Before you make any extra mortgage payments, consider some factors.
Should you own your home free and clear before you retire?
At first glance, the answer would seem to be “absolutely, if at all possible.” Retiring with less debt … isn’t that a good thing? Why not make a few extra mortgage payments to get the job done?
In reality, things are not so cut and dried. There is a fundamental opportunity cost to consider. If you decide to put more money toward your mortgage, what could that money potentially do for you if you were to direct it elsewhere?
In a nutshell, the question is: should you pay down low-interest debt, or should you invest the money into a tax-advantaged account that could potentially bring you a strong return?