04 · REFINANCE

Don’t refinance because rates moved.
Refinance when the numbers make sense.

A lower rate may help. But payment, closing costs, points, loan term, equity, mortgage insurance, and how long you plan to keep the mortgage determine whether the strategy actually works.

RUN MY REFINANCE NUMBERS BOOK MY REFINANCE GAME PLAN

REFINANCE COMMAND CENTER

Current mortgage vs. proposed refinance.

Start with the numbers you know. You can go deeper without losing your work.

CURRENT MORTGAGE

Where you are now

Current Loan Balance

Current Interest Rate

Current Principal & Interest Payment

Remaining Term

years

PROPOSED REFINANCE

What you are comparing

Proposed Interest Rate

Proposed Loan Term

years

Estimated Refinance Costs

PLANNING HORIZON

How long will this loan matter?

How long do you realistically expect to keep this home or mortgage?

LIVE DECISION READOUT

MODELED VERDICT

LOWER PAYMENT — LONGER PAYOFF

The modeled payment improves, but the proposed loan adds time back to the repayment clock.

CURRENT MORTGAGE$2,729Monthly principal, interest

PROPOSED REFINANCE$2,518Monthly principal, interest

MONTHLY DIFFERENCE$211 LOWER

THE BREAK-EVEN TEST

How long until the refinance pays for itself?

ESTIMATED BREAK-EVEN43 MONTHSAbout 3 years and 7 months.

YOUR EXPECTED HORIZON5 YEARS

BREAK-EVEN OCCURS WITHIN YOUR PLAN

Based on the assumptions entered, the estimated refinance costs may be recovered before the time horizon you selected.

YOU’RE ADDING TIME BACK TO THE CLOCK

CURRENT LOAN27 YEARS REMAINING

PROPOSED REFINANCE30 YEARS

TIME ADDED+3 YEARS

A lower payment can come partly from extending repayment over more years. Compare the payment change against the new payoff timeline before deciding whether the strategy actually improves your goal.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

MONTHLY CASH FLOWImproves by $211

BREAK-EVEN43 months

TIME HORIZON5 YEARS

LOAN TERMAdds 3 years

CLOSING COSTS$9,000

TOTAL INTEREST$17,388 less

Better cash flow now. Longer payoff later.

WHY DID THE PAYMENT CHANGE?+

RATE EFFECT

The lower proposed rate helped reduce the payment.

TERM EFFECT

Extending the repayment period also reduced the monthly payment.

FINANCED-COST EFFECT

Rolling transaction costs into the loan increased the proposed balance.

YOUR 5-YEAR TRADEOFF+

Modeled net position+$8,388

Current-loan interest$141,234

Refinance interest$123,846

Current balance after horizon$377,494

New balance after horizon$381,749

Educational estimates only—not a loan quote, approval, or guarantee. Taxes, homeowners insurance, escrow changes, prepaid items, and program-specific requirements are not included unless stated.

BOOK MY REFINANCE GAME PLAN

02 · DEBT CONSOLIDATION REALITY CHECK

Would consolidating this debt actually help?

Compare what you’re paying now with what the new strategy would really change.RUN MY DEBT NUMBERS

STEP 1

What do you owe now?

Tell us what you owe.

DEBT 1

DEBT TYPE

BALANCE

INTEREST RATE

MONTHLY PAYMENT

DEBT 2

DEBT TYPE

BALANCE

INTEREST RATE

MONTHLY PAYMENT

STEP 2

What are you considering?

AMOUNT TO CONSOLIDATE

PROPOSED INTEREST RATE

PROPOSED TERM

years

ESTIMATED COSTS

STEP 3

Here’s the difference.

CURRENT MONTHLY PAYMENTS$950

→

NEW ESTIMATED PAYMENT$250

MONTHLY CASH FLOW IMPROVEMENT$700

CURRENT PAYOFF TIMELINE4y 4m

NEW PAYOFF TIMELINE20y 0m

ESTIMATED INTEREST DIFFERENCE+$13,961

STEP 4

Here’s the catch.

BETTER CASH FLOW NOW. MORE INTEREST OVER TIME.

The payment improves, but the estimate adds 15y 8m and $13,961 of interest.

TIME ADDED · +15y 8m

YOU MAY BE MOVING UNSECURED DEBT ONTO YOUR HOME.Credit-card and personal-loan balances may be unsecured. Mortgage debt is secured by your home. A lower payment does not erase the debt—it changes how the debt is structured.

What should I know before I do this?

SECURED vs. UNSECURED +

Consumer debt may be unsecured. Mortgage financing is secured by your home, so the risk structure changes.

PAYOFF TIMELINE +

A lower payment can result from extending repayment over more years. Compare both the payment and the payoff date.

INTEREST COST +

Estimated interest depends on the balances, rates, payments, and terms entered. Revolving-debt behavior can change the outcome.

THE DEBT NEEDS TO STAY GONE +

THE STRATEGY ONLY WORKS IF THE DEBT STAYS GONE. Paying off revolving balances through mortgage financing does not solve the problem if those balances are rebuilt afterward.

SHOW ME THE NERDY DETAILS +

TOTAL CURRENT DEBT$30,000WEIGHTED AVERAGE RATE17.9%ESTIMATED CURRENT INTEREST$12,483ESTIMATED NEW INTEREST$26,444TRANSACTION COSTS$3,500CONSOLIDATED BALANCE$33,500

These results are planning estimates only—not guaranteed savings, financial advice, approval, loan terms, a Loan Estimate, or a commitment to lend. Actual rates, terms, credit, equity, costs, property value, program guidelines, and borrower behavior may change the outcome.

BOOK MY DEBT CONSOLIDATION GAME PLAN

Don’t refinance because rates moved.Refinance when the numbers make sense.

Current mortgage vs. proposed refinance.

Would consolidating this debt actually help?

Don’t refinance because rates moved.
Refinance when the numbers make sense.