Your payment was due last Thursday. It's the Tuesday before your mortgage statement is mailed and you just received a letter from your bank letting you know that they've deferred your payment. Yay! Now, what's with this "deferring" talk?

Everyone by now has heard of the mortgage deferral plan that banks are offering clients who have lost their jobs.

Here’s what you may not know: 1) this is NOT a mortgage vacation. If eligible, your bank will tack on up to 6 months' payments to the end of your term while interest continues to pile up, 2) your credit score could take a hit.

A better option: extend the amortization of your mortgage to REDUCE your monthly payments. If you have a 25 year amortization, refinance at 30 years.

Your monthly payment will drop significantly. When you're able to, you can double up payments and make annual contributions to lower the size of your mortgage - extra payments always go directly to your principal.Skipping a mortgage payment is a BAD option that will cause you grief (and a ton of extra interest!) down the road.