Being "Debt-Free" is the most expensive advice you’ve ever been given.

Being "Debt-Free" is the most expensive advice you’ve ever been given.

We’ve been taught since the 1980s that a mortgage-free home is the endgame. It’s the ultimate sign of "making it." But after studying the numbers for families across Colorado this month, I realized that for many, that endgame is actually a trap. It’s a 40-year-old strategy that hasn't kept up with the world we actually live in.

I was thinking this morning about how much has changed since I was a kid. In the early 70s, a "high-tech" home had a corded phone and a microwave the size of a dishwasher. We’ve upgraded our phones, our cars, and the way we access information—yet, for some reason, the "Standard Retirement Advice" hasn't moved an inch.

The old rule was simple: Pay off your mortgage as fast as possible, sit on the equity, and hope your savings last longer than you do. In 1982, that was a great plan. But the world has shifted:

• We’re living 15–20 years longer than our grandparents did.

• Our homes have gone from "shelter" to our single largest "trapped" wealth engine.

• Taxes and healthcare costs have become the biggest predators of a fixed income.

Clinging to the "Old Way" often leaves people House-Rich and Cash-Stressed. I’ve spent the last few months looking at why we still treat our home equity like a glass-encased emergency hammer—only to be used when everything else has failed.

Modern tools like the SHAP strategy aren't about "getting a loan." They are about upgrading your financial software. It’s a way to take that "trapped" wealth and turn it into a tax-free safety net today, while you’re still young enough to enjoy the security it provides.

If you wouldn't use a 40-year-old computer to manage your life, why use a 40-year-old debt strategy to manage your future?

I’m curious—especially for my friends in the financial world—do you think the "Pay it off and stay there" advice still holds up in 2026? Or is it time we updated the map?

Which leaves me with a final question, “What am I missing”?

I’ve put together a clinical breakdown of "The Old Map vs. The New Map" for 2026. If you want to see the side-by-side math, comment, and I’ll send you a copy