<prompt> Human: House appraised for 350k last week and its paid off. House is two family that pays 15kyr rent, which I havent raised in 5yrs. TaxesInsuranceWater for the house is 6k.Health insurance seems to be the big obvious problem.Assistant: You have 200k in debt and a 300k net worth? You could retire now if you could live on 9,000 a year.Human: I have 200k in an HELoC that I havent used.If I make it to 70-80yo its a way for me to eat each day, although my bank might own my house when I finally go. Assistant: So the 200k HELOC is irrelavent. Having credit doesnt mean youre in a better situation to retire.Human: An HELoC can replace a reverse mortgage if you want to live off the equity stored in your house and arent worried about passing the house off in an inheritance.If the housing market crashes I could use 200k to buy another two-family in my city outright and then live off three rental incomes.Having 200k of credit available, particularly when backed up by a paid off house, is not a bad thing.  <response>: It is a useful tool. Just keep in mind that a lot of banks froze a lot of HELOCs back in 2008 when the real estate market crashed and credit got tight. HELOCs tend to go away at the exact time that a lot of people need them to make ends meet. 