My dad refinanced his house about a little over a year ago. At the time that he did the refinancing, he managed to lock into an interest rate of 4%. It was the perfect time for him to do so, especially considering the interest rate he locked into originally was nearly 10% and that was on A grade credit. His rate is lower than the 6.25% rate we got for our old house in late 2002, which was a fairly decent rate then. By refinancing his mortgage and getting the lower rate, he managed to knock off 5 years from the term, as well as about $80 a month from the monthly payment. Having a mortgage of $434 isn’t so bad, especially considering that Jo and I had a mortgage of $698 for a house smaller than my dad’s and not in as good of a neighborhood as my dad’s. My youngest sister works for a bank in my hometown and even as an employee, she couldn’t manage to get a rate as low as my dad got!

Mortgages scare me, even after having one previously. I don’t think it’s necessarily the idea of the mortgage itself, but more so the fact that the economy has been so unstable. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the foreclosure rates in the US skyrocket in the last year or so? I guess I am just a little worried about stuff like that at this point in my life. I’m sure Jo and I will eventually buy another have, where we will undoubtedly have another mortgage. Though I have admitted to being afraid of them, the idea of renting for long periods of time makes me nauseous - I hate putting money in someone else’s pocket! The idea of buying a house somewhere between Savannah and Tybee Island (never on the island, too expensive) sort of excites me. I have always wanted a house near the beach.