<prompt> Human: I know this sounds like a weird question, but I have been in a bit of a debate with family members regarding what to do with inheritance and my mortgage. Without going into huge detail, here is a rundown of where I am at.My mom died in August. I inherited the following: a house which is being sold for around 95k profit, 44,000 in an inherited IRA, and 25,000 in cash. I currently have 13.5 years remaining on a 15-year mortgage at 3 interest. I have around 110,000 remaining on the mortgage balance. Paying off my mortgage in its entirety would cut my monthly housing payment from 1,500 to 600 still need to pay condo fees and taxes monthly. My wife and I have a baby on the way in January. Money is already tight as-is with our current expenses.I think it makes sense to pay off the mortgage and free up the 900 a month. Some of the extra 900 a month would be absorbed by new child expenses. The rest I would invest.My uncles both think that paying off the mortgage is not the best use of the money. They say that I can generally beat 3 in the stock market without assuming too much risk. They also argue that people tend to fall for the trap of taking the newfound money from each month in my case 900 and increasing their spending, intentionally or otherwise, and end up not investing the money as originally promised. They also are saying that tying up almost all of my inheritance into one asset the condo is not a great idea.I see their point, but also really like the idea of not having a mortgage!Thoughts?  <response>: I am in a similar position, uGetThereThenRest: I have a toddler, a spouse, and a mortgage payment. If I were in your position, Id pay off the mortgage for a very straightforward reason- you cant live in a stock portfolio. Id consider the risk, and the value of having my home almost 100 paid off is, to me, much higher than the risk Id have to take to get a few more points of return on an investment portfolio. Id take a slightly lowered rate of return if it meant that, in a world where I was suddenly without a paycheck or had an unplanned expense pop up, I could be sure that my family had a place to sleep. Yes, you could, in that circumstance, sell your stocks, make payments then, etc. But the market is likely overdue for a downturn, and what if everything you bought is now down 20, etc.? Its up to you, but I dont have that kind of stomach yet. Id rather invest in the security of a house. Theres one thing that I havent seen mentioned, and thats the potential rental income from this house once its paid off. Paying off your mortgage is an investment, just one that pays off in a different fashion. It has lower returns, but a lot lower risk, and owning a rental property that you can use as equity on a bigger house later, a second income stream, or just to keep your costs down... those are prosperous options. 