Philosophically this comes down to 2 questions, do you think you can get a better rate of return by investing, and would you rather be debt free. Paying down/off your mortgage may not have the best potential return, but it is a very safe investment. Sort of like putting money in bonds, to reduce risk and generate income. Paying off a mortgage saves all those interest payments, which is like guaranteed savings!
A couple of years ago, in order for us to live on just my income, I sold some investments and made a big principal payment and re-cast the mortgage. This is a little known way to save big without refinancing- it simply lowers your payment by re-amortizing the loan over the remaining term, at the same rate. I now have 2/3rds the payment, and almost half that is taxes anyway. In my view, paying extra principal monthly only works as 1) forced savings at no interest 2) if you are staying in the house until you pay it off.
Sometimes with investing we lose sight of what we would do if we already had the money. For some people, one answer is pay off the house!
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