When Should You Refinance Your Home Mortgage? | Refi Now or Wait? – EP 556

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It’s all over the news! Rate cuts are going lower and lower and you might be panicking and pressured whether to do it now or later. Jen and Jill dug into the news, cut through the speculation, and crunched the numbers so that we can help you decide whether you should refinance now or wait for possible lower rates.

Don’t wait in anticipation, take advantage of it.

Home Refinance vs. Mortgage

Jen defines how home refinance differs from a mortgage. She explains that refinance is getting a new home mortgage at a lower rate to pay off the old one at a higher rate. As long as your credit allows, you can refinance over and over again.

And since the recent news are all about rate cuts, they foresee that it may even lower before the end of 2025, so for those who are considering whether to go for it now or later, Jen and Jill did a mini economic lesson for you to understand things better.

Should you refinance?

Jill reminds that the three biggest ways to save money is through making smart money moves in your housing, transportation, and food because cutting costs in these areas makes a much bigger impact than small discounts ever could.

Since housing usually takes up the largest amount of your monthly budget, Jen and Jill both see to it that refinancing your mortgage is one of the best ways to save if you’re a homeowner. Because this approach can provide you a lot for your overall savings.

The Red Flags of Refinancing and What to Do

They also warn that a “no-cost” refinancing skips closing costs but raises your interest rate, which only makes sense if you’ll sell or refinance again soon. And cashing out your equity or restarting a 30-year mortgage might feel helpful now, but they often cost you more in the long run.

Therefore, what Jen recommends being on your action steps is to schedule an afternoon in December or January and use any AI tools or ask a financial planner for help with the math and any questions you have. While Jill adds that you look for a percentage lower, shorter term on mortgage when you refi and do the math. Ultimately, refinancing of 1% or more can save you significantly, so don’t keep waiting and take advantage of it.

Mortgage or refinance stories?

Jen shared how her last mortgage on March 16, 2022, led to buying two houses and how in the end, it all worked out for the best. Jill, on the other hand, hasn’t refinanced before but has bought and sold a home and has her own story about locking in interest rates.

Bill of The Week

Thank you Katia for sharing your bill about a set of pots for $9.

Thanks so Much for Listening!

Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews of our book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke and we especially loved this one from:

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Much deeper than just a discussion of money

I’ve been a fan of the podcast for a couple of years and was excited to finally get ahold of this book. It’s got such great ideas, and really broadens the discussion of finances. It really meets you where you are and allows you to take a shame free look at how your life currently stands, where you want it to be, and how your relationship to money may be influencing that divide. And of course, it was such a fun read! I loved the infusion of anecdotes from both Jen and Jill throughout the book. Looking forward to doing a deeper dive with the free tools they’ve created to accompany the book!!

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