When I first posted a case study, helpful Mustachians pointed out that our income tax withholding was too large. I was essentially giving the government an interest-free loan while I continued to accrue interest on student loans and a relatively high rate. That was very helpful and insightful advice and making a change allowed me to throw a couple hundred dollars per month extra per month at our student loans.
We bought our house prior to our discovery of mustachianism. We got a conventional mortgage, but we had less than 20% down so we paid for PMI in a single, up-front premium payment. We also allowed our lender to set up an escrow for real estate taxes and insurance assuming it was required or that it would at least be easier than managing the large payments. I am now looking at the escrow portion of my monthly mortgage payment with the same thought process-- why am I giving the bank an interest-free loan every month?
Is it possible to terminate an escrow account once it is established? Does it depend on the type of loan? Anyone successfully terminated an escrow account? Anybody had success with Wells Fargo in particular? Any links to helpful resources? Any insights are appreciated!