There are very good reasons to think long and hard before tapping into your home equity as either a line of credit or a straight loan. Many people lose track of the fact that the collateral in this type of loan is the ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS. Do you really want to risk your home for cash, even if you find yourself completely certain that you will be able to repay it? At the very least, are you willing to do that for anything short of a Very Good Reason? I would hope that the answer is “no.” Secondly, HELOCs tend to be big debts. This is not a two thousand dollar credit card. You could have tens of thousands of dollars revolving on your line, which is a scary proposition. Will you be able to control yourself? And, worst of all, what happens if your home quickly loses a large amount of equity, as so many people’s did during the housing collapse? Will you be prepared to remit your obligation? These are all questions to ask.

The number one home equity lending blunder against which financial experts caution is borrowing against your home’s value for the sake of investment. In a nutshell, the potential for things Not Ending Well is really high, and the consequences of a meltdown (namely, you losing your house) are just too steep. Financial experts brings up the binge on borrowing against home equity for the sake of investment that Americans went on en masse at the end of the 1990s, and how many consumers got burned badly by the philosophy that it was safe to tap your home’s worth to try and get ahead. Financial experts’ motto is to only invest with money that you have already earned, since equity can be quickly and dramatically lost (just ask almost any American who bought a home in the last five years). The single exception to that rule is borrowing against equity to start up or develop a business when plenty of thought and research and consideration have gone into the decision and the preparation. This is not a judgment I would make myself, if I were you. I would only undertake such an important decision with sound guidance and backing, because the possibility for screwing up and seriously damaging your whole financial life is just too great.

The second home equity borrowing blunder financial experts cite is taking out a HELOC or a home equity loan for tax purposes. I’ll interject here to say that borrowing almost anything solely for a tax credit is ludicrous – it is always a better idea financially to hold onto your money. If you get an incentive for a mortgage that you were already planning to acquire, then good for you. Otherwise, as financial experts puts it, you are essentially spending a dollar to get anywhere from twenty-five to thirty cents back. Only, in the case of buying a home, you are talking about tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in for just a few thousand back. If you are even thinking of buying a home for the tax benefits, don’t take my word or financial experts’ word for it… consult a tax professional and present the situation to them. Blindly making big decisions with just the thought of some invisible tax carrot in front of you is silly at best, and patently ridiculous at worst.

While we are talking about really stupid decisions, hear me out on this next one. For the love of everything holy, do not tap blindly into your home’s equity to consolidate debt. The “blindly” part of that statement is key. If you are one hundred percent committed to life without plastic and have already cancelled the accounts plus destroyed the physical card with your scissors or lawnmower or chainsaw or what-have-you, then you can cautiously take a look at consolidating your debts onto a home equity loan or home equity line of credit so that you can pay them off with a lower rate.

On the other hand, do not pass GO (or call a broker) if you have not given some serious gravity to the thought of how your lifestyle will have to change to make the decision a good idea. Let me put this bluntly, and step away from financial experts and her scholarly advice for a moment. Credit card companies can be obnoxious, and they can certainly make your life miserable if you get in over your head and default on your debt. On the other hand, once you take out a home equity loan, it’s the roof over your head that is on the line. Think hard about that, and also consider the old saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Paying off debt responsibly and without creating more is just like losing 25 pounds or quitting smoking – plenty of people try to do it, but few succeed. If our willpower was that strong, we wouldn’t be in debt / overweight / addicted in the first place. Consolidation via home equity should not be used to defer debt and put it off until later, either.

