Big Wednesday #5

Diehard mortgages, Magic the Overheard, don't get screwed buying a car, dis misinformation is bad

Even if you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard that interest rates are rising, and therefore the cost of financing the rock under which you live is increasing. Maybe that explains why I’ve been getting so many calls about refinancing our mortgage “before rates rise again!” Here’s one from a caller named Ray.

“Michael, now is a great time to refinance,” Ray began. “Are you interested in a new mortgage?”

“I dunno, Ray. My current mortgage is a real peach.”

“What’s your interest rate?”

“It’s just a hair under three percent.”

“Damn, that’s lucky.”

“It’s not luck, it’s skill.”

Ray laughed, but I didn’t miss a beat.

“The bank wanted to charge us six percent,” I continued. “But I arm-wrestled the guy at the mortgage desk, slammed his hand down so hard I shattered his bones and knocked a stack of complimentary calendars onto the floor.”

“You’re joking.”

“I don’t joke about money, Ray. Now how much are you gonna pay me to take out a mortgage?”

“Well, our rates are around five percent, but that’s wh…