06/05/2026
The advice to “just make extra mortgage payments” sounds responsible, but it isn’t always optimal.
If you take an extra monthly payment and apply it to principal, you reduce your loan balance slightly. If you invest that same money into a diversified index fund, historical returns often outperform the interest savings over time.
The difference comes down to cost of capital versus opportunity cost. Mortgage debt is typically one of the lowest-cost forms of leverage available, while long-term market growth has historically compounded at a higher rate.
Being aggressive with payoff isn’t always the same as building wealth efficiently.