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Comment by wonderwonder | Hacker News Reader

I've always been a fan of paying off the primary residence just for peace of mind. Can get a better ROI but if you're home is secure, everything else kind of just feels easier.

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I get the emotional appeal, but if the OP (or anyone else) has a home loan locked in with super-low interest rates the last thing I would be doing is paying down a home loan early.

At the moment, you could do extremely low-risk things like buy US treasury bonds and come out well in front of where you would be by paying off a home loan early.

If you need the credit exposure, pay it down to ~10% and put enough in an automated account that covers the monthly mortgage.

Almost destroyed me credit paying off a house when it was the only credit line I had at the time.

The thing with paying off your primary residence is that it's really only effectively different if you remain living there.

Versus money in the bank is money in the bank.

PS: For god's sake don't pay off your primary mortgage if you have a low rate fixed loan.

Why would paying off your primary residence give you more peace of mind than having $700k in liquid investments? You can’t use your paid off house to buy food or pay medical bills.

If your primary residence is mortgaged you're paying interest that compounds to a lot of money diminishing your $700K sitting under the mattress. Pay off the house and save + invest the interest you'd pay each month. That will afford a lot of food and doctor's visits later.

Who said anything about putting $700k under your mattress? Which is going to generate more income, investing the entire $700k or investing your mortgage interest?

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