Had a client last year who went for a 15-year refi because the rate looked great on paper. Six months later, their job situation changed and those higher payments got stressful fast. Honestly, I’m with you—being able to throw extra at the principal when you’ve got the cash, but not being locked in, can save a lot of headaches. Life’s just too unpredictable sometimes.
I’ve seen this play out more than once—folks get lured in by the shiny low rate on a 15-year, thinking they’ll just “tighten the belt” for a while. But life’s curveballs don’t care about your amortization schedule. Had a buddy who did the same thing, then his wife’s hours got cut at work, and suddenly that payment felt like a boulder. They ended up dipping into savings just to keep up, which kind of defeated the purpose.
I get the appeal of knocking out the mortgage faster, but honestly, I’m a big fan of flexibility. You can always pay extra when things are good, but you can’t call up the bank and ask for a smaller payment when things get tight. Sometimes the peace of mind is worth more than shaving off a couple years. Just my two cents, but I’d rather have options than be locked in, even if it means paying a bit more interest over the long haul.
I totally get where you’re coming from about flexibility—nobody wants to feel trapped by a big payment, especially when life throws a wrench in the works. But I’ll admit, I’m kind of on the other side of this one. For me, locking into a 15-year was actually the thing that kept me disciplined. If I just had the option to pay extra on a 30-year, I know myself... I’d probably find a million reasons to spend that “extra” money elsewhere. New tires, random Amazon stuff, takeout—whatever.
I guess it depends on your personality and how steady your income is. My partner and I both have pretty stable jobs (knock on wood), so we felt okay taking on the higher payment. And honestly, seeing that principal drop so much faster is super motivating. It’s like watching your credit score tick up after paying off a card—just gives you that little boost.
That said, I’ve seen friends get burned by stretching too far, like your buddy. It’s rough when you have to dip into savings just to make the mortgage. Maybe there’s a middle ground? Some lenders let you recast your loan if things get tight, or you could build up a fat emergency fund before switching to a shorter term.
At the end of the day, I think it comes down to knowing yourself and your risk tolerance. Some folks need that wiggle room, others need the structure. No shame either way. Just gotta be honest about what’s realistic for your situation... and maybe leave some room in the budget for those curveballs.
I hear you on the discipline thing—locking into a 15-year definitely forces your hand. When we refinanced, I debated hard between just paying extra on our 30-year or biting the bullet and going shorter. Ended up refinancing to a 20-year, which felt like a happy medium. The payment’s higher, but not as scary as a 15, and it still shaves off a ton of interest. Honestly, I needed that structure too, otherwise I’d probably just keep “meaning” to pay extra and never actually do it. But yeah, if our jobs weren’t steady, I’d be way more nervous about it.
I get what you mean about needing structure—
That’s honestly my worry with the “just pay extra” approach. But did you factor in the closing costs on your refi? Sometimes I wonder if the interest savings really outweigh all those fees, especially if you might move before the loan’s up. Ever run the numbers on that?“otherwise I’d probably just keep ‘meaning’ to pay extra and never actually do it.”
