Yes, It's possible to pay off your mortgage- this really doesn't take that long. Is it possible to pay off your ship's mortgage? Make extra payments/pay off early so you own it free and clear, and can earn more income on individual missions? I haven't tried any combat yet so can't comment on that. I still put this as a plus as it gives you incentive to find good routes/mission combos. Each jump/planetary landing takes one in game day and you have a daily payment to make on your mortgage. One thing to keep in mind, you have a mortgage on your ship. Actually in the shuttle it was figure out the best commodity to trade every four jumps and go. Then figure out the best commodity to trade at your destination and go. Find a good passenger mission that you have bunk space for.
This is how I was playing and it worked out great. Cargo space is separate from crew space so you can take passenger missions and run cargo at the same time. Blue is low ranging up to yellowish for high. The map also gives you a relative difference in price for each commodity. Either that or it is showing you the current price, not sure yet. It appears to show the last price you saw for a commodity at any place you have been.
You can set a route and will automatically jump as long as you have fuel. I've been camping for the last few days so I may have forgotten a few things but will try to list the things I found helpful over EV.
