I guess I'm lucky in that I've paid off my mortgage, and I'm living free except for the ongoing utility bills and taxes. When I did have the mortgage, I think I was paying around $500 a month, and that also included taxes and insurance. When I calculated how much I would pay out during the 30 year life of my mortgage, I was shocked. Being a tightwad, I decided that the mortgage company was going to have to survive without profiting from me, so every spare bit of money I had was invested in early payoff. I figure I bought the equivalent of a 30 year investment that paid 11.5% interest.
