CBAD has a valid reason for his fears.
But the true cost is very expensive insurance.

There is such a thing as conservative and there is extremely conservative.

In reality, having a home that is paid off is not necessarily the answer. Having a fixed rate long term loan with cash in the bank to pay that loan off is a safer bet.

Equity isn’t CASH. Never has been and never will be.
Being in the lending biz, I see people with “equity” that is tied up in a stucco box that they cannot get to.

I know of a house that burned down that was free and clear that took years to settle with the insurance company and turned in to a legal battle. The guy was flat broke waiting for his settlement.

Every dollar that gets paid down on a mortgage is a dollar that you may never see again or be able to use in any other way.

There WILL probably be a depression in our lifetimes, probably sooner rather than later.

Many people’s lives are already in a depression. For them, it can’t get much worse. They don’t need the govt telling them that there is a depression, which is another issue.
Based on GDP, economists don’t even agree on exactly what a depression or recession is.
Standard definition of declining stats, but they lie about the stats and then revise the numbers.

When we do have one, most people wont know it, because the current fascination with new terms will be calling it something else. A mild correction, a severe disruption, a conundrum, Irrational exuberance, the terms don’t stop.

87 crash was temporary, not like dot com boom. They must have had some nasty positions.

I don’t recommend highly risky alternatives to paying off a mortgage.

We all have different reasons for doing what we do.

CBAD, I am sorry about what you experienced at a young age.