10-18-2013, 09:10 PM
Our current mortgage is at 4.75% and is within about 5 years of being paid off, but earlier in the middle years our mortgage was as high as 10.5%. I always opted for saving in the 401K. figuring that the debt would always be paid off eventually, and understanding that savings were very hard to accumulate. So my inclination is that savings should come before early debt repayment, especially when interest rates are historically low. You will always eventually pay off your debt, but the only way to accumulate savings is through a long systematic approach. Lots of rationalizations exist to put off or to use ones potential savings dollars. IMO a wise person pushes the rationalizations aside and saves to the max, letting everything else take care of itself over time.
Alex