re: 20% down on a house…is it dumb?

You should get quotes on rates for 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% down. See how it moves, or doesn’t move, the needle on your interest rate. When I bought my house, there was a gulf in interest rate between 5% and 10%, but a relatively small gap between 10% and 20%. Further, at 10%, my PMI was quoted at $35/mo. Giving up opportunity potential as well as a chunk of savings security to barely move the interest rate and then save $35/mo for a few years didn’t seem worth it, so I put 10% down. But your mileage may significantly vary, so you need to do your own legwork.