If you have begun to research the mortgage refinance process, you have probably made an important discovery regarding calculators. In order to determine if a refi is the right financial move, you must first run the numbers to determine your savings.

Because let’s remember the all-important rule of thumb: If the money you pay to refinance your mortgage (the closing costs associated with it) exceeds the money you save over the term of the new loan, then it doesn’t make any sense to refinance the loan.

This is where calculators come into the picture. A refinance mortgage calculator can help you run the numbers to see where you’ll come out after the refi. More specifically, it will help you compare your current mortgage payments to your new payments after refinancing the mortgage. You can then compare your savings to what you might expect to pay in closing costs to see if the refinance makes sense.

That’s why I always tell people to start the research process by using a refinance mortgage calculator to run the numbers. The question is, where do you find the best refinance mortgage calculator … or does such a thing even exist?

Here’s my advice to you. I wouldn’t rely on just one refinance calculator. I would bookmark two or three of them and use them all to validate one another. It’s kind of like using a scale to weight something. How do you really know if the scale is accurate? You don’t, unless you compare it against other scales to validate the reading.

You can do the same thing with refinance mortgage calculators — and I highly encourage you to do so. So instead of searching high and low for the best refinance calculator (and wearing yourself out in the process), just find two or three decent calculators and use them all.

If you’d like, you can start with the one we have on our Resources page. Then all you have to do is find a couple more calculators and bookmark them for future reference.

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