Everyone who owns a home should budget to pay it off in fifteen years, with the goal to pay it off in even less. If we can’t afford to make fifteen-year payments, maybe we should rethink how affordable it is. The interest paid on a typical thirty-year note is 250% more than what we pay in fifteen years. That means most people are surrendering hundreds of thousands of dollars to the lender in interest that could otherwise be enjoyed or invested.
