finecur writes:

Hi, I was suggested by friends to switch my monthly mortgage payment
to biweekly. I thought it was a good idea. But after a little
research, it does not make sense to me. First, my lender charge $375
for setup. Second, you pay 26 times, it is the same amount of 13
monthly payment. Third, it saves you very little ( a few dollors every
month ) for the first a couple of years.

My conclusing is that if you payoff or refinance in 5 years, it does
not make sense at all. It would be better to just pay 13 monthly
payments every year. Or, like what I prefer to, pay 108% of the
monthly payment every month. The addtion 8% goes to the pricinpal.

Any ideas?

You already got it -- if you want to pay down your mortgage faster,
just go ahead and prepay your existing mortgage instead of paying fees
to refinance.

If you get paid on a weekly or biweekly schedule, instead of monthly,
a biweekly mortgage can make budgeting a little easier. But you can
also just plan your "normal" monthly budget on 2 biweekly paychecks,
and in the occasional months where you get an extra paycheck, set the
entire amount aside for investing, paying down mortgage or other debt,
or saving for "special" expeditures like annual vacation, rather than
normal household expenses.

-Sandra