And you will find that everything that you do to reduce your dependency on money will have a very liberating effect. This is not always an easy thing to do, and in some cases, the first step might be to consolidate all debt into a lower interest loan, but the goal is to have no debt at all. This means mortgages as well. But you say that mortgages can be an excellent tax write-off. This is true, but either way your going to have to pay either the lending bank or Uncle Sam.
Mortgages are if anything a physiological burden.
It's interesting to note that at present, interest rates are the lowest that they have been in some time and may be lower in the near future. Unless you know that your investment will make more money than the interest rate, you will lose money. It's a calculated risk that people are playing today. Here's an example using an extremely cheap loan. A rate that is probably unrealistic.