[Rick Lee]

I don't think being "debt free" is all that it's cracked up to be. If you have no mortgage on your house, you still have taxes and insurance, which amount to over $1k per month on my semi-retired parents' modest house in Hunterdon Co., NJ. If you have a mortgage with a lender's title insur. policy, they will go to bat for you if neighbors or the county mess with you. It's rare, but it does happen. And it's not like paying down mortgage debt is gonna be quick and painless. It's still years, maybe 10 at minimum. Remember the old saying, "If you owe the bank a $300k, you may have a problem. If you owe the bank $1 million, THEY have a problem." I'd rather use someone else's money for stuff like that.