When you think “refinancing,” there are probably two basic scenarios that come to mind. One is the possibility of refinancing your mortgage to lower your house payment or secure temporary cash to invest in home repair or improvements without adding to your monthly debt. The other is an overall debt consolidation of some sort – taking out one large personal loan to pay off credit cards and other debts in exchange for a single, lower monthly payment and hopefully a better interest rate and more manageable terms.
These are both completely valid refinancing scenarios and have proven useful to many people in many different situations. But they’re not the only time you might consider refinancing. Besides, you may have a great interest rate on your home and it would be counterproductive to rock that boat. You may have your monthly bills under control and don’t need to get too carried away with how you’re handling them.
But how are those car payments looking these days? Are you wishing you’d managed to negotiate a better price or lower interest rate? Regretting taking on that second or third payment before the first one was completely paid off? Maybe your financial situation has changed and you need to lower your monthly payments. Maybe your credit rating has improved and you qualify for a better interest rate or other terms now. Or maybe you took advantage of some sort of promotional dealer financing that looked great for the first few months and then the small print kicked in and it suddenly didn’t look so great anymore.
Auto refinancing is a valid option whatever your situation. It’s not for everyone in every situation, but it’s worth looking at long enough to decide whether or not it’s right for you right now.