The most fundamental aspect of personal finances may be the simple “Rich Dad” addage, “Make sure your assets outweigh your liabilities.” Okay, simple enough.

I also like this little Saturday Night Live skit on eliminating debt that Steve Martin so accurately portrays.

Obiviously there are some things that do require debt. A modest home, a good education, transportation in some cases, and emergency circumstances. I’ll also admit that as an entrepreneur I sometimes find myself stretching the envelope for a start-up business… (I generally chalk it up to the “good education” category.)

There’s an interesting company based in Utah that guarantees to help people payoff their mortgage fast. This company, United First Financial offers a Money Merge account. From what I can gather, it is an investment group where people invest their mortgage money and pay off their principal faster with the returns.

This concept is great, but does offer some concerns. What about the security of that money? What happens if investments don’t pay off, or we suffer another strong recession? Participants in these programs need to make sure that their mortgage money will go towards paying off their principle every month. Some programs may entail a “float”, a period of delay in payments.

There is no question however that proper mortgage finance, such as making an extra yearly payment or carefully participating in mortgage investment opportunities can quickly reduce your debt and accelerate your ability to invest in your own assets. At least you can get some answers to questions you might have at the United First website.