WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
I totally get where you’re coming from. When we refinanced a few years back, I got obsessed with those “total interest paid” columns. It’s wild how much you can save on paper. But then I remembered the year our water heater exploded and the same month my kid needed braces. If we’d been locked into a higher payment, I honestly don’t know what we would’ve done.
I’ve always wondered—does it really make sense to tie up so much cash in the house? Sure, the idea of being mortgage-free sooner is tempting, but what about flexibility? Sometimes I think peace of mind is worth more than the numbers say. Have you ever tried making extra payments on a 30-year instead? That’s what we ended up doing. If things get tight, we just go back to the minimum. It’s not as “efficient,” maybe, but it feels safer.
Is it just me, or does life always throw curveballs right when you think you’ve got your finances figured out?
Sometimes I think peace of mind is worth more than the numbers say.
I totally get that. When we built our place last year, I ran every scenario in a spreadsheet—15-year, 30-year, extra payments, you name it. The numbers for a 15-year looked amazing, but the monthly payment was a gut-check. We ended up with a 30-year and just set up auto-pay for a little extra each month. That way, if something big comes up (like our HVAC dying last winter...yikes), we’re not stuck. I like knowing we can dial it back if we need to. Sometimes the “efficient” choice isn’t the most practical one, at least for us.
I hear you, but I can’t help wondering if locking into a 15-year would’ve forced us to be more disciplined. Back when we bought our first house, we went with a 30-year too—figured we’d pay extra when we could. But honestly, life happened (kids, car repairs, random stuff), and those “extra” payments didn’t happen as often as we planned. Sometimes I think if the higher payment was just the default, we’d have made it work somehow. Not saying one way’s better for everyone, but I do wonder if comfort sometimes makes us a little too flexible.
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
That’s a fair point about discipline. I’ve wondered the same thing, honestly. When we built our place, we stuck with a 30-year for the breathing room, but I’ll admit—those “extra” payments rarely happened once the kids started needing braces and the truck needed a new transmission. On the flip side, I’ve seen folks get stretched too thin by a 15-year and end up dipping into savings for every little emergency. Guess it comes down to how much unpredictability you want to build in. Ever try setting up auto-pay for extra principal? Not quite as rigid as a 15-year, but it nudges you in that direction without locking you in.
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
You nailed it about life getting in the way of those “extra” payments. I tried the auto-pay trick for a while—set it to toss an extra $100 at the principal each month. Worked great until we hit a rough patch and I had to dial it back. Honestly, having that flexibility was a lifesaver. The 15-year sounds appealing, but I’d rather have wiggle room when stuff hits the fan. If you can swing extra payments most months, you’re already ahead of the game.
