Mia, good discussion, but I have a few thoughts. It is easy to calculate how long you need to stay in your house for the lower payments to cover the closing costs (often 3 to 5 years). If you plan to own the house longer than this, it makes sense to refinance, otherwise it does not. Pulling out cash is only a good idea if you have something to invest in - buying a boat or taking a vacation with house equity is not a good financial decision. Risk is not knowing what you are doing - if you don't know about investing in the stock market (or real estate), then you should educate yourself first. There is nothing wrong with investing in the stock market if you know what you are doing. If you don't know what you are doing, stick to low-cost index funds to get your guaranteed average market returns (assuming you have enough emotional intelligence to avoid buying high and selling low).