>>>Which is why I didn't really get down and, ahem, do the math; I just eyeballed the saving (a singular saving - rare thing nowadays!) at about $20K in paying that mortgage in 33 months. Add a few thousand for the extra insurance we'd have to pay had we not been able to make 20% down payment. Now anyone calculate how many hours of work, at their own rate, would it take to earn this money, and what would it have bought, had I paid?
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>>If you can pay off a mortgage in 33 months, sure, it makes great sense. Most people can't do that.
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>Not most, but many people can. They are just too complacent and have bought into the propaganda (aka advertising) so they never think of the total interest they will pay, only of the size of this month's payment, and how much money remains in their pockets until the next check. If they can keep their pampered lifestyles while being in debt, fine - let the interest pile up, we don't care.
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>But how hard can the calculation be? We're programmers, we should know this.
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>?1.0525**15
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>Gives 2.1544 - meaning that $100, with interest of 5.25%, would accrue $115.44 interest over fifteen years. Which then means that anything paid over the calculated installment saves you 1.15 times as much in interest that will not be charged over the next 15 years; 1.04 over 14 years (i.e. whatever you pay extra in the 2nd year) etc. Anyone can calculate interest, it's not quantum rocketology.
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>But people are lazy and gullible (which is the same - lazy to think).

I really don't think that's the issue at all. Most people simply don't have enough savings to pay off a mortgage that quickly.