Buying your home to begin with was probably a complex transaction. There was a lot of paperwork, a lot of anxiety, an avalanche of details involved in packing, moving, closing, unpacking. When you think about refinancing, you might remember those headaches and forget the idea. But there are a lot of reasons you might want to give it careful thought. Not only is loan processing much quicker and easier these days, but you may serve a lot of other very individual purposes as well.

Consider the following:

1.  Refinancing may put money back in your pocket every month. 
 

If rates are lower now than when you originally financed your home, or if you choose an adjustable rate mortgage with a lower initial interest rate than your current rate, your monthly payment will go down (assuming you don't shorten the term or increase the loan balance significantly). That means you can save more every month or afford those dance lessons or dinners out or new suit you've had your eye on. Not only that, but you probably won't have to scrape together money to bring to the closing table either, because you can usually include all of the costs to close your loan in the new loan amount.

2.  Refinancing may put a lot of money in your hands today.

If you have significant equity in your house, you could get a cash-out refinance and walk away from the closing table not only with a new loan but with a large amount of money to invest or to use for a once in a lifetime opportunity - like an extensive vacation, college, home improvements or the purchase of a boat or anything else you've been dreaming of all your life.

3.  Refinancing may give you a good night's sleep.

If you have an adjustable rate mortgage and the worry over the direction of interest rates has been keeping you up at nights, you could refinance into a fixed rate and stop all of that tossing and turning.

4.  Refinancing may help you get organized.

Maybe what you really need is to get control over all of the different charge cards and personal debt that has sprung up around you - and like the idea that you may end up with a tax advantage by doing so. Ask your tax advisor to be certain. You could refinance your home, use some of the proceeds to consolidate your debt and just make one convenient, low-interest payment every month.

5.  Refinancing may get you out of debt faster!

Refinancing your current loan to a fifteen year or a bi-weekly loan may be possible without even raising the payment significantly, particularly if rates were high when you first bought. You could save thousands and thousands in interest and own your home many years before you would with a standard 30 year loan.