Coronavirus Cash Crisis: Should I refinance my personal loans?
"You can refinance a private loan into a new private loan to take advantage of the lower rate. So if you have higher-interest rate private loans, before you target them for extra payments, see if you can't refinance them at a lower interest rate. That may be a more effective way of saving you money," said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of research for Savingforcollege.com.
"Interest rates have come down quite a bit, so individuals should be looking to refinance. And that's not just for mortgages: Go look about refinancing, potentially, your cars. ... See if you can work with the credit card companies on lowering the interest rates on those credit cards, or transfer those credit card balances to another company that might have a more advantageous interest rate," said Andrew Smith, the chief investment officer for Delos Capital Advisors.
"But the fact is this is a rapidly changing economic environment. And if in two weeks you no longer have a job, how are you going to feel if you have to pay a huge lump sum and closing costs because you refinance? So it's really just important to weigh all of the options. ... But also make sure you're taking into account the fact that things could change for your personal financial circumstances at any moment," said Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez, a personal finance author.
