The Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed. The FAFSA website, www.fafsa.ed.gov, provides a simple, step-by-step application process. Students and parents of dependent students are evaluated for financial need. After need is determined, several types of student loans may be available.

Federal loans include Perkins loans, Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and Parent Plus loans. These loans establish fixed interest rates and maximum loan amounts for each academic year. Subsidized Stafford loans have interest paid by the government while the student is in school, whereas the interest accrues and is paid by the student in unsubsidized Stafford loans. The site www.studentaid.ed.gov provides a detailed narrative and tabular presentation of loan types and student loan rates.

Private student loans are made by a variety of lenders including banks, credit unions, and student loan companies. These loans are generally more costly than federal loans. Interest rates are based on either the LIBOR index or the prime interest rate and require a credit check to determine borrower eligibility. Additional interest may be added based on the credit-worthiness of the borrower. These lenders often charge fees, which can significantly increase the cost of a loan. Interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is dispersed. Interest is capitalized, or added into the unpaid balance of the loan, increasing the amount owed. The site www.FinAid.org/loans/ provides information about private loans and a link that compares the student loan rates of many private student loan companies.

After college, students may combine their debt into one loan, called a consolidation loan. There are advantages and disadvantages to school loan consolidation. Monthly payments may be reduced and there is only a single payment to one lender, but the payoff period is extended, which may increase the total amount paid. Some lenders provide payback options for consolidation loans, including extended repayment and income-sensitive repayment plans.

On one site, after numerous clicks on one of the 10 car insurance companies listed, they asked for basic personal information. After putting in the requested personal information, make and model of the car, and clicking quote, they still didn’t provide any car insurance quotes. Then it said to click on a place that said “talk to me” below a picture of a professional looking female with a phone in her hand. This insurance representative was not there to provide car insurance quotes, she was actually there to sell their insurance if you talked to her. Choosing not to go that route, the next step was to go back to the first page and try another car insurance company.

Going back to the first page and starting over finally produced some auto insurance quotes. This was without providing unnecessary private information. These car insurance quotes were a comparison quote of four of the top insurance companies. The four quotes from $53 to $67 per month were all better than expected.

The next choice was to try one of the larger well-known individual auto insurance online websites for insurance quotes. This turned out to be a good idea and it was a great experience and very impressive. They only asked questions pertaining to car insurance and the quote received was so low it was almost unbelievable, $37.40 per month for full coverage. This same method was tried on other individual auto insurance companies’ sites with similar results.

It does pay to be patient and methodically go through the listings of the auto insurance companies offering quotes. The ones with multiple insurance companies on one site were easier than the individual sites. These multiple sites seem to be well organized and have all the information you need to make an intelligent decision regarding your auto insurance. Even though the multiple sites were easier, the best quotes were received on individual auto insurance companies sites.

There are internet sites which allow for the searching and comparing of rates for hotels. Some of these comparison shopping sites actually specialize in extended stay hotels. Using these comparison sites allows the consumer to check rates at a large number of extended stay hotels simultaneously. This one stop shopping approach not only helps the consumer save money by finding the lowest rates available, but also saves the consumer the time and effort involved in contacting each individual hotel for rate information.

To obtain the best rates at any hotel, including extended stay hotels, it’s a good idea for the consumer to take into account how high the demand for the hotel is likely to be. Staying at a hotel in a city where a major sporting event, business convention, or prime tourist event is taking place will inevitably lead to higher prices. If the purpose of the consumers visit is to attend such a function bargains can be found by staying farther away from the actual event. Outlying suburbs and nearby cities frequently offer better rates than within the area of the event itself.

If a stay is required with little or no warning it’s still advantageous to check online rate comparison sites. These sites are frequently used as liquidators of unoccupied rooms, and rates can be found that are significantly less expensive than that obtained by just showing up at the check in counter of an extended stay motel. Some tech savvy consumers will even use a mobile Internet connection, or free WiFi access point in the parking lot of the hotel itself to book a room at a reduced rate minutes before arriving.

We hear a lot about credit card consolidation but what exactly does this entail? It is a method to reduce the interest and payments on your credit cards and combine all payments into one lump sum payment per month. Usually you will require the services of a debt consolidation counselor who can guide you in making the decision to consolidate your credit cards into one easy low monthly payment. You can, depending on the amount of your credit card debt, be out of debt in 1-3 years with steady payments each month. Because the interest is reduced and a negotiated settlement is made on your behalf, often the amount of your debts can be reduced by 40-70 percent off the original amount.

When it comes to credit card debt and credit card consolidation, you want to make sure that you consult with a professional on the matter before you begin negotiations with your creditors. Often a professional debt counseling service can provide you with the information that you need to make an informed decision. Getting into debt is very easy, getting out of debt can be very complicated. Be very careful in how you use credit and don’t make unnecessary purchases with your credit cards. If the item can be purchased for cash, use this instead. It is a lot easier to keep track of your cash spending than it is with a credit card on small purchases.

Once you are out of debt, to avoid any future financial woes, get rid of the credit cards or put them someplace that is not so easily accessible to you, and try to exercise discipline when it comes to spending.