How Refinancing Debt with EVEN Financial Can Save You Thousands - Living on Fifty (2024)

I am lazy sometimes, I admit it.

Especially when it comes to complicated things like taking on new debt or refinancing old debt. The thought of all of the waiting, the paperwork, and the unknowns, like whether our debt to income ratio and credit scores will let us even be approved for a new loan, just overwhelm me and keep me from taking the plunge.

Whether you’re complete Type-A and totally overthink things like me, or you’re perfectly happy leaving the complicated approval process to the bank, everyone is confused by refinancing debt at some point.

We were there, hemming and hawing out whether or not we should refinance our debt, and I brought up that some sites, like MagnifyMoney.com allows you compare all types of financial products, from auto loans to personal loans, credit cards, and even student lenders. They provide tons of information on the fine print and approval process for the loans, as well as just how much said loans could save you!

And I write for them.

But I was still confused.

So many choices, so many variables, and my brain just plain gave out.

That is, until The Big Guy got on board with refinancing. There is something about having his support, especially when it comes to personal finance stuff, that really strengthened my resolve and helped me calm down about the whole process, and we actually decided to go about it a little different way.

To explain, let me backtrack a little….

I wrote about our refinance and changing goals in my post about when it’s ok to change your goals, but here it is in a nutshell:

• We set a goal of paying off $30,000 in 2015 and called it the #30k2015 Challenge.
• By June, we had paid off 12,000 (and our take-home pay was only $26,000)
• But then we refinanced our debt to MUCH lower interests
• And decided that the #30k2015 challenge would be about raising our net worth $30,000, rather than strictly paying off debt

Rather than seek out online lenders with crazy competitive interest rates, we went to our local credit union. We refinanced our house using a home equity loan, which then absorbed our credit card debt, and some of the amount we were underwater on our auto loan. This enabled us to refinance our car and take nearly 6% off the interest rate.

Awesome, right?

Then, literally 2 weeks after our refinance went through, a company called EVEN reached out to me, and I just had to share it with you all, because I would have killed to have known about them a month or two earlier.

What Is EVEN?

EVEN fills a “gap” in the online lending system that I’ve been noticing, both in writing financial product review for MagnifyMoney.com, and in my own search for better interest rates.

It is a place to find and compare financing from hundreds of different lenders, many different financial products, all based on your credit, income, and debt.

Think of it like Quotacy, but for financial products. Input your personal and financial information once, the product you are looking for, and within a few moments EVEN will display the financing you qualify for and allow you to compare interest rates, terms, and fees – all of which are better than you will find at traditional banks.

It’s a win-win for everyone: borrowers get better terms and rates,and lenders get more opportunties. Plus, as the application process becomes more efficient, borrowers can borrow with more confidence and transparency from potential lenders.

And the fincial community is taking note.

EVEN completed its first round of funding at the end of February/early March with a $2.8 million investment from Canaan and other investors, and just recently secured investments from Social Leverage, SmartAsset and other big names. They have been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Down Jones, Finance Magnates, and more.

Their CEO, Ian Rosen, was previously the General Manager of MarktWatch, their third co-founder, Jarid Maged is an ad-tech supply-side infrascructure vet. And their second co-founder, Phill Rosen (no relation to Ian Rosen) is the co-founder of Orchard, which is backed by Canaan Partners.

These guys know the industry and what it’s missing – as is evidenced by their brainchild, EVEN.

How to Use EVEN

Gain Access To Solid Financial Advice & Information

The EVEN Financial blog is fairly new, but I was surprised by how packed with information it was. These guys have been busy, and their content is top notch. From #TrueStories about millennials and getting a marketplace loan, to the fallacies of credit scores ( I couldn’t agree more!), and stuff that is encouraging to see (as a millennial) like how borrowing is getting easier and cheaper for the consumer. My personal favorite is 9 Ways to Increase Your Credit Score After College.

Refinance High-Interest Debt

Whether you need to consolidate high-interest debt, finance a big and upcoming event, or even starting you own business, EVEN Financial can help you get up to $100,000 with a few easy steps online. You can get your funds in just a few days, with better rates than credit cards offer, and EVEN Financial only works with reputable lenders. After inputting your information, EVEN will sort through hundreds of lenders using technology and experience that measures up with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Google and Down Jones to find the products down to the ones that are perfect for your needs and credit.

Get Control of Your Credit

Credit can be a trick and mysterious thing, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re fresh out of college or an empty-nester. EVEN Financial lets you take back control of your credit by getting rid of traditional banks and their invasive application processes, long wait periods, and expensive terms. They match you with the financing you need with better rates and terms – all based on your credit – than at a traditional bank all with just a couple of clicks.

Why Refinance?

Our refinance journey was long and drawn-out, which wouldn’t have been the case had we used EVEN, but it did save us 5-figures in interest, and took 15 years off of our mortgage. Don’t believe me? Here’s the short version:

$37,500

That’s the amount of interest our refinance will save us over 15 years.

Here’s the long version:

Previously, over the lives of the loans we refinanced, interest/PMI would have cost us

• $26,689 in mortgage interest
• $2,400 in PMI
  $5,616 in credit card interest
• $26,464 in auto loan interest

For a total of $61,169 in interest.

We bought our house for $26,204 in 2013, and in June is appraised for $87,000, which allowed us to refinance our mortgage, some extra from the auto loan, and the credit card debt at a 4.38% interest rate with no closing costs, no PMI, and for only 15 years rather than the normal 30 year term.

With some of the overage on our auto loan absorbed, we were then able to refinance our vehicle from a 7.8% interest rate down to a 2.49% rate and take 2 years off of our term – amazing!

All told, we’ll pay $20,678 in interest on the home equity loan – plus 30 year we won’t be paying on it – and we’ll pay $2,991 in auto loan interest, for a total of $23,669

When it’s all paid off, assuming we don’t pay any off early, we’ll save ourselves $37,500 in interest and PMI.

Got all that?

Good :-)

How To Get Started with EVEN Financial

First, Determine Your Needs

What are you goals? Do you want to start your own business? Refinance your credit card debt? Shave years and thousands of dollars in interest off of your mortgage? Get rid of your PMI?

Whatever your needs, make sure that you and your significant other are on the same page, that you know your current interest rates, terms, and even the effect of your current payments on your budget.

Then, Set Some Goals

How much would you like to cut off of your interest rate?

Or maybe you would like to cut the years left on your loan down?

Not only should you think about rates and terms, you should think about how much you need. Think about both the short and long-term implications of refinancing, how much your payments will change in your monthly budget and how that will affect your retirement savings or other financial goals.

Then think about the long-term impact: how much the new rate or terms will save you in interest paid, how soon will you be rid of the debt, and how much financial peace of mind will a refinance buy you?

Only now should you check out EVEN

Complete the Common loan application, which will ask for basic information such as your name, credit, debt, and income information. Based on those pieces of information, EVEN will submit your information to 16 (more coming soon) online lenders and display their rates, terms, and fees all within their website to let you compare lenders to find the best one for you. The results will show you how much you would be approved for with each lenders as well, which is also an important factor to consider.

Refinancing your debt can save you thousands, and now, with EVEN Financial, you can refinance with more efficiency and less hassle. You can check out EVEN at their website: EVEN Financial.com