My wife told me like a hundred times to look into refinancing our home equity loan. For almost two years she kept bringing it up. And for two years I kept saying yeah yeah, I’ll do it later and then never doing it. Finally did it last month and guess what – she was absolutely right and I wasted so much money being lazy about it.
We got our home equity loan in 2021. Borrowed $48,000 to put an addition on the house – adding a bedroom and bathroom because three kids sharing one bathroom was getting ugly. The rate was 8.9%. Payment was like $520 a month. Seemed fine to me at the time.
My wife started bugging me about it maybe six months after we got the loan. Said she read somewhere that rates were dropping and we should check if we could get better. I brushed her off. Said we just got the loan, refinancing so soon didn’t make sense. She kept bringing it up every few months and I kept putting it off.
Then last Christmas her dad visited. Told him the rate was 8.9%. Her dad made this face like he just ate something bad. You need to refinance home equity loan right now, he said. That rate’s terrible.
Calling Lenders Was Way Easier Than I Thought
I figured I’d have to take time off work, go to multiple banks in person, fill out a million forms. Turns out nope, most of it I did on my phone during lunch breaks.
Called four different places. Two banks, one credit union, one online company. I just told them I wanted to refinance home equity loan, how much I owed, and what my current rate was. They asked some basic questions about income and credit score. The whole conversation took maybe 15 minutes.
First bank offered 7.1%. The second bank offered 7.4%. Credit union came back with 6.8%. Online places offered 6.9% but their website looked kinda sketchy so I didn’t pursue it.
Application Process Was Mostly Just Waiting
Decided to go with the credit union. They needed the usual stuff – pay stubs, tax returns, bank info. I already had most of it saved on my computer from when we did our taxes, so that part took maybe 20 minutes to upload everything.
They scheduled an appraisal. Guy came out on Thursday morning. I had to take off work for like two hours to be there. He walked around inside and outside, took pictures, and measured stuff.
Then just waiting. Underwriting took about two weeks. They came back with some questions about a random charge on my credit card from six months ago. Thought that was weird but I explained it was from a work trip I got reimbursed for. They said okay and moved forward.
How Much Money I Wasted By Waiting
This is the part that makes me mad at myself. About $4,200 of that was interest I paid.
If I’d listened to my wife and refinanced right away when she first suggested it, I could’ve been paying maybe 7% instead. Would’ve saved somewhere around $1,800 in interest over those two years.
But I didn’t listen, so that’s $1,800 basically thrown away. Could’ve used that for a vacation or put it toward the kids’ college funds or literally anything else. Instead I just gave it to the bank for no reason. You need to refinance home equity loan right now, he said.
Why I Kept Putting It Off
Been thinking about why I avoided this for so long. Part of it was just being lazy. Making phone calls and dealing with paperwork sounded annoying.
If someone had told me you’re throwing away $140 every month for no reason, I would’ve acted faster.
And honestly, part of it was dumb pride. My wife kept bringing it up and I kept dismissing it. At some point it became this thing where I didn’t want to admit she’d been right all along. So I just avoided dealing with it. Real mature, I know.
What I Learned About Myself and Money
I always figured I was pretty responsible – pay bills on time, have some savings, don’t overspend. But being responsible also means not leaving money on the table when you don’t have to.
The decision to refinance home equity loan should’ve happened two years ago. But at least it happened eventually.
Signs You Should Probably Refinance Yours
If you’ve got a home equity loan, here’s how to know if you should refinance home equity loan too. First, just check what current rates are. It takes like 30 seconds to Google it. If rates now are more than 1% lower than your rate, you should probably look into refinancing.
If you’ve been paying the loan for a while and your home value has gone up, you might have more equity now. More equity usually means better rates because there’s less risk for the lender.
Talking To My Wife About It Now
She asked why I finally did it. I was honest – told her it took her dad saying the same thing for me to actually pay attention. She rolled her eyes but wasn’t surprised.
Now she brings up other financial stuff and I actually listen instead of brushing it off. She thinks we should look into our car insurance rates. I’m actually gonna call around this week instead of ignoring her for two years like an idiot.
My Advice If You’re Like Me
If someone in your life – spouse, parent, friend, whoever – keeps telling you to look into refinancing, just do it. Making a few phone calls doesn’t hurt anything. Worst case, rates aren’t better and you wasted an hour. Best case, you save thousands of dollars.
Don’t wait two years like I did. Every month you wait is money you’re throwing away if there’s a better rate available.
Stop being stubborn about money stuff. I thought I knew what I was doing and didn’t need to check rates. Turns out I didn’t know what I was doing and should’ve checked rates.
If you’re thinking about whether to refinance home equity loan, just get some quotes. That’s all you have to do to start. Get three quotes, see what rates you can get, compare them to your current rate. It takes maybe two hours total. Don’t be like me and put it off forever.
How Things Are Now
Saving $142 a month feels really good. We’re putting most of it toward extra mortgage principal to pay the house off faster. Some of it goes to fun stuff – went out to a nice dinner last week that we paid for with refinancing savings.
The whole experience of deciding to refinance home equity loan taught me to be less lazy about money stuff and to listen to people who actually know what they’re talking about. Expensive lesson, but at least I learned it.
If you’re in the same boat – got a home equity loan at a rate that’s probably too high – just check it out. Don’t be stubborn like me. Your wallet will thank you and so will whoever’s been telling you to look into it.
