, of course, is most debt), DO IT.

Interest owed is the enemy. Not having house payments (and the cancerous interest attached to them) will

1. Free up the most money for you in the near term so you can invest it debt free...

2. ...which will allow you to generate much more money in the long run...

3. while also empowering you to own an appreciating asset in the clear

Don't hold onto them sniffles. And if you find that you really miss having that interest-accruing loan, you can always take out another loan. Considering you'll have no debt, lenders will be tripping over each other to loan you the money.

*The UX writer in me is pathologically compelled to explain that KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.