1. Model the refinance
Compare the replacement loan against the current mortgage using payment, interest, balance, cost, and horizon assumptions.
Decision journey
Refinance Decision Journey
Enter your current mortgage, the new loan you are considering, the refinance costs, and how long you plan to keep the home. The journey compares the monthly payment change, how long it takes to recover the costs, how much you would still owe, and whether the new loan stretches out your time to repay. Every figure is an educational estimate based on what you enter.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Your refinance view
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
Take any path further
Each calculator shows the math behind the result and flags the tradeoffs to watch.
2. Check break-even timing
Isolate the cost recovery window and compare it against how long the horizon lasts.
3. Compare mortgage scenarios
Rank the current and replacement loans over a shared horizon using true economic cost.
4. Tighten refinance costs
Use closing-cost and points calculators to test whether the cost stack changes the decision.
How this journey works out the numbers
The journey uses the same calculations as the individual refinance calculators. It compares the monthly payment, the interest, the refinance costs, what you would still owe on each loan, and whether any monthly reduction adds up to the costs within the period you enter. When the period you enter fits both loans, it also puts the two loans side by side over that same period.
A lower monthly payment often comes from taking longer to repay. So the main cost signal is the benefit left over after accounting for the difference in what you still owe.
Worked example
Say you owe 300,000 at 7.0% with 300 months left, and you are looking at a new loan at 5.8% over 300 months with 6,000 in total costs. The journey shows the change in your monthly payment, the month when any lower payments would add up to the costs, if they do within the period you enter, and the difference in what you still owe after 84 months.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a refinance offer or mortgage advice?
No. This journey gives educational estimates based on the numbers you enter. It is not advice, an offer, an eligibility check, or a decision from any lender.
Why can a lower payment still look tight?
A lower monthly payment often comes from taking longer to repay, or from rolling the costs into the loan. The journey measures both effects, so you can see the trade-off instead of just the smaller payment.