More and more experts are agreeing that paying off your mortgage is a better idea in the current economy than refinancing to take out money.  The safest, fastest and most painless ways are listed at Bankrate.com.

They are:
$ Pay More Monthly
$ Get a Shorter Term Mortgage
$ Pay Bi-Weekly
$ Use a Money Merge Account

The key to all of these methods is that you, the homeowner, is in control and not the bank.  Some require more discipline than others, but all are worth a 2nd look.  Maybe 'Nest Eggs' are making a comeback?

A previous article at MSN stated that because mortgages are one of the cheapest forms of money available and the interest is deductible, what's the point?  In fact, at the time of the study in 2007, only 16% of households paid more on their mortgages.  The study also found that a better use of the money would be to put it toward a retirement account due to inflation. A 2010 by CoreLogic found that nearly 28% of all mortgages had less than 5% equity. 22% owe more than their home is worth!

In fact, in 2007 it was noted that only 25% of homeowners held a conventional loan with 20% down and since then that number most definitely has not increased.  The truth is that these loans are the safest. 

Equity definitely means something.  What do you think?