[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by wayner

Still another is the opportunity cost of tying up the capital in the first place versus making payment which leave your other money free to work for you.

This is the one area that I disagree with, and I hear it all the time with loans. If you borrow $30k at 4% for 5 years with that reasoning, you are essentially stating that your money will make better than 4% over the loan term. There aren't many investments that GUARANTEE any meaningful amount of interest. But I can assure you, the interest that you pay on a loan is guaranteed. Would you borrow money to invest it? Because in this scenario, that's exactly what you're doing.

If money is no concern then it's really irrelevant. When I was laid off in April, one of the keys to surviving without any hit to the lifestyle of my family was only a mortgage to worry about. If had car payments it would have been much more difficult.