Q. My husband and I refinanced our home a little over a year ago to pay off all our debts. At the time, we had no choice but to take a high-interest rate of 9.75% because our credit was ruined. Our monthly payment, including taxes and insurance is $3,877 and our principal balance is $379,000. But over the past year our credit score has increased to the mid-600s and our credit report looks much better. I'm desperate to reduce my monthly payments. Is it wise to refinance? ?

A. Absolutely. Your mid-600 score means you'll no longer have to endure subprime lending rates. You're now in a sort of middle ground between a prime and subprime credit rating known in the banking industry as an Alt-A rating. You may not qualify for the best rate a lender is offering, but you should certainly qualify for a better rate than 9.75%.

We suggest you shop for the best rate available to you. Check out some rates online by going to our mortgage rate comparison charts. Get three or more quotes and see which one works the best for you. You can call or email the lenders for more information.

We did a few calculations and it appears that presently your base payment (principal and interest but not taxes or insurance) is about $3,260. If you got a rate of 7.75% your payment would drop to $2,720, and at 7.5% you would be paying $2,650, which would be about $600 a month less -- a vast improvement. You can use our mortgage payment calculator to run some numbers for yourself. As you can see, even a small change in a rate can make a big difference.