When you're confronting a mortgage decision, small rate changes can make big changes in how much house you can afford—or even if you can afford to buy a house at all.

Use this calculator to see if you're better off, over time, with an adjustable rate that might increase (or, given the right circumstances, might decrease) or better off with the stability of a fixed-rate mortgage.

Keep in mind, most people take an adjustable-rate mortgage expecting to sell the house in a few years or planning to refinance to a fixed rate at some point. Talk to a credit union loan officer for information about your mortgage options.

Assumptions: The calculator shows results for mortgage amounts only, excluding any up-front fees and points as well as required payments for property taxes and insurance, and excluding any tax benefits that may result from itemizing deductions.

This calculator is solely for informational purposes and provides reasonably accurate results; the calculations are not intended to be relied upon as actual mortgage payment computations.