Is it smart to pay off home mortgage early? - 2004-03-23
We have a year-old, 15-year mortgage charging 4.99 percent, with a balance of $82,000. We would like to pay down the loan off early and can afford an extra $300 a month. Would it be advantageous to put that into extra principal payments or to invest it until we have enough to pay off the entire loan?

If you put an extra $300 into your mortgage every month, you'd reduce the principal, or remaining debt, extra fast.
Read the full story at Billings Gazette

Fed chief endorses mortgage debt - 2004-03-23
U.S. homeowners have accumulated a record $6.82 trillion of mortgage debt as real estate values surged in the past decade and have borrowed against their homes for spending money.

As borrowing costs rise, mortgage payments may jump for households with adjustable-rate loans, causing delinquencies, Shiller says.
Read the full story at Allentown Morning Call