&gt; Find an online interest calculator and see how much interest you pay over the life of a 30 year loan.<p>Then go to a cost of living calculator to see how much the inflation trend of 30 years minimizes that.  The dollars you pay at the start of your loan have much more value than the dollars at the end;  it tends to take quite a bit out of the &quot;sticker shock&quot; of just looking at the &quot;total interest paid&quot; column of an amortization schedule.