Is now the perfect time to refinance our mortgage? Some experts seem to think so. We plan to pay off our mortgage early, so I’m not sure it makes sense in our situation.
However, if you have a rate over 5.5% or so, it might make sense for you to consider refinancing to a lower rate, particularly if you have excellent credit and could qualify for a rate in the 4.2-4.5% range. It would probably shave a couple hundred dollars a month off your mortgage, depending on how much you’d have to borrow. Is this something you’r currently considering?
It’s been a while since I did a roundup, but I’ve run across a few excellent articles and a couple new-to-me sites over the last couple weeks and thought I’d share them with you.
The Frugal Roundup
Reader Story: Winning the Lottery. Nice to hear a story about someone receiving a windfall and not blowing it entirely. (@Get Rich Slowly)
Building Wealth Using Dividend-Paying Stocks. Tyler shares his thoughts on building wealth the slow and steady way – by investing in dividend stocks. I’m a big fan of this strategy as well, but I’m waiting on a more significant pull-back to begin investing again. (@Debt Reckoning)
4 Personal Finance Principles That Would Make Your Grandfather Proud. Thoroughly enjoyed this guest post from Baker. I often stop and asked myself – what would my grandfather do – when making financial decisions. (@Art of Manliness)
Tips for Buying Second Hand Furniture from Thrift Store/Yard Sales. A couple years ago we found a nice leather loveseat with a working reclining feature at a yard sale. (@Balancing Beauty & Bedlam)
Ready to Invest: Types of Stock Orders. Know the difference in a market order and a limit order, and when to use one over the other? If not, read this post, which provides a nice summary of the two types of stock orders. (@The Wisdom Journal)
Frugal Fatigue. We’ve all experienced this at one time or another. I’ve found the best remedy is to budget a small splurge (with cash) and then get back after it the next month. (@Dividend Mantra)
One final note…the Frugal Dad Facebook page is approaching 3,000 fans. If you haven’t “Liked” us yet, please drop by and follow us there as well.