[RockinRight]

Well, that's the way to do it. But, sometimes, people do the best they can with what they have, and if you do it right you can set yourself on a much better financial course.

[Smokin' Joe]

It did not start that way, but thankfully, card rates were pretty low when I needed to use them, I locked in a fixed rate mortgage at 9.1 when that was a really good rate, then got the rate adjusted downward to 7.25 (the lender offered) when I was considering refi. It turned out that paying the standard payment would have cost more to payout refinancing than staying at 9.1 until the existing lender offered the rate change.

A mere 20-50 dollars in extra principal can take a lot off the back end of the mortgage as well, and thankfully, that is something I have done from day one.

If I had it to do over, though, I would have looked far harder at the 15 year fixed rate than I did. Instead, I went with the 30 yr with no penalty for early payout, and expect it will have taken 22 years when done (if all goes well).

The other factor is that I bought about two years after a local housing bubble burst, at one third the former selling price of the house.

Frankly, to have done it right, I could have bought a block of 4 townhouses for less than my primary residence, and had I done that instead, would have doubled my initial investment and paid for my house.

Live and learn.

No matter where you start pick a goal and have a plan (and a plan B) and you will get there.