I'm not sure that there's any one right answer to the question.
It's certainly reasonable to have a low-interest mortgage to free up cash for investing.
The last mortgage I had was low interest, but I still made conservative investment decisions. I did consider paying the minimum on a 5 year ARM at 2 3/8%. But in that time frame, 2014 forward, I could not find a risk-free investment that was going to significantly provide a better return. Interest on US Treasuries and CD's was far below 2 3/8's. So I paid every extra dollar I had against that mortgage and paid in off in 7 years, and then sold it at a profit and that's the money we used to buy our home in The Villages.
In retrospect, had I invested the money in the stock market, I would have done a lot better than 2 3/8%. But I didn't have the benefit of hindsight when I was making that decision. I also had peace of mind. At the time of the financial crisis, 25% of the mortgages in the country went underwater.
That being said, in a rising interest rate environment, the investing paradigm has changed. If I still had a 2 3/8% mortgage, I would not pay it off early today because I can get a guaranteed 4.66% on the 10 year US Treasury, and the interest I pay on the mortgage is tax deductible if I can get over the threshold for itemized deductions. It's a no-risk decision.
Good luck to everyone on their investments in their homes, the markets and everywhere else.
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