I wasn't sure which section this would fit best in so I went with the open topic.

I am thinking about doing a refinance on my home mortgage but I have no idea how they actually work and if it'll be beneficial. I currently have a fixed 6% on a 30 year note (6.5 years in) and I was running some online calculators with my credit union and it looks like I could go down to a fixed 3.415% 15 year note for about the same payment if I paid $5k in closing fees or pay about $40 more per month with very little out of pocket right now. To me this seems like a good savings in the long run but I just don't have enough experience in this field to know the pros and cons.

If anyone has any advice, information, or suggestions for this, I'm all ears.

without knowing specifics i'd say: cut the rate, cut the term, sounds like a good deal as long as you plan on staying for a couple years at least.

or another way of looking at it is the same monthly payment for 23.5 years (doing nothing) or 15 years(refi), which would you prefer?

That's what I was thinking but I just wasn't sure if there's some fine print somewhere that I'm missing.

We just refinanced our home.

We locked in 2.something percent about a month ago and knocked 10 years off our mortgage. House will be paid off (again) in just a few short years.

Depending how much you owe, its worth either paying in or having an independent appraiser value your home so you can get rid of PMI each month. The bank appraisals are often a joke.

Just re-financed my home to a 15 year mortgage. You want your house paid off before you retire ... at least, I do. Lowered my monthly payment too and I don't have to pay a mortgage payment until May. That extra $ is going for home improvements.