The fourth reason on financial experts’ list of why you should not get a home equity loan is for buying things that you want. Purchasing non-essentials by putting your home on the line is an epically bad idea. It doesn’t matter whether your wish list includes many small things or one big one, like a new boat. The old saying that you have to spend money to make money simply does not hold true. So, you have a big boat and it is worth money. You had to part with some cash to get that asset: and in banking terms, that is referred to as negative equity. It’s as bad a thing as the name implies. Financial experts share the opinion that most people who are wealthy and smart with their money have not used credit to purchase the nice things that they have. The oldest and simplest way of acquiring the finer things in life is still the best idea – save, save, save. Our parents always told us that nothing good in life comes easily, and unless you are a trust fund baby who was born with that proverbial silver spoon under your tongue, then that old adage applies really and truly to our borrowing decisions. “Things” come and go, but debt will stay wit you for a very long time. I guarantee it will be with you long after the polish fades on that new car, after your new boat has started to take on water, and far, far longer than it takes for your tan to fade from that luxury all-inclusive vacation.

Have you been learning a lot about what not to do with your home equity? The last bad idea when it comes to home equity borrowing according to an expert is to take out a loan or line of credit that depends on a balloon payment or is an “interest only” loan. This is a matter of very basic economics: if you can just barely afford the interest payments on a loan, then what is going to happen when it comes to the point where you have to start paying on the principal as well? Never mind balloon payments… telling people that they have to come up with a large sum of money in the future has a real tendency to end badly. If you end up taking out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit, make sure that yours is one where you are also paying on the principal amount of the obligation right from the starting date. Borrow only what you need and what you know you can afford to repay. Actually, if I had to sum up all these suggestions and highlight one main idea from this story, then that last sentence would really be it. That’s the main suggestion, and it should be one of common sense.

North Carolina’s laws mandate 30/60/35 coverage – thirty thousand dollars in liability claims made on behalf of the first person involved in an auto accident, with up to sixty thousand dollars able to be paid out in liability claims made by everyone else involved. That is bodily injury coverage. Those plans also allow for twenty-five thousand dollars in property damage liability that could be paid out. Keep in mind that you will be subject to higher minimums if you finance your car.

If you have a new car and hold a payment on it, you can expect that you will have to pay for comprehensive and collision insurance at least until the car is fully paid off. This is not at all a bad thing! Many drivers don’t realize that the basic required insurance does not actually cover damage to their own car that should arise as the result of an accident. The extra cost of these types of coverage is not that high in comparison to what you could be paying if you end up in an accident and don’t have this type of coverage to assist you in paying for the repairs! Collision insurance will cover the costs of repairs to your personal vehicle caused by an accident, and comprehensive coverage covers the cost of repairs to the vehicle associated with fire, theft, vandalism, etc.

Of course, the very best protection you can give yourself and your car through auto insurance is to carry full coverage. This is inclusive of the state minimums as to bodily injury and property damage, as well as uninsured/under-insured motorist protection, rental car coverage, third-party billing, and several other features. This type of coverage is great for all car owners who can afford it, but especially indispensible for those who are driving especially-nice vehicles. Those who have a lease on their cars will also benefit from the complete protection that full coverage provides, as well as the associated peace of mind.

To make sure that you are getting the very best price possible on your car insurance (in North Carolina or elsewhere), it is recommended that you get quotes from several insurers. There are painless and quick ways to do this on the World Wide Web, thanks to the use of sites that let you access multiple quotes in one place.

It’s true that today’s credit cards bear more security measures than ever before, including zero-liability policies in case of fraud and/or theft. This begs the question: does it matter if you sign your card at all? And how about the trend of writing “check ID” (variations include “see ID” and “CID”), to supposedly ensure that more attention is paid to your security? In theory, a lost or stolen card with see ID should be impossible to use, right? Hate to tell you, but that’s not entirely the case. For the first point, writing see ID on your card does not make the cashiers of the world any more likely to flip your card over and check the signature line at the point of sale. Cashiers are not known for their extreme diligence in the best of situations. Additionally, advances in computer fraud make it easy for thieves to manufacture horrifyingly real-looking fake IDs sporting your name, with their picture. With this handy-dandy form of fraud in hand, typical credit card security features become a joke. So what should a smart consumer do? What, exactly, is the right decision?

