If you fit any of these five scenarios, take advantage of those new, lower interest rates.

Feeling cash poor after the holidays or tax time? If you dropped big bucks on gifts or taxes - like some households - you're certainly not alone.

But in one quick move, you might be able to improve your situation. How? Refinance your mortgage. At press time, rates had dipped to their lowest point in 20 months, with 30 year fixed rate mortgages going for about 7.09%. "We are within shouting distance of 31-year-low rates," says Keith Gumbinger of HSH.com, the nations' largest publisher of mortgage information.

How do you know it's time to head back to the well? If you find yourself in one of these categories:

** You're overpaying. If you bought your home in the spring or summer of 1999, or even in the spring of 2000 (which would put your rate in the 8% to 8.5% range), consider refinancing. Even if you think you can't raise the closing costs, which typically run about 2% of the deal, you may be able to refinance for a rate a little higher than average with no closing costs and still save money.

** Your loan is adjusting. If you took out a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage a year ago, or a 3-1 hybrid ARM a few years back, you're now looking at a rate in the mid-8% range. You can significantly improve on that by refinancing.

** You need cash. If you have seen some appreciation in the value of your home, as many have, and you need some cash to pay down credit card bills or for some other pressing need, you can refinance and draw on the equity of your home. With credit card rates running, on average, more than double today's mortgage rates (which are tax-deductible to boot), this can be a smart move.

** Your jumbo loan isn't jumbo anymore. Rates on high-end "jumbo" mortgages usually run about 3/8% higher than rates on "conforming" mortgages. But starting this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have raised the limit you can borrow on a conforming basis from $252,700 to $275,000. If your loan is below that amount, you can refinance into a conforming loan and save money.

** You're due to dump PMI. If you don't have 20% equity in your home, lenders generally require you to take out private mortgage insurance. Once you pay down your loan to 78% of the value of your home, your lender has to cancel that insurance, which can save $25 to $150 a month, depending on the size of your loan, according to Gumbinger. If your home has appreciated in value, that alone may have boosted your equity over the 20% cap. Refinancing can lower your rate and enable you to get rid of the insurance in one swift move.