If you're like a lot of people, you're looking at the current interest rate situation with mixed feelings. After all, you've probably already refinanced your mortgage in the past couple of years. Maybe even more than once. So does it make any sense to refinance again? Believe it or not, the answer may be "yes."

Right now we're in the middle of a huge refinancing boom with over 50% of all mortgages being refinanced. That's close to the record high of 60% in 1993. And in fact, rates haven't been this low since 1967. The biggest benefit to consumers, of course, is that you can substitute high-rate non-deductible debt on credit cards and other items for low-rate deductible debt on a mortgage loan.

For example, if you currently have $5,000 on a credit card with a 19% APR, you can pay it off with money from a cash-out refinance on your home. That means you might only pay 8.25% on that same $5,000. And that's an extra $502.00 in your pocket over the course of just one year. Plus, most people can deduct the interest they pay on a home mortgage loan. Be sure to consult your tax preparer to see how deductibility rules apply to you.

These lower rates have helped bail consumers out of record deterioration of consumer credit quality. And this additional cash in the market, and changes to capital gains, have helped fuel consumer consumption growth and strengthened the economy.

So is refinancing right for you? Well, at the current rates, most mortgages over 9.0% are eligible for a refinance. If rates drop even further, all outstanding mortgages (in excess of $4 trillion) would be eligible. The general rule of thumb in the past has always been that a consumer should not refinance unless there was a 1% reduction in their rate. However, the recent popularity of the no-cost loan means that it's now worthwhile for consumers to refinance and save as little as 0.75%. On a $150,000 mortgage that can mean $960.00 saved each year. And that translates into $28,810.00 in interest savings over the life of the average 30 year mortgage. And that's an awful lot of money to keep for yourself.