Just a 46-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Drama Llama (DL). I am married to Monkey Hubby (MH). & Be Greedy when others are fearful.
That pretty much sums it up right now.
**15-year mortgage at 2.25%
**London non-stop flights $350 (round trip) from San Francisco
I'll run the mortgage #s this weekend, but seems a no-brainer at this point. Even with our only 5-ish years timeline in our current home. Heck, if we were further along on the college process I'd maybe even cash out some. (I am not participating in scammy student loans. Borrowing close to 2% for college without all the "student loan" red tape is another story). But it's too early, it's still very likely MM(16) will pick a college that costs pennies.
We are probably going to lock in some airfare this weekend (planned trips to Austin and Orlando). We may also consider some unplanned trips.
Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy...
March 6th, 2020 at 03:52 pm
March 6th, 2020 at 04:53 pm 1583513625
March 7th, 2020 at 02:27 pm 1583591226
March 9th, 2020 at 03:15 pm 1583766911
Not ready to refinance--we're about to launch into a kitchen reno which will probably affect our valuation--but it's good to know those rates are lower right now.
April 2nd, 2020 at 07:38 pm 1585856292
April 3rd, 2020 at 02:43 pm 1585925037
{I personally don't want my loan to be sold all over the place, so that is mostly what I look for. In the old days I chose banks who didn't sell their loans. I last refied with my credit union which has been *amazing* and so since they were willing to give me 2.5% 0-points with a reasonable cost, I prefer to just stick with them. I did not shop around.
Managing debt is so much more to me than just "interest rates". If I have to have this massive red tape, I want it to at least be with a sane lender and to make it as uncomplicated as possible. But that's just me personally}.
In general, the longer you stay in your home, and/or the bigger the mortgage balance, and/or the bigger the interest rate drop, the more lucrative a refinance is. I've never had a mortgage more than $200k-ish so I expect bigger loan balances to greatly magnify interest rate savings. $200k x1% =$2k interest saved in Year 1. $400k x1% =$4k interest saved in Year 1. It gets more substantial very quickly.
That said interest rates are rising right now (due to high demand) and I would definitely keep an eye on it but maybe wait a bit. Unless you can drop 1%+ today. I locked it in because I am too much of a "one bird in the hand is better than two in the bush" personality. & also interest rates were insane low the day I locked in. Interest rates have bounced up significantly since. Everyone expects rates to drop eventually, once the smoke clears from this refi stampede. Eventually unemployment will also affect how many people can refi. Which would be a reason to wait if you have steady employment or to rush to refi while you have income. You can't refinance if you don't have the income to support the loan.
April 3rd, 2020 at 03:01 pm 1585926077
If I had to add +$100/month or +$200/month I probably would still not be comfortable with the 15-year. It's not a matter of affording it or current budget, but just that it makes me uncomfortable if we had to go through a period of unemployment. It's worth noting as we enter a period unprecedented economic uncertainty. I wouldn't fault anyone for being careful and keeping the 30-year loan. In fact, it may be prudent and wise to stick with the 30-year.