Near-term math on not paying off your mortgage before you even sign up for it - please poke holes if you see them!
So, I'm on track to take on roughly a $400K mortgage locked for now at 6.625% . I could put down about $25K more than I plan to, to get me over the 20% down payment threshold, but I did some math and found that it will cost me about $125 per month total, between PMI and additional interest charges, adding back a flat 4% for interest income I could theoretically earn from HYSA minus income taxes. The comfort from the extra $25K cash buffer is worth the cost to me since the house needs some work.
I have no idea what the Fed is going to do this month or this decade, but I am assuming for my calculations no chance to refi any time soon, nor even to float down to a lower rate before closing. Hoping for an easy float down by May 1 but not expecting it.