A few of the services offered at the Debt Consolidation Loan Directory:

• Debt Loan Consolidation (home page) - Shop for