How We Helped Two Calgary Professionals Restructure Their Mortgage After a Career Pivot

Jul 22

When their mortgage renewal letter showed up, Ryan and Priya didn’t think much of it at first. They were both established professionals living in Calgary’s inner city—he in engineering, she in healthcare. Their finances were solid, and their current rate of 2.19% had served them well for five years.

But over the past year, their situation had changed.

Renee Huse, founder of Spire Mortgage Team in Alberta, met with them to review what seemed like a routine renewal—but uncovered a smart opportunity to restructure and keep their financial plan on track.

When Good Decisions Create New Pressure

A few months earlier, Ryan had made a lifestyle choice: he took a meaningful pay cut to work closer to home, reducing his commute and gaining more time with their young kids. It was the right move for their family—but they’d started to feel the pinch.

With inflation still high, interest rates rising, and a few lingering debts from renovations and car upgrades, their monthly surplus was getting tighter.

Their mortgage—originally $560,000—was coming up for renewal in November. The new rate quoted by their lender? 4.29% on a standard 5-year fixed.

At that rate, their payments would jump by over $700/month.

What Most People Would Do: Just Renew

Ryan and Priya considered simply renewing. It felt easy. But their net monthly income had dropped by nearly 15% after Ryan’s career shift. They weren’t in trouble—they just didn’t want to slide backward.

They also had:

A $20,000 line of credit from a basement renovation
$10,000 on a vehicle upgrade
A small $5,000 travel balance still carrying interest from last year’s trip

All manageable—but all sitting at higher rates.

When we sat down together, we ran the numbers and laid out a smarter alternative: don’t just renew—refinance.

The Spire Strategy: Clean Slate with Future Flexibility

Instead of renewing their $560,000 mortgage at 4.29%, we refinanced to $600,000 at 4.34%, using their existing home equity to absorb the smaller debts and consolidate into one clean payment.

This gave them:

Simpler monthly cash flow
Less interest paid over time
More flexibility if they wanted to top up savings or invest in RESPs for their kids

Before Refinance

Existing mortgage: $560,000 at 2.19% → ~$2,430/month
New renewal quote: 4.29% → ~$3,170/month
Line of credit + other debt payments: ~$700/month
Total monthly outflow after renewal: $3,870

After Refinance

New mortgage: $600,000 at 4.34% → ~$3,080/month
No separate debt payments
New total monthly outflow: $3,080

That’s a $790/month savings compared to simply renewing and continuing to carry the other debts.

More importantly, they streamlined their finances and aligned their cash flow with their new lifestyle priorities.

The Emotional Shift: Security Without Sacrifice

Ryan told us later that refinancing didn’t just improve their numbers—it gave him peace of mind. Even with a lower income, they weren’t scrambling. They could continue to contribute to long-term goals without cutting corners.

This wasn’t a crisis—it was a proactive adjustment, tailored to a career and life transition.

Give us a call or fill out an application at this link: https://spiremortgage.ca/apply-now and our team will get in touch with you to start building a plan that suits you.

Written by the Spire Mortgage Team, Alberta’s strategic mortgage planning experts.
Learn more: https://spiremortgage.ca

Renee Huse