Taking a Closer Look Before Refinancing: Why We Decided to Wait

December 17, 2025

Since auto loan rates have finally started coming down, we decided to check out our refinancing options to see if we could lower our monthly payment. It sounded promising at first, but once we started running the numbers, it became pretty clear it wasn’t worth jumping on just yet.

What’s funny is that in the past, we probably would have jumped on it. If we saw the rate drop even 1%, we would’ve rushed to refinance without really thinking it through. But after doing Project Money, we’ve learned to slow down, look at the full picture, and actually do the math instead of getting swept up in the idea of “saving.” It’s made us a lot more intentional about our decisions.

So, this time, we got a few soft quotes and compared them to our current loan. Even with the slightly better rate, our monthly payment would only go down by about four dollars. A lower payment is always nice, but not exactly a game-changer. Especially when a hard credit inquiry would be required to actually lock in the rate.

We also looked at the bigger picture: total interest saved over the rest of the loan. And that number came out to only about $200. Not bad, but not life-changing and definitely not enough to justify the credit hit.

In the end, we decided to wait. If rates keep dropping, we may revisit refinancing later when the savings are actually meaningful. For now, sticking with what we have just makes the most sense.