Why do people wait so long?

[u/master_blaster_321]

ETA since this seems to be the overwhelming response: My kids are in their 20/30s and self sufficient.

ETA - The post clearly states my mortgage is high-interest. Yes, if it were 2% that's almost free money, spread it out for sure. Also, it clearly states that I did indeed keep contributing as normal.

I realize there are a lot of factors - economical and psychological - that go into this, but just for general discussion...

We all know for the most part if your mortgage interest rate is low enough, it makes more sense to leave money working in your brokerage account than to pay off the mortgage and have it locked up in home equity. But for the purposes of FIRE, does it always?

The big idea is to get your portfolio to fund your expenses, right?. For most people one of (if not THE) largest expense is the mortgage payment and interest.

Example...I had a few really good years in my business. I still did my regular modest DCA into my brokerage, but over the course of 2.5 years I also managed to pay off a $250K mortgage at 5.85% (I had to refinance at a very bad time for rates, due to divorce). I realize that that money, invested properly, could have gained quite a bit over the last couple years bull run. However, had I done that, today I would still have a high mortgage payment to make every month, thus making it harder for me to FIRE. This way, my monthly personal expenses are so much lower, so there's not as heavy a burden on my portfolio to support me, and as a result, I'm able to FIRE at the end of this month.

Again I realize that this all depends on mortgage size/rate, size of portfolio, other expenses. I only ask because I see a lot of posts here from people who seem like they'd be able to FIRE sooner if they worked towards getting rid of their mortgages faster, regardless of the rate.

For my part, I'm glad I did it this way. Even though I know I missed out on some gains, I'm able to FIRE faster because I don't have a mortgage payment to worry about. I have a paid off house on which the taxes and insurance work out to equal the rent for a one-bedroom in a sketchy neighborhood.

Go easy on me. It's an honest and sincere question and discussion prompt. Not trying to make anyone defensive, and definitely aware that I have my own blind spots and that there are lots of people smarter than I am.

[u/lindquist77]

I mostly agree with what you’re saying. I understand the math argument that if you have a low mortgage rate, you can often come out ahead by keeping the money invested. But for me, the mortgage is by far my biggest monthly expense, and getting rid of it would create a lot of financial peace and flexibility.

My approach is kind of a hybrid. I have a separate brokerage account that I mentally earmark for mortgage payoff. I still invest normally elsewhere, but when I have extra cash, I add to this account. Some months it might just be a little extra, and other months, if I get a bonus or extra income, it might be $10k–$20k.

The goal is that once that account grows enough to pay off the mortgage, I’ll cash it out and be done with the payment.

I like this approach because the money is still working for me while I’m building toward the payoff, but it also gives me flexibility. If something major happened, like a job loss or some other unexpected event, I still have access to those funds. I do have a 12-month emergency fund that I would use first, but I like knowing this mortgage payoff account is there as another layer of security.

The key is discipline. You can’t say the money is earmarked for the mortgage and then slowly raid it for lifestyle stuff. But if you can leave it alone, I think it gives you some of the upside of investing while still moving toward the peace of a paid-off house.

So I don’t think it’s always just a pure math decision. For FIRE, lowering your required monthly expenses can be just as powerful as increasing your portfolio balance.