Those who are refinancing to a 30 year fixed in the 4% range should feel that the gift they are being given, a low interest rate, is best used by allowing more of the payment to go to the principal (reducing it) and allowing you to pay additional monies to speed the process. Unfortunately, too many look at the new loan payment and see more disposable income and we have seen what that has done for most borrowers with this thought in the last few years. Not much!
There are a few who take great pleasure in "strutting their stuff" with a loan in the 4% range. The problem is that no two borrowers look at, or need, the same type of loan. Telling someone that you just landed a 4.25%, 30 year fixed, won't be well received especially if the listener just took a 10 year fully amortized loan. Bragging about your new 15 year loan at 4.125% will fall on deaf ears when speaking to people who just entered into a reverse mortgage. Most important is the truly sophisticated homeowner who has found a way to pay off his loan and looks cross-eyed at anyone bragging about any type of loan as they don't have one on their house at all!
Whatever loan you choose, make sure you have an exit strategy other than selling the house. Whether your loan is $4.4 million or $240,000, it needs to be paid back. If you get it done while you are working, your life will be easier and your retirement will be even better. Entering the "golden years" without that yellow commodity will find it less fulfilling, more stressful and not exactly what you had in mind.
While devising your plan, remember that a $300,000 loan, regardless of the amortization, takes $300,000 to pay it back. All of the extra money you will spend on your loan is interest, which grows ever larger the longer the loan. The few extra dollars you will need a day, a week or a month, can save a lot more than you will be spending if you can budget yourself to be able to take a shorter amortization. The low interest rates today should make the future much brighter if you use them correctly. Best of all, you can surprise the government and actually pay something back!