<prompt> Human: Background: Age 28. Single, no kids.Annual Income: 140k; Take home: 6.6k per month. Ive been working at this current job for a little over 1.5 years now, and so far its been going okay...Maxed out 401k - 18kyear; I also have 5k in an IRA from 2 years ago which is still with my bank and I havent done anything with it.Zero debt parents paid off my school loans in 2014, and I then helped pay off parents mortgage in 2015Current Savings: 50k in Ally savings account, generating 1 interest.Home Im looking to buy - 2 bed 2 bath condo, 160kCurrent expenditures: 1095 a month on rent, 40month on internet and 30month on phone, 400-500 a month on credit card mostly for food; everything else in my paycheck Ive been putting into my Savings account.Apartment lease will be up at the end of August this year, and Ill need to have bought my home by them. Ill be planning on putting at least a 20 down-payment - which will be taking 32k out of the 50k I have now.Interest rate wont really concern me all this much if Im planning on paying 5k per month towards mortgage and principle to pay it off in 2.5 years. Id be putting the rest 1kmonth into replenishing my Savings until I get back to at least 50k, after which, I might try my hand at that whole investing boglehead-thingys that Ive read about on this subreddit.My question is, is it a good idea to pursue this course of action of paying off a mortgage in 2.5-3 years? The reason Id like be completely debt free by the time Im 30 is because I dont know how stable my position is. Im fairly certain I wont be fired or laid off in the next 2-3 years. So if I can be completely debt free, I shouldnt have to worry even if I do lose my job in 4-5 years down the line.Oh and the reason I want a 2 bed 2 bath is because Id like to rent out the second bedroom to someone, so it can help cover the HOA fees each month and most of the annual property tax.Once I have those things covered, the only expenditures I really have to worry about are just internet and phone, and food.Is this a good plan for my situation, or should I be doing something more optimal in my current situation?Ultimate goal is to reach financial independence by 40.  <response>: Looks like a solid game plan. Keeping the mortgage is high risk, high reward - more volatility in your net worth, but with current interest rates youd end up on average with a higher net worth. Perfectly fine to pay it off early. 