When financial adviser Spencer Sherman found himself crossing a police line to retrieve his work files from a burning office building, he realized he had money madness. He noticed it in his clients, too: irrational feelings about money that made otherwise rational adults behave foolishly—buying high, selling low, over-spending, equating their self-worth with their net worth, etc. Money madness can cause stress, poison relationships, and keep people from making as much money as they can.

In his new book, The Cure for Money Madness, Sherman offers ways to break bad money habits, live without financial stress, and make more money. But one of the most interesting points he makes is about home mortgages...

“Another reality about having a mortgage is its real financial benefit—the automatic month-by-month savings structure that a mortgage creates for you. It’s like putting part of your allowance into a piggy bank—and knowing you’ll pay forfeit if you don’t. Over time, as that savings piggy bank—the equity in your home—gets fatter and fatter, you have it to fall back on. It’s your emergency stash in a crisis. It’s your collateral for a home equity loan, if needed. If and when you sell the house in your later years and move to a less expensive place, it’s money in the bank for your retirement....For those who just can’t cure their money madness and save anything, my standard recommendation is: Buy a house, and take out a mortgage to do it.”