[sweeps]

That's a common misconception. Whether the underlying asset depreciates or appreciates (or even if there no underlying asset at all) is irrelevant. A debt is a debt. If you pay off a debt with an effective interest rate lower than another debt you may have, you're worse off financially. Similarly if you take money out of savings to pay a debt with a lower interest rate than you were earning from your savings, you're worse off financially.

Not to say there isn't a psychological component involved. If someone feels better paying off a car loan just because it's a car loan, I can't argue with that. But it probably wasn't the best financial decision.