A (0:05)

I'm always here for some Internet beef, especially when it has to do with money. And I recently came across some drama that's caused finance bros to clutch their calculators while swinging their digital fists in the comments. So today I'm stepping into the ring to hear from both sides and settle this debate once and for all. Ding ding. Here's the tea user. Barbell Financial dropped this post on X which said, and I quote, the only good mortgage is a paid off one. Our biggest monthly expense is go with a screenshot of his $0 mortgage balance. How nice. But as the Internet does, people took to the comments like a village mob to attack him for this personal decision that did not in fact affect their lives at all. Now you would have thought he'd said something real controversial like you're not a man if you cry at the end of Toy Story 3. So long partner. I'm crying just thinking about it. Just take a look at some of these comments. A financial account promoting paying off a 2.65% mortgage early is insane. All right. Jeff said, this is actually financial illiteracy. This is an affront to God. Lowercase G. So which God? We'll never know. Psychedelic Albarto said, Rookie move, broski. Now am I gonna take that from psychedelic Albarto? Probably. I'm probably going to take it. It's a pretty great profile pic avatar, if you will. One guy even asked if this was rage bait. Rage bait. Imagine getting angry at someone for doing what most people wish they could do. That's like hating on him for eating his vegetables or going to bed on time. Now thankfully not everyone came with torches and pitchforks. A lot of people did chime in to celebrate his accomplishment. Wow. Congratulations. This is a huge milestone. Look, a normal person on X. We found him. You actually do exist. And Brennan mole budget dog said, best decision I've made. He co signs it cause he's done it. Tyler said bro, congrats. We rid ours 16 or 17 months ago and been paying ourselves the mortgage ever since. Easy to build wealth with zero debt. Way to go Tyler. That's fantastic. Even my boy Graham Stephan gave his measured nod the of approval. Mathematically dumb emotionally. I get why Graham has emotion. Graham, not robot Graham, not human spreadsheet. That's actually impressive. Graham, really, he's the most logical person I know. I've never seen him cry. Even when we watched Toy Story 3 together. Thanks guys. So overall when it came to the comment section, I haven't seen something this split since the middle part made a Comeback. And I refuse to give in. That's AI. Okay. You think I could do that with my hair? You think this hair is. Anyone who goes, this hair is stupid. Look at that guy. You would trust him in the same room as your mom. That guy, he's still hoping for his first kiss. What is the vibe here? What is he going for? Like pothead, but also successful accountant. I don't like it. I don't trust that guy. Seriously, though, why are some people so angry that this guy paid off his house early? Like, what is it about someone else becoming debt free that makes total strangers foam at the mouth? Well, when you've built your entire identity around financial strategy and optimizing returns, watching someone break the rules and win can feel like a personal attack. But it mostly comes down to one word. Leverage. Or to quote the French, arbitrage. You see, a lot of finance experts out there will tell you not to pay off low interest debt like a mortgage because you could do more with that money. Lot of air quotes here because I don't agree. For example, they say, well, what you would have put extra on the mortgage. You should invest that in the stock market and get a bigger return. And you can see people making this case all throughout the thread. A 2.5% mortgage is great if it means you have extra money to invest you. It's called leverage. That's the difference between getting rich and being comfortable. Joey said, that's tough. You could have taken all that money, put it into bonds paying 6%, and you're profiting from that spread with little to no risk. Laughing, crying, emoji, missed opportunity. Ron Sovereignty Swanson said, hub paying off at 2.625% faster than you had to. I'd rather have more net worth instead. Oh, no, this guy doesn't understand that paying off your house gives you more equity, which increases your net worth. But who am I to explain it to? Ron Sovereignty Swanson. And by the way, quite the username. Nothing says sovereign like owing other people money. You think Ron Swanson has a mortgage? Okay, if he has a mortgage, that means it's on public record. And that's the last record Ron Swanson would be on. The first record. He'd be on the latest Duke Silver Trio album. If you know, you know. Don't try to stream it on Spotify. He's not there. He's in your imagination. You got it, Duke. Don't call me that. I dig your groovy tunes, man. So what's their argument here? Well, they're saying, why pay off a 2.6% loan when you can make 6% or 8% to them. It doesn't make mathematical sense to pay off a mortgage because it isn't costing you enough. What people don't realize is the emotional cost involved here. Because debt, even a mortgage, is a weight on your shoulders and it limits your options. It's one more thing. Handcuffing you to your job, your paycheck, and yes, even your actual house. That low interest rate. Sure, it feels like a