The argument about leverage vs being debt free is always an interesting one. For us, the tipping point was hit about 6 years ago, when I was laid off for the first time (and hopefully last time) in my career. Being in the technology field, my employers typically went through rounds of layoffs every two years or so. It never hurt me, but it did leave me and my wife stressed out. A while after the tech bubble burst, my then employer went through quarterly layoffs for a year and a half. I was whacked in the 5th of 6 layoffs as the company shrunk its headcount by 85%. After a nice "summer vacation," I was back to work at my present outfit at 2/3 my former pay. Nowadays, I'm pretty much back on my career track. Touch wood.
My wife and I made the decision then that we must be able to live comfortably on one income. The best way for us to do that was to eliminate payments for where we live. We're finally at that point, and it feels good. YMMV
