Posted by Bud Branstetter on March 01, 2001 at 22:21:49:
On the series 7th heaven the oldest girl had gotten herself into a problem. The car dealer and the credit card company both told her they could lower her payment by stretching it out over a longer period of time. You may be able to do the same. By doing a refi you may be able to get a lower rate. This would cut your payment. By reamortizing you also lower your payment. The downside is that the costs are generally added to the balance and makes the payment a bit more. The old adage is to refi if you can save the extra cost in a few years. This means an interest rate about 1 1/2 to 2% lower than you have now. You pay more in the end unless you get your act together and save money in the future to pay it down.