There is real freedom in not being shackled by debt or owing another person or institution a dime.
By paying down your mortgage you are basically getting a guaranteed return in the amount of your interest rate.
For those of us in pursuit of financial freedom, the goal is to have passive income that exceeds monthly expenses. By eliminating the mortgage payment you will need less monthly passive income to achieve financial independence.
By aggressively paying off mortgage debt we make ourselves more resilient during a recession. Another recession is coming (we just don’t know when) so hopefully people don’t make the same mistakes as last time.
Humans are irrational creatures and the toughest part of personal finance is the discipline. If you have a significant amount of money sitting in an investment account you’ll continually be tempted to spend it.