Extra payments vs refinancing: which number actually drops?

You already have a note. One path is send more principal on that note. The other is replace the note. Those are not the same number, and guessing which one drops your cost is how people stall for months.

Run both. Pick the one that still works for the years you will live there.

What to put in first

Open the Extra Payments tab → https://www.bankpricer.com/mortgage-calculator/?mode=extra-payments.

Balance left. Rate already on your statement. Years left. The extra you can actually send every month without hoping for a bonus. If you only have a lump sum once a year, type that instead of pretending it is monthly.

Read the new payoff date and the interest you do not pay. That is path one.

Then the reset path

Open the Refinance tab → https://www.bankpricer.com/mortgage-calculator/?mode=refinance.

Same balance. Same years you care about. Closing costs. A rate already on a quote, or a public stamp from Rate Watch. Do not use a BankPricer rate from this post. There isn’t one.

Read the new payment and how long until the costs are paid back. That is path two.

How to read the two numbers

Extra on the current note keeps your rate and changes the payoff. Refinance changes the note. A lower monthly with a long break-even can lose to a smaller extra that you can keep sending.

If either path only works because you assume you leave next year, that is the tell. Type the years you still plan to stay when you compare.

What these numbers are not

Not approval. Not a BankPricer quote. Not a reason to upload a Loan Estimate to /leah/ today. That upload is still broken.

Not a HELOC calculator. We do not have a live HELOC tool. If a line of credit is the better fit, talk to Jeff.

Jeff Shin, NMLS 1041652. Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. Chicago. Equal Housing Lender. Not a commitment to lend.