<prompt> Human: Because my homes value has risen by 15 since I last refinanced with 20 equity, does it make sense to pull out the difference so that I can maximize my 401k, IRA, and HSA contributions? I found this article which basically says, it depends, and some financial gurus recommend against it. What does Reddit say?  <response>: Oof, I guess Ill be the somewhat dissenting opinion here. Though there are a lot of unknowns about your situation, in general, I would certainly consider doing this. It all depends on the effective rate of your mortgage and you personal expectation about market returns. Yes, you want a paid off house at retirement. But if the market does better than your mortgage rate, at some point the amount extra youre shifting into retirement accounts will be enough to pay off the mortgage and thensome.Tax-advantaged space is very limited. Meanwhile, 20 years down the road, if you keep the same mortgage, the payment in light of inflation will look much smaller, youll be further in your career, and while you can overpay your mortgage then, you cant get that tax advantaged space back.That said, what kind of rate can you get on a cash-out refi right now? My personal threshold for taking on extra mortgage debt is around 4 and I think rates are passing that now. But, thats just my personal number.Your house is part of your overall portfolio, and you need to decide what level of risk youre willing to take. Home equity is considered by many to be a nice low-risk part of their portfolio to balance out more volatile investments, though many people dont articulate that and do an analysis and make a conscious decision about how much of their portfolio they want it to be.So, what Im saying isnt go for it. Its that you should sit down, take a holistic look at your financial situation, and decide what risks are appropriate for you, which is something only you can decide. 