Most Americans have felt the impact of the financial crisis in one way or another. Whether it is layoffs at your employer, cut backs in hours or cut backs in wages; most of us have felt the wrath of the bad economy over the past few years. Unfortunately for those who have been hurt by the financial crisis who own their homes, the mortgage does not just go away because we are not making as much money as we used to. This is why there have been a record amount of foreclosures since the crash of the housing market. Many people can not sell their homes because they owe more than they can sell it for, but they also can not make the payments on a monthly basis. What can these homeowners do?Lower Monthly PaymentsThere is a way to lower your monthly payments on a mortgage. Refinancing mortgage can be an easy way to either lower interest rate or change the term of your mortgage. Refinancing mortgage rates is a very simple way to lower your monthly payment these days because we have a very low base rate these days in order to stimulate the housing market. The low interest rate can help some people save over $300 a month on their monthly payments. Many people, even if they have no equity in their homes, are refinancing mortgage rates lower than 4%!!Another way you can lower your monthly payment is by refinancing mortgage terms. If you currently are in an ARM or have only 15-20 years left on a 30 year mortgage, you can refinance mortgage terms back to a 30 year mortgage, thus lowering your payment. The idea is that if you are making payments on a $200,000 mortgage over 30 years you will probably be paying somewhere are $1500 a month. If you have paid that down to around $120,000 after 15 years you have the option to stretch that remaining 120k back to another 30 year mortgage, which would lower your payments to somewhere around $1100 a month.Lowering your monthly payments by refinancing mortgage rates or terms is an easy way to make your home more affordable. When times are tough it is not easy to keep moving forward, but by freeing up just a few hundred dollars a month on your housing payments it makes it seem like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Check with a local lender to see what you can do to help your self by refinancing mortgage rates and terms today!