Some interest rates have fallen to near zero and following this trend home mortgage rates are at their lowest level in 37 years, falling to 5.19% last week. So with this good news mortgage refinance applications are surging this week also. Let's take an example and assume you had a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5%. Using a mortgage calculator (www.mortgagecalculator.org) your payment was $1347.00 per month (excluding taxes and PMI). By refinancing at today's rate of 5.19%, a 30-year fixed mortgage would cost $1180.00 per month (excluding taxes and PMI), for a savings of $60,120.00 (360 payments).

The new low rates we have now will likely slow foreclosures by letting homeowners lower their monthly payments and keep their homes. So with all the turmoil we've seen this year, this is a bit of good news. Let's hope that the trend to lower mortgage rates continues and we can save even more money.

My wife and I were at our local Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) branch today and we signed some important papers. The documents we put our names to probably represent the single best investment we have made in our time together. Utilizing a portion of a rather handsome income tax return and some carefully thought out timing, we as a couple today reduced our consumer debt load by approximately 25%.

Being in debt has always made my skin crawl, though I fully understand the reasons why we do it. If you want a nice house and a fine automobile or two, the chances are that the only way you can pull it off is by borrowing the funds to make it possible. That doesn't change the fact though that I hate being in debt, and whenever the opportunities present themselves I do what I reasonably can to reduce my debt level.

If you're looking for an entertaining personal finance blog, you need to read a man who refers to himself as "Cap" and his blog StopBuyingCrap.com. The About page pretty much sums it up:

Quick story. One day I woke up and found out that I'm $10,000 in debt -- and I wasn't even of legal drinking age yet. Uh oh?

So after a year of being a less of a dumb-ass, I got rid of the debt.

Cap offers random musings on credit cards, particularly this piece urging young adults not to entrust their credit to their parents. And of course, there's the classic page Stop Buying Crap, which offers his opinions on items like buying gas, plane tickets, and energy drinks.

Finally, it includes links to some other nice personal finance blogs. Bookmark this blog.

The first step to becoming a successful investor is finding ways to come up with as much money as possible to invest. That's why investors like Warren Buffett (who, at 76 years old and Number 2 on the Forbes list, still bends over to pick up quarters) gain the upper-hand. So, in addition to studying investing, it's important to also look for ways to cut costs in other areas of your life. There is no more interesting place to read about that than Donna Freedman's pieces for MSN Money. As an adult who made the tough but good decision to go back to college, she is just scraping by. And she has some tricks for "thriving" on $12,000 a year.

Make no mistake: I'm poor by choice, because I needed to change my life. I chose to leave my marriage, and I chose to become a student. I can live this way because I know it won't be forever. I'll have my degree in two more years, and I'll go back to work.

I survive on economies large and small. I bring my laundry to baby-sitting jobs (yes, I ask permission). I brown-bag my lunch every single day. I combine coupons and rebates to get items for free (I haven't paid for toothpaste, shampoo, or other toiletries for years). I drink water, not soda.

Donna, along with a few other MSN writers, provides inspiring advice on thrift, and even manages to add money to a savings account on her current income! Check it out today.