Some thougths on paying off the mortgage early

Over at the website Get Rich Slowly the is a posting entitled 'Ask the Readers: Is It Better to Invest or to Prepay a Mortgage?'. The article has tickled my brain. The posting has multiple quotes from different finical gurus layout support for their view on paying off the mortgage early. Right now in my finical life Dave Ramey's advice makes a lot of sense to me.

There are several finical and tax benefits to a mortgage, most along the lines of the value of the house increases over time. The issue at hand suggests we need to look closely at few basic areas: How soon to retirement? What are your post retirement plans? How fast the value of the house is increase in comparision to the mortgage rate? What opportunities are we lossing out on when paying off the mortgage at an accelrated pace? The answer to these questions should lead a person to an acceptable answer.

I personally feel that it is better to get your finical house in order before you tackle the issue of paying off the house. I also think that paying off the mortgage should be near the end of your personal finical plan.