Leverage your money to work for you, by considering your budget and being open minded when you are buying or refinancing a home. Every 10k that you finance is about $50 payment swing on your mortgage. You are not getting your bang for your buck when you put more money down. Instead of putting that money down on your house, consider your budget and put that money towards other debt that has a higher interest rate. Look at the value that your Realtor and Lender are bringing to the table, not just interest rate.