Each and every day brings news of more homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments as adjustable rate and other more exotic mortgages reset to higher rates.

Are there hidden risks in your mortgage that you or your spouse are unaware of? There just might be.

Get out your mortgage agreement and start reading.

If you've already spent more than 28% of your pretax income on principal, interest, insurance and property taxes, or if adding your other debts to this pushes you above 36% of your gross income, you may be heading for a fall.

So now is the time to refinance to a fixed rate. Go to www.myFICO.com and get your credit rating. If your FICO score is no lower than 620 to 650 you should be able to switch to a fix. If your score is lower than 620, start cleaning up your debt. Lenders are tightening their lending practices now, and more people are in need of some help.

If you want to get smarter about everything money, here’s what we want you to do: Sign up for our FREE email tip-letter, Smart Money Moves with the Dolans. It’s loaded with advice to make your life simpler and more rewarding—and it’s FREE. Click here.