Mortgage Tricks

In response to a recent article. Btw the image is from the "4-Hour Workweek", see the hammock does exist in real life.

To bad the uber frugal guy in the video is on the verge of being a 40 yr old virgin cause he drives a geo metro.

But in all seriousness… I think the bi-monthly payments is a powerful idea that works for the majority of folks since it works on the same principal as why the government withholds our taxes in each pay check. Personally I gave it some thought but decided not to do it since I like to be able to forecast 1-3 years ahead incase my situation changes; I do not like the idea of seeing the year end numbers and 2000 dollars magically disappearing and getting siphoned into my mortgage. If you need to be tricked into putting more into your mortgage that's a red flag and that's my plug for personal accountability.

The other suggestion was to do a 15yr as opposed to a 30yr loan. I’ve seen some graphs where they compare the 15 yr loan to a 30yr interest rate with 15 year payment amounts and the way I see things you aren’t gaining much (10k-30k over the life of the loan). I am an advocate for the 30 yr mortgage with larger 15yr type payments even at a high interest rate since you gain the flexibility incase shit hits the fan. Yea you get less interest over the life of the loan but I think the peace of mind you get from knowing you can make the 1300 payment as opposed to 1500 a month for example is worth it and I like to sleep well at night.