Bank of American and certain other innovators in the field of credit card design and issuing have begun embedding a picture of the card holder on the front of the card as an added security feature. Choosing a card with this additional aspect of security may be a good idea if you are wary about the idea of using a credit card online or over the phone. And it is true that most card companies will not hold you liable for more than a minor fee if your card is fraudulently used, and many will hold you fully exempt from any liability. That is, of course, if you have done your part as the credit cardholder to ensure the security of your transactions. Part of the credit card agreement you sign is a pledge to sign your signature clearly on the back of the card when you receive it. You’ll notice that a message warns that the card is not valid unless signed, and that is technically true when push comes to shove. If you have “see ID” or one of its equivalents on the back of your card in lieu of a valid signature, you risk having your claim denied in the unfortunate case that your card and/or identity was stolen and used fraudulently. The lesson: sign your card. If you absolutely feel that you must include that “CID,” go ahead and add it along with actual signature. In a world where no form of commerce is ever truly safe, this is probably as good as it gets.

Getting car insurance is easier than ever nowadays, due to the fact that many insurers offer fast and easy rate quotes right over the World Wide Web! In many cases, you can input your information, get a quote, purchase a policy with your credit card through a safe and secure encrypted checkout process, and print out your insurance card straight away. There is no quicker or more convenient way of buying insurance, although you can still do it over the phone or in-person. Web insurance purchase, however, is the fastest way to get the best price on your coverage.

Be careful about getting TOO frugal, however. With car insurance, as is the case so often in life, you get what you pay for. Skimping on important types of coverage or foregoing them altogether will backfire painfully on you if you have a bad accident and are left with little or no help. You may also find that the insurers who offer the cheapest prices are those with shady reputations.

It’s no wonder that consumers are having major difficulty in meeting their student loan obligations. Lauren Asher of the nonprofit group Project on Student Debt speculates that overall decreases in borrowers’ ability to pay any kind of debt and a significant increase in the amount of student loan borrowers have both played a role in the current situation. Student loan defaults not only have a lasting and damaging effect on the delinquent borrower, but the government as well. Sallie Mae loans, for example, are ninety-seven percent backed by the government. Every bad loan plays a minuscule part in compounding the economic crisis.

Lenders are taking dramatic steps towards restructuring their loan products, in the interest of encouraging borrowers to start paying. This summer, some borrowers may be allowed to repay federal loans on the basis of the starting salary at their new jobs. Basically the more money you make, the sooner you would be expected to pay off your debt. Those making lower salaries (or unable to find work) can defer their loans, or pay very little at first.

The guarantee takes the form of a package deal – a price guarantee, an offer that will have the buyer paying nothing for ninety days, a three-month “pay break” (under which you can choose to defer your payments by three months), cash incentives of as much as sixty-five hundred dollars, zero percent financing for five years, and a “fully-backed warrantee.” Those warrantees will be backed by the United States and Canadian governments, who are pitching in on a bailout loan for Chrysler to keep the auto giant afloat. The warrantees will be paid for by some of those funds.

It can’t be denied that the “Buy With Confidence Guarantee” sounds like a sweet deal, but Chrysler Canada will have to actually find a few buyers willing to part with their hard-earned money in this dismal economy and take on a new auto loan. If you happen to be a Canadian consumer with good credit who is in the market, however, you might just luck out on one of the niftiest auto loan deals of the century.

Dental loans are one way that many consumers are dealing with the exorbitant costs of taking care of their teeth. You’ve heard of auto loans, home loans, payday loans – well, add this kind of loan onto your list of esoteric ways you can go into debt. Companies such as CareCredit (one of the largest out there) have made a booming business in lending money specifically for use on health and cosmetic procedures. Non-covered procedures like Lasik vision surgery and teeth whitening are two examples of totally elective procedures that might be obtained with such a loan, but needful dentistry tops the list.

Consumers with good credit can shop around for a dental loan offering the most reasonable terms. Obviously, you will want to seek a loan with the lowest interest possible, no upfront costs, no annual fees, and no prepayment penalties. Dental loans can be used to supplement health insurance, or used by those who have none. Some such loans are actually a specialized credit cards which can be used over and over again as long as the account is in good standing.