Exactly. My mortgage is at 2.25%, I'd be a fool to pay that off early in the current climate. I am stuck with PMI and I might consider refinancing or something like that in the future but if I can't get the lower rate then it might be worth it to keep paying.

One of the hardest things for me w.r.t. finances is removing the emotional aspect. I don't get worked up about a fee added onto my mortgage because when looking at it over a longer period of time it's insignificant compared to what I can do instead with my money. Like right now I could pay off my remaining student loans without issue but why would I while they sit at 0%? If they restart payments I'll wipe it out and there is a part of me that just wants them gone but it would be an emotional decision not a financial one. Paying off my car early was right on the line and I probably made more of an emotional decision when it came to that but no one is perfect.

You can also eliminate your PMI if you can appraise your home at a price that escapes the difference, so keep an eye on that.

I thought at some point I read that FHA loans don't have that? I'll look more into again in a few years when my house will appraise high enough.

Certain loans (like fha loans) have PMI for life

Is an appraisal enough or is refinancing required?

Check your loan documents, mine have often had a "if valuations go up you can pay for an appraisal when you cross 20% or it's assumed if valuations have gone up enough AND enough time has passed".

Usually it auto-expires when you pass the 20% equity mark based on original sale price.

It's easier with a local lender as opposed to someone who sold off the mortgage, of course.

I'm guessing your mortgage doesn't remove PMI after a certain number of years or 80% LTV?

The greatest vehicle ever for the common man to leverage debt to his advantage.

> Mortgages let you pay 2052 dollars against 2022 prices and that’s under appreciated by the financially illiterate.

Can you please clarify, or point towards additional reading material?