I had a 30 yr mortgage at 9.5% (1991), 7 years in I did a remortgage got it down to 3.8% for 15 years, seven years later the house was mine.(14 years total) I never struggled and used the % rate to my advantage, reduced my note and kept paying original note + what ever I could. It was a wonderful feeling to sign that last check

I think the answer depends on your age, income and financial condition.

We built a new house in 2010. We took a $150,000 loan to do it. But both my wife and I had good incomes. She was the one who really wanted the new house and agreed to make the payments. Sure, I put a dent in my retirement savings. But I'd just had heart surgery and it was like having one step on a banana peal and the other in a grave anyway. She could easily afford the payments.

So about 4 years in she was getting moody and just didn't like the $1100 payments each month. So I did the stupid thing, maybe, and we cashed in some bonds and paid the rest of it off. I wasn't even making the payments, but it sure felt good. Now, 4 more years in, I'm glad I did it. But my history has some pretty nasty blemishes. We paid off our first house well before the end of its mortgage. Then we paid off the house we bought in 1995. Sure, we used the proceeds from the 1978 house to help. I kind of like being mortgage free. I'd maybe do it differently in retrospect, but I would still do it. I had the advantage of having adequate savings. That only happened because we were savers, not spenders.

A big part of the decision is just how you want to go ahead in life. It feels awful good to not have that burden. We mostly don't think about it. Just occasionally it comes up in conversation and we both smile. For us, we made the best decision.