Consider the advantages of a loan forgiveness program. These types of programs are readily available to nursing students, medical students and any student willing to enroll in the military. Essentially, you agree to work, or serve, for a period of time in exchange for all or partial loan forgiveness.

Make on-time student loan repayments a regular habit. In some cases lenders may reduce interest fees after you make so many consecutive on-time payments. Also, if you find yourself consistently delinquent, consider a student consolidation loan program. Note: default should never be an option.

Manage your loan repayment using online calculators. Find out quickly and easily how to figure your total loan repayment including interest. Just Google “Online Loan Calculators” and plenty of them will pop up.
The federal government allows a couple of important tax credits: the student loan interest deduction and the Hope Scholarship Credit. Make these two important deductions a regular part of your annual tax preparation.

Well, don’t think like that … of course you’ll be able to get credit (you always will be)! How, you ask? Well, a number of banks offer “secured” credit cards, in which a debtor has to put up a certain amount of money (as little as $100 in some cases) into a separate account at the bank to guarantee payment. Usually the credit limit is equal to the security given, and is slowly increased as the debtor proves his or her credit-worthiness. Two years later, debtors are then eligible for mortgage loans on the same level as those with normal credit (who have never filed for bankruptcy).

The size of your down payment and the stability of your income is much more important than the fact you filed bankruptcy in the past! Although the fact that you filed for bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, it will become much less significant the further in the past the bankruptcy date is.

Plus, you’re probably much less of a credit risk after your bankruptcy than before it, when you were struggling to pay all of your growing bills! This should give you some hope for the future. Good luck!

The APR is the Annual Percentage Rate that a lending company is going to charge you, and it should be your first consideration when searching for a loan (it doesn’t matter how desperate your financial situation is currently). Spend some time finding out what the APR is going to be for the company, before asking for a loan. Also, before you accept a deal with a lending company, make sure the interest the firm is asking for is not more than normal (the fair market price). The reason for this: if you are not well informed going in, you may end up paying a much more than usual interest rate for your loan.

Also, before applying for any loan, first make sure that that the lender is credible. Yes, there are now many fraudulent loan providers out there in today’s market, especially on the Internet. You have to be pretty careful when looking for a loan from a borrower, so make sure that you’re dealing with a trusted and transparent lender before you sign any paperwork.

Always know what your APR is going to be - period!

Even if your only debt is in your house and your car, it can still seem too overwhelming. Just know this: debt by itself isn’t always a bad thing, but when it starts spinning out of control, it’ll get harder and harder to crawl out of the hole that you’ve dug for yourself.

Unfortunately, when people get overwhelmed with debt, they often fall directly into a state of blissful denial. They avoid opening credit card statements and they put bills aside when they don’t have enough money to pay. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind trick only works for a few months, however, before life begins to tumble down around these victims of debt. So if you are worried about your debt, you need to start asking yourself the hard questions, and stop ignoring the problems, if you ever want to relieve yourself of it.

Some great questions to ask: “Are my bills being paid on time?” and “Should I consolidate my high-interest bills into one low interest one?” With this knowledge, you can then either choose to go at it alone, with a bit of online research, and hope things turn out for the best, or you can hire a non-profit debt counselor to help you through each step of the way - the choice is ultimately up to you. However, be cautious of the so-called “non-profit” places that are really commercial salesmen looking for your last few pennies (note: they are all over the web).

One last thing you should always keep in mind when it comes to debt is too search high and low for the best credit advice and then use it to help answer these hard questions for you (regardless of whether it comes from an internet search or from a professional credit counselor). Then after you find out that you are similar to many other post-debt consumers, you’ll begin to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Just remember this: everything that is broken can usually be fixed!

Hundreds of car dealers are closing their doors, and the numbers are rising daily. Now here’s the good news: those that remain open are literally overflowing with inventory, trade-in values are lower than when you bought your last car, lease deals are harder to find and generally less appealing than in the past, and traditional financing is becoming harder and harder to get.

This is the right time to purchase a car. Right now, automakers have pulled the emergency brake on production, working to desperately balance out their inventory with demand. The effect will be to bring down the dealer inventories to sustainable levels, at which point the incentives and willingness to negotiate will be drastically reduced.

