Wealth and Wisdom: Week of November 17, 2025
- Mike Brown
- Nov 17
- 4 min read
We are hearing about a new way to make life more “affordable,” to use the new buzzword of the day: instead of a 15-year or 30-year mortgage, let’s create a 50-year mortgage. That way, your monthly payments will be much lower and you’ll have more money to spend on groceries and other essential items whose prices are being driven up by tariffs.
Here’s the problem with that logic, as illustrated recently by Barron’s:
A $400,000 mortgage at 6.3% would save you about $280 dollars a month if you spread the payments over half a century instead of 30 years. But you would pay more than $425,000 in interest than with a 30-year loan – which is even more than the amount you’d be borrowing. Plus, you’d have an extra 20 years of monthly mortgage payments to make.
After 10 years, you would have paid off less than 4% of the principal, versus nearly 16% for a 30-year mortgage.
Longer-term loans could lead to even higher home prices, which is the opposite of “affordability.”
Borrowing more money for longer in order to be able to spend more today is no way to build wealth, and it’s no way to lessen the burden of debt. If you are a regular reader of this newsletter – you’re a lot smarter than that.
This week’s first item made me shake my head. And the last one gave me a lump in my throat.
Forgive me for being blunt, this could be one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. (Reading time: 3 minutes)
If you ever want to stop paying double-digit interest rates to credit card companies, you need to make more than the minimum payment each month. (Reading time: 7 minutes)
Make living more affordable with these 8 ideas for spending less – and earning more. (Reading time: 8 minutes)
Generation X and baby boomers have sharply increased their IRA contributions over last year – perhaps in response to the rising cost of living. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
Rebalancing means moving money from investments that have outperformed into those that haven’t. Here’s why that strategy makes sense. (Reading time: 4 minutes)
Use this brief checklist to take advantage of tax-saving opportunities before the end of the year. (Reading time: 3 minutes)
The IRS is making some changes that should save time and confusion when it comes to making qualified charitable distributions this year. (Reading time: 5 minutes)
What to do when too much of your portfolio is concentrated in too few investments. (Reading time: 5 minutes)
More than 6% on average next year for employee plans – and 26% for ACA health insurance plans. And it’s now decision time. (Reading time: 5 minutes)
In his final letter to shareholders as Berkshire Hathaway CEO, the greatest investor looks back – and looks ahead. (Reading time: 15 minutes)
Words to the Wise
“Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless.”
– Warren Buffett, in his Thanksgiving letter to shareholders
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