Many homeowners race to refinance their mortgage when interest rates plummet.  They search, based purely on the rate being as low as possible, but miss the big picture.  A home mortgage is typically the most influential financial transaction that individuals make in their lifetime and when I say influential I mean can have far reaching impact on your flexibility and quality of life. While price is important, the most important aspect is how it fits into you life plan. If it is affordable, what extra features could reduce the limiting effects of those monthly payments?

So Lifestyle and you are also important in the decision… This is progress!  Since there are literally hundreds of mortgage plans to choose from, the far wiser approach would be to begin with the end in mind.  First, have your long-term financial strategy in place.  Whats that? You don’t have one? Well get one! When do you want to retire? Do you plan to have a career change or re-train? Do you have savings, do you have dreams? Although all this sounds idealistic, as I mentioned, your mortgage decision could limit or even eliminate some of these options if you don’t know you game plan before you decide.. For example if you plan to retrain and leave work for a while or decided to travel around india a payment holiday from you mortgage may be imperative to these plans.  If you have savings and feel that necessary for a rainy day or even just to sleep at night is there a product which allows you to discount these savings from your interest liability? Know you route first then chose the refinance vehicle. 

To conclude, most families do not have a financial roadmap to reach their goal or destination.  They just “hope” that things will “work out.”  In my opinion you can’t afford to just “hope”. Take control and know your game. You will be happier in the long run and if nothing else a home loan is the long run.