Mortgage: French for Death Bet

Posted By: Dr. Frugal in Loans on 09/12/2007 at 06:01:28

There are many compelling reasons not to get a mortgage--one of the stranger ones (maybe not so compelling) is that in French, mortgage means Death Bet--that the banks are betting that you can pay them back before you die. Since you practically have to pass the President's Physical Fitness test now to qualify, it's assuredly more of a safer bet now than when the term was originally coined.