home loan equity mortgage rate
MONEY | Cutting college loan costs
Rates on federally sponsored college loans are scheduled to increase Saturday, and consolidating existing loans will become less advantageous then. -Many borrowers can get discounts such as a quarter-point reduction in the interest rate for paying by automatic debit and another one-point reduction in the rate after they make 36 on-time payments. On a $30,000 consolidation loan, that would save an additional $6,000 over 20 years.
-Some families might find it cheaper to borrow money by taking out a second mortgage or home-equity credit line, or to lower the payment by extending an existing loan.
-To learn more about federal student loans, see the Department of Education's Web site at .gov. For details on consolidation loans, see Sallie Mae's Web site at www.smartloan.com.
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Don’t mix personal and home improvement funds
Oil and water don't mix, and neither do personal and project funds when it comes to home improvements. Homeowners should separate household cash from monies spent on remodeling or makeover jobs budgeted for more than a few thousand dollars.It makes sense to keep milk money'' a safe distance from project funds. For one reason, it's simply good financial practice. Mixing paychecks and routine bills along with expenditures for materials and construction labor can disrupt household budgets.The most manageable solution is to open a short-term checking account for the life of the project. Banks typically offer free checking to existing customers. Other banks dangle free checking as an enticement to win new business.Short-term checking is especially helpful if mortgage or home equity loan financing is involved.