WASHINGTON - Sure, go ahead and refinance your home -- again. But don't stop there. With interest rates at 30-year lows, this is a great time to pretend you are a corporate finance officer (an honest one, of course), and restructure your debt.

That means looking for a new car loan, a new credit card or a new home equity loan, and using them to pay off old, more costly debts. In other words, Buy now, while money is on sale.

Figuring out how much debt to carry can be tricky. On one hand, it makes sense to have as little as possible. Anyone who has become debt free can tell you how great it feels to lift those burdens.

On the other hand, some things are worth borrowing for -- houses, educations, medical emergencies and sometimes, cars. And anyone who is in debt now, or foresees having to go into debt in the near future should consider loading up now on the low-interest cash.

Here are some examples of how:

-- Refinance the house -- even if you already have. Mortgage bankers keep making it easier to refinance again and again, and with rates now less than 6 percent, it's worth another look.

If you are carrying a 7 percent, 30-year mortgage on $150,000, you can cut your monthly payment by about $150 and cut some $56,000 in interest costs over the life of the loan by refinancing to a 30-year, 5.9 percent loan. Or you can take a 15-year loan at 5.4 percent, bump up your monthly payment by $220, save some $140,224 in interest costs, and burn the whole loan early.

If you've got young children, either scenario makes sense: Go with the 30-year loan and bank the monthly savings for college, or go for the faster loan and be debt free when they go to school. Some lenders now advertise no closing-cost mortgage refinances. Check for loans online at Eloan.com (http://www.eloan.com) and Lendingtree.com (http://www.lendingtree.com), and call a local mortgage broker to see where you can get your best deal.

-- Refinance the car. If you like refinancing your home, you'll love refinancing your car. It's faster, easier, and can be done in less than a week without leaving your home. If you have a car loan higher than 6.5 percent, it's worth taking a look. Online lenders are offering no-fee car loans as low as 5.7 percent.

If you still owe $15,000 at 8 percent, you can save $960 over the life of car loan. Not life-changing money, maybe, but a nice beach house rental or new washer and dryer. To refinance a car loan check with your local bank, or, if you are a member, your credit union. Then look online at companies such as Straight-away.com (http://www.straight-away.com) and PeopleFirst.com (http://www.peoplefirst.com), two firms that specialize in auto refinancing. Some charge fees and some don't, so comparison shop.

-- Get new credit cards. After years of sticking it to cardholders, credit card issuers have figured out that there's one kind of consumer that really shops for the best deal in plastic. That's the kind you should aim to be. A new generation of cards offer cash back on purchases, bumped up rewards programs, no annual fees and lower rates.

To make the most of your plastic habit, pay off your balances as quickly as possible. Transfer the balance to the lowest-rate card you can find, such as zero-percent introductory rate cards from First USA or Discover.

Use the extra cash you've raised by refinancing the house and car to burn those balances quickly. Once you've got your balance down to zero, vow to keep it there and shop for a new high-rewards card at http://www.cardtrak.com or http://www.bankrate.com.