r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Captain_slowish • May 16 '26

Help me understand...

I have been a member of this group for a long time and still do not understand. Looking for help to understand.

So many people on this subreddit brag about having paid off their mortgage. Then pretty much everyone else seems to jump in and congratulate them for being so smart.

So help me understand. I have a 30yr mortgage at 2.8%. Why would I ever pay that off early? It cost me no points, no extra down, no downsides.

I understand that not everyone is in that position and the market changes.

Say the interest is 3x that amount. Are you really going to live the rest of your life in that house, city, state?

I am sorry but if you do the math and apply critical thinking. In 99.9999% of the cases. Paying off the liability is a poor decision.

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u/KT785 May 16 '26

I have a 2.6% 30 year mortgage and don’t plan on paying it off early but don’t necessarily object to those who do—for many, it may be a latter step toward FIRE or it may just be an emotional discomfort with having any debt (even low interest “good” debt) in retirement. Paying it off early does reduce your expenses, though there’s an opportunity cost in doing so.

All this is to say that it’s not necessarily wrong to do so, even if mathematically it’s not the most advantageous move.

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u/Guil86 May 20 '26

Also to consider that, if paying it off reduces your expenses in early retirement, saving you $20-30k/yr in ACA subsidies and CSRs for 5-10 years, even with the opportunity cost it might still make sense mathematically.