Most shoppers would be wise to consider a fuel-efficient car now while discounts are available and gas prices are relatively low; once inventories level out and gas prices rise, finding incentives on thrifty four-cylinder and hybrid models will be much more difficult. Also, resist the temptation to buy an SUV, truck, or other gas-guzzling model on the belief that gas will remain cheap (the reason: there is no basis for such an assumption).

Incredible deals can be found in today’s market, but make sure to make smart choices, and go into the buying process with your eyes wide open.

To add to the confusion, most debtors are not willing to take a chance on lending money without a good indication of creditworthiness. Although it may not seem fair, this makes perfect sense from the lender’s standpoint. After all, would you honestly take a chance on an unknown borrower when there are millions of other people applying for loans with clear credit standings and strong histories of repayment?

Fortunately, for these young people, there’s an practical method of building a credit history. It begins by applying for a secured credit card (one that reports to credit bureaus). Instead of basing credit limit on credit history, it bases it on a one-time deposit. This card can then be used for staple purchases, such as groceries and utilities, and as long as the individual repays this credit card back in full or at least stays on top of minimum payments, it will reflect positively on a credit history and will make it much easier to be approved for future loans!

The idea of building credit from scratch may seem discouraging to students and recent graduates. However, it must be done in order to have the best chance of growing their credit the right way. If a positive credit history is sought, then a little planning and time can certainly make it happen!

To start improving your credit score, you must make sure you’re paying your bills on time and managing your available credit wisely. The most important item is definitely going to be your mortgage (make sure you pay it on time each and every month). Also note that installment loans (where you borrow a set amount to buy things like new furniture or appliances) are given more weight than credit cards.

A few additional rules to help you boost your score: 1) always keep your borrowing well below your credit limits, because your FICO score will suffer if you are maxed out on your credit cards, 2) never have more than two or three credit cards because a large number of credit cards will also lower your score, and 3) definitely don’t apply for several credit cards at one time; it makes lenders nervous and will lower your FICO score dramatically.

Many other factors will also affect your score, but this is pretty a good start! My advice: do your research and always be prepared — Good Luck!

It is also important for those buying a first home to factor in the additional costs of the mortgage, when deciding how much they can afford to pay. Things like closing costs and the high price of private mortgage insurance can drive up costs and eat into funds that would otherwise be available for home improvements, furnishings and other essentials. In some cases, sellers may be willing to pay some of the closing costs, and some lenders will be able to negotiate those closing costs downward. The key is to ask those questions before the closing date arrives, and to be prepared to search for a better deal if necessary.

And of course first time home buyers should not lose sight of the home itself in the quest for the perfect mortgage. Any defects should be pointed out to the seller well before the closing is to take place. The costs of every needed repair should be carefully negotiated prior to the purchase, and buyers should always follow up to make sure that all requested repairs have been made. A home is a major purchase, and it is important to make sure that everything has been taken care of before moving in.

First, choose a card type that will work to your advantage. Everyone has a certain type of credit card that they can profit from the most. For instance, a gas card will profit those the most that drive a lot of miles each month, and need to maintain a car. This is because the points that are given for your purchases can be used toward your purchases of gas. Some gas cards will even give you points for car maintenance expenses, and possibly the points may even be applied toward buying another car. A card that is selected for your greatest monthly expenses will give you the most benefits.

Also, see how much of a percentage of cash back is given toward your more ordinary purchases like food, medicine, and gas (you’ll want the highest percentage you can get). This feature is especially important if you have balances on other credit cards. You can transfer them to your new cash back credit card and enjoy a 0% APR balance for up to 15 months. This gives you great savings in interest and can help you to reduce those other credit card debts.

Of course, the best thing for you to do is to choose a cash back credit card with a low interest rate, no annual fees, or hidden charges. In addition, remember that by using it right, you also are building up a credit score — one that will allow you to buy the big-ticket items (especially if all of your credit cards aren’t currently maxed out).

Only a small portion of student borrowing has been in the form of private, non-federal loans. This market has had the same difficulties facing other types of credit, so private loans have become less available and much more expensive. Many people who had relied on private loans are discovering that there are grant and federal loan options that can fill that void. This has resulted in a substantial increase in federal loan borrowing, for good reasons.

In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to reduce the need to borrow and make college more affordable and accessible to everyone who wants to go. To this end, the current administration must develop a way to use the new economic stimulus package to help promote those goals and help turn our economy around in the process.