[slfnflctd]

Paying off your mortgage virtually eliminates your chances of ending up homeless, and absolutely drastically reduces those odds in the near term. This is at the foundational layer of Maslov's hierarchy of needs. I'd expect the impact on one's daily sense of well being to be massive.

Paying off your medical debt might improve your credit score over a long period of time, assuming you have other things going for you in that area. People who are worried about becoming homeless generally do not give a single shit about their credit scores. Having good credit one day is an aspirational thing for probably the majority of humans, closer to the 'optional' upper layer of Maslov's model.

[Avicebron]

I like how a foundational layer of maslov's hierarchy of needs is just something we shrug off as unattainable to many, but god forbid we discourage people from chasing profits at the expense of all else