<prompt> Human: Hey everyone so every time I see a post on here that is something like, I have X what should I do? the common advice is pay off the car but why? I would rather have the cash readily available to spend on whatever I want and make a monthly payment vs having most of my cash in the car which I cant really use.  <response>: If your goal is to have the cash available, then dont pay off your car, put it in a short term savings account that you can access whenever you want.If your goal is to maximize the performance of your money, pay off your car in a way that minimises both your interest, and any early termination fees. 