good deal, but try switching careers or moving without factoring in that giant monthly payment or that sweet low interest rate that you just can't give up. You can't, because that smart financial move just boxed you in. On the other hand, look at this side. Paying off your house early gives you freedom that you can't take this away from me kind of freedom. Speaking of freedom, you deserve a phone plan that doesn't make you feel trapped. One that will help you save every single month. Which is why you should switch to a more affordable phone plan like Boost Mobile, a sponsor of today's video. With their Forever plan, you get unlimited data, talk and text with 99% nationwide coverage for just 25 bucks a month. And the best part is, there's no price hikes. There's no hidden fees ever. That means you get the quality servicing coverage you need without the surprise phone bill at the end of the month. Plus, there's no contract required, and it's super easy to switch. So go check it out for yourself@boostmobile.com Ramsey or use the link in the description. And before we get back to the X beef, you know what? I have beef with online spammers and scammers buying my personal info from data broker sites and using it to spam and scam me. And that's why I love Delete Me. Another sponsor of today's video, Deleteme works around the clock with real privacy experts to remove your personal info from these shady websites before they have a chance to sell it to pesky evildoers. Now, you could try to attempt to do this yourself, but ain't nobody got time for that. In fact, the last report I got from Deleteme says that they've saved me over 100 hours now since I first signed up. And you can get started for 20% off their annual plans by going to JoinDeleteMe.com George. Or just use the link in the description. All right, here's the bottom line. Financial peace doesn't always come from chasing the highest return. It comes from getting rid of what's holding you back. And for most people that their mortgage is the biggest thing on that list. And here's some people in the comments that truly get it. Sergio said, Everyone will say but you could make so much more investing the money. But man, I'm so proud of you, happy for you and I completely understand why you made this move. Peace of mind is everything. You are free and I am jealous. Great stuff. Mark said. All the commenters here are talking about the spread. Your home is not an investment, it's where you live. Peace of mind cannot be measured in dollars. Chef's kiss, Paradise Mint. You'll never hear a debt free person say they wish they were in debt. The only people that will try to sell you on the idea that some debt is good are bankers and people in debt. Debt is a form of slavery. Don't be a slave to the system. Get out and stay out of debt. I love it. I'm glad there's some people with common sense around the Internet these days. And those who have heard my story know that I practice what I preach. I I paid off my mortgage a few years back and I never plan on touching a dime of debt ever again. And guess what? I don't need to because I've got margin now. I've got less risk in my life and way more peace. So is it great freeing up our biggest fixed expense? Absolutely. Is it awesome being able to invest more, spend more, save more, give more? 100%. But more than that, the peace, the flexibility, the options it's given my family far surpass any math, any spread you could throw my way. And this is why I teach and recommend to systematically pay extra on your mortgage principal to get it knocked out early. But there's a time and place to do that. Once you're debt free with a full emergency fund and you're investing 15% of your income into retirement, any money above and beyond that, throw at the mortgage principal and get out of that debt so much faster. So that's another rub. People go, well George, you're not investing, you're throwing all the money at the mortgage. No, I was investing 15% of my income the entire time we were focused on getting rid of that mortgage. Oh and by the way, once that mortgage is gone on, you can up your investing, you can max out your retirement accounts, which is only going to explode your net worth and your nest egg. Hence why I'm not worried about making a spread on my investments. They're cooking, they're good. And while they're cooking. I don't have to worry about payments. I don't have to stress about rising interest rates. If I want to move tomorrow, I can go and just pay cash for a different home. My wife wanted to stay home and we said, okay, sure, stay home. It wasn't a financial decision, it was an emotional one, and one that we were happy to make. Kept the wife happy. I don't have to make decisions based on what a bank will or won't allow me to do. So if you're out there wondering whether you should pay off your mortgage early, ask the people who actually did it, not the ones playing with their abacus on the sidelines. And that's exactly why I made this video breaking down the true value of a paid for house. You can click here to check it out or use the link in the description. That's it for today. Be sure to hit like on this video and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. And you if and share this with a friend who's hanging on to their sweet, sweet low interest mortgage. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.