Hello and welcome to Moneygirls quick and dirty tips for a richer life.

Today's topic is a 15 or 30-year mortgage better.

Last week's episode was about paying versus not paying points when you get a mortgage.

An episode 16 was about how to decide on a fixed versus an adjustable mortgage.

This episode is about another important decision you face when selecting a mortgage,

how to decide which loan term is best for you. a went with a 30-year fixed loan. Today, there's a wider variety of mortgage loan types and terms.

You can choose a 15, 30, or 40-year term,

and some lenders offer 20 and 50 year mortgages too.

So how to decide?

A longer term loan such as a 30 or 40 year loan gives you the most flexibility.

The longer

payment,

since you're stretching out repayment over a longer period of time.

And since the monthly payment is lower,

loans with a longer term are easier to qualify for than loans with a shorter term.

When you get a loan, one of the documents the lender is required to give you is a truth in

lending statement.

It's best to take a seat before you look at it because it shows

you the scariest number you'll see on your loan documents. The total amount of the

payments you would make over the life of the loan if you were to keep the loan for the entire term.

The sheer size of the number can be quite a shock.

When I got my first home loan, I was stunned to see that this number was twice as much as the loan amount.

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