Privacy-first refinance math
Find the break-even month, target rate, true savings, and whether a lower payment is actually saving money.
| Year | Current payments | Refi payments | Difference | Current balance | Refi balance | Cumulative savings |
|---|
| Year | Invested | Investment value | Costs remaining | Net advantage |
|---|
A mortgage is usually amortized: each payment covers interest on the remaining balance plus some principal. Early on, the balance is high, so the interest slice is large. Later, more of each payment reduces the loan.
A refinance can lower payment through a lower rate, a longer term, a principal reduction, or rolled-in costs. A lower payment is not automatically a lower total cost, especially when a 26-year remaining loan becomes a new 30-year loan.
Lenders may earn origination fees, closing costs, servicing income, interest over time, or sell the loan. A lower rate for you can still be a profitable new loan for them.
Borrowers can win when interest savings and cash-flow benefits beat closing costs and term reset. Lenders can win by creating, retaining, selling, or servicing a new loan.
Refinancing is not automatically good or bad. The question is whether the savings beat closing costs, term reset, and your expected time with the loan.