I tell all my kids (in their 20's) to NEVER get a 30 year mortgage UNLESS they make payments like its a 5, 10 or 15 year mortgage. 30 year mortgage (that took us 22 years to pay off) was one of the STUPIDEST things we have ever done financially!
We do exactly that. We have a 30 year fixed, but we we pay bi-monthly, and we pay more than is necessary on each of the bi-monthly payments. I could save a few bucks by having a 15 or 20 year mortgage, due to the slightly lower rate. For me, I prefer the flexibility of the 30 year mortgage, because if I circumstances dictated, I could always just start paying the actual payment amount. I pay enough extra to offset the difference of the 15 or 20 year mortgage rate, and invest the rest of the $$ that I could otherwise use to pay off my house. It's worked well for me thus far.
