The purchase price of a home is deceptive. When factoring in the total interest paid over a 30-year mortgage, the actual cost can be nearly double the initial price. For a $500,000 home, an additional $400,000 could be spent on interest alone, dramatically altering the long-term financial reality of ownership.

Purely rational choices, like never paying off a low-interest mortgage, ignore the powerful emotional benefits of security. Housel argues for being "reasonable"—making choices that help you sleep at night and align with your personal psychology, even if they aren't optimal on a spreadsheet.

Common wisdom to rapidly pay off a mortgage is suboptimal. Due to compounding, investing extra cash—even if the return rate merely matches your mortgage interest—will generate significantly more wealth over time. One investment compounds up while the other debt amortizes down, creating a large wealth gap.

The traditional 30-year mortgage for a primary residence is a suboptimal wealth-building tool. A more effective strategy involves securing long-term, non-callable debt to purchase productive, cash-flow generating assets, rather than tying up capital in a personal home.

The "DOLP" (Done on Last Payment) method prioritizes paying off the smallest debt balance first, regardless of the interest rate. This strategy creates quick wins and psychological momentum, making it more effective for sticking to a debt repayment plan.

As Mark Cuban advises, eliminating debt with a 23% interest rate is financially equivalent to earning a guaranteed 23% return on that money. Before seeking gains in volatile markets, the most certain and impactful financial move is to stop paying high interest to lenders, effectively locking in that return.

Contrary to common advice, withdrawing from an IRA and paying taxes to clear high-interest debt offers a guaranteed, risk-free return. This "return" from debt elimination can be financially superior to the potential, yet risky and unguaranteed, returns from keeping the money invested in the stock market.

In the initial years of a mortgage, the vast majority of payments go toward interest, not the principal loan balance. For a $500,000 home, you might pay over $133,000 in interest after five years but only reduce your principal by $26,000, making short-term ownership and flipping unprofitable.

The "renting is throwing money away" argument ignores opportunity cost. When renting is cheaper than a mortgage, the difference can be invested in higher-yield assets like stocks, historically outperforming home equity and creating more wealth over the long term.