<prompt> Human: Im 26, bought a house last month. Im curious if it is better to keep contributing a decent amount to my 401k every paycheck, or cut back on that and use the extra money to pay off my 30 year mortgage a bit faster.Ive been paying 15 of my paycheck before taxes to my 401k and the company quit any matching several years ago. My mortgage rate is 4.275.Is the 401k going to make me more money than paying off the mortgage faster saves me money?  <response>: It depends on your loan principle amount, and the nature of your 401k investments. As pup... said, it depends on your optimism regarding the future performance of your retirement holdings. You really need to get out a calculator and do some scenarios juxtaposing your loan balance against various return percentages on the investments. Most importantly, dont forget to factor in compounding, as in retirement accounts that is one of the most valuable aspects... the years the money has to grow. 