Have you refinanced your ARM yet?

The party's nearly over for anyone who used an adjustable rate mortgage, called an ARM in lender jargon.

Housing economists estimate that anywhere from $162 billion to $1 trillion in home loans will have to be refinanced in the next year. Refinancing accounts for nearly half of the mortgage business these days and experts think 19 percent of all ARMs taken out in 2004 and 2005 are at risk of default.

While the Fed is holding steady on interest rates -- for now -- hundreds of thousands of homeowners are nervously calculating how much higher their payments will be.

If your loan is adjusting soon, take out your pencil. If you can't afford the new payment, you'll have just a couple of options – refinance or sell. And selling is tough in many neighborhoods these days.

The best thing you can do is plan ahead, figure out how much you can afford, and then find a mortgage program that works for you.

Luxury Hotels for Dogs

Do you take your dog with you on vacations?

Some hotels are dog-friendly. But increasingly, it's harder to find places that welcome your shaggy pup with open arms. Most dog owners I know put their dogs in a kennel while they travel.

But not just any kennel will do. My friend Ellyn takes her pup to something that sounds like canine heaven, where the dog run is the place to hang after the day's activities.

Like Ellyn, many dog owners have discovered the delights of doggie spas and doggie suites. The New York Times reported on the phenomenon in their Sunday paper, revealing that dog owners are now spending up to $200 per might for the best doggie suites, and a day of activities, including swimming, hiking, biking and doggie-friend down time. For an extra $25, your dog can eat filet mignon.

For dogs, if you can't go on vacation with your owner, the Four Seasons of dog hotels might not be a bad choice.

Identity Theft Will Rise in Future Years

From his Oregon jail cell, an inmate talked about how he grew an identity theft ring into a so-called "family" that doled out hugs and cash. The money and cash, he said, were a potent brew for loyalty among the thieves.

Identity theft is a growing problem for all of us. But the real problem is that the thieves constantly invent new ways to trick us out of our personal information. Phishing, vishing, a call about missing jury duty, or even an unattended mailbox can all result in personal financial information being stolen.

What can you do? Sometimes you can't do anything, especially if companies and government institutions lose laptops. But you can take some steps to protect yourself:

First, never store personal information, credit card numbers, your social security number or computer passwords on a laptop – unless it is encrypted.

Next, monitor your credit card accounts online and check your credit history frequently using www.annualcreditreport.com.

Credit Card Debt Too High? Consider a Home Equity Loan

I got an email this week from a new WSB listener who recently moved to Georgia. Unfortunately, his $30,000 in credit card debt moved with him. He wanted to know what I thought about trading credit card debt for a home equity loan.

I think it's a great idea – for some people in some situations.

The first thing you have to do is check the interest rate is on your credit card debt. If you're paying 17 percent in interest, and you can get a home equity loan for 8 percent, paying off your credit card with a home equity loan is a no-brainer.

But if your credit card debt is only 9 percent, you may be better off keeping your debt on your credit card, and hope you'll get a lower interest rate balance transfer offer in the mail.

Of course, it all comes down to how much you spend. If paying off your credit cards means you're going to start charging up a storm, keeping your home equity intact and cutting up those cards is a better choice.

Private Mortgage Insurance Might Be a Smart Move Financially

Whenever I hear from home buyers about Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI as the industry calls is, mostly they're asking how they can avoid it.

Lenders require borrowers to have PMI on a loan if they put down less than 20 percent on a home. The smaller the down payment, the higher the PMI. And you'll pay PMI unless you refinance or pay down your mortgage.

When interest rates are super-low, it makes more sense to get an 80/10/10 loan, or even an 80/20 loan, where your first mortgage is for 80 percent of the home's sales price and you take out a home equity loan to pay for the rest of the purchase.

That way, the interest you pay is deductible if you itemize. PMI is not deductible.

But now that interest rates are rising, it's time to reconsider PMI. Have your lender map out the difference in cost between a piggy-back loan or a mortgage with PMI.