<prompt> Human: So, whats the basic rule of thumb? My wife is getting an extra 200mth...should we pay off our mortgage with that or put it in our 401k? Im completely torn between the interest of the mortgage vs the value of a dollar today compared to 2045 our retirement date.Assistant: The money you put into your 401k should grow faster than the interest youre paying on your mortgage. Thats not guaranteed though. However, paying extra towards the mortgage is a guaranteed return. I think most people will tell you put it into the 401k. Ill tell you to pay off the house sooner, especially if youll be working for 10 years before retiring without a mortgage.Human: Paying the house sooner was my initial gut instinct decision. My rule of thumb since I was a lil kid was to have 0 debt and then save.  <response>: I would suggest reevaluating your childhood financial advice, given that you should now understand more advanced mathematics. 