Does it Make Sense to Pay Your Mortgage Down Early?

Every month, my mortgage company gives me the same offer: Would I like to pay a little extra to lower the debt on my home mortgage? Even small additional payments, made over time, could chop years off the time it takes to repay my home loan, according to the bank.

It always seems like a virtuous, prudent thing to do - but it almost never makes good financial sense, according to a recent breakdown of the numbers in the New York Times.

It turns out that with interest rates so low, relatively few people benefit financially by paying off their home loans early, at least compared to their other options. The rest of us are much better off taking our surplus cash - if we have surplus cash - and investing in something like a retirement account or a health savings account, particularly if that investment is also tax deductible.