If you had to...?

[daylatedollarshort]

On the mortgage or not front, the only true expense is the interest. Paying down principal does not change a household's net worth. And even then the only net outflow is the spread between the after tax mortgage rate compared to the after tax rate of return of alternative investments. If rates go down from recent historic lows, retired homeowners with fixed rate mortgages can refinance again or pay off the mortgage, if they go up then they can pocket the spread for decades into the future.

[Teacher Terry]

Using those parameters we could if we had too. When we were young $ was very tight so I know how to be frugal but I certainly would not want to do that in retirement. Not going out and not traveling, etc would not be my idea of a fun retirement. Ugh!