Too late to refinance?

Q: Is it too late to refinance my mortgage? — S.C., Columbus, Ohio

A: It may be, as interest rates are higher than they’ve been in a long while. Refinancing often makes sense when prevailing rates are at least a percentage point lower than your current loan’s rate. It also depends on how long you plan to stay in the home — it will take several years’ worth of savings on interest to cover the refinancing’s closing costs.

Learn more at Fool.com/mortgages and Bankrate.com, and see if refinancing makes sense for you.

Q: I’m 26 and am wondering — should I invest some money in CDS? — D.B., Cadillac, Mich.

A: Certificates of deposit (CDS) are solid choices for your short-term investments, and they’re more attractive than they have been in recent years, thanks to rising interest rates.

But even young people should consider saving and investing for retirement, and unless interest rates are quite high, CDS won’t serve you well for that. Money that you won’t need for at least five years (or, to be more conservative, 10 years), is likely to grow more briskly in stocks, which over many years have outperformed bonds, cash and even gold.

Consider that many three- and five-year CDS recently yielded around 3.5 percent. You can top that with some dividend-paying stocks. Walgreens Boots Alliance recently yielded 5.75 percent, for example, while Intel yielded 5.6 percent, 3M 5.2 percent and Citigroup 4.7 percent. Those payouts aren’t guaranteed, but many companies have been paying them — and increasing them — regularly, over decades.

Also, the stock prices of healthy and growing companies should increase over time. CDS are good for short-term money, for emergency funds and for when you need safety more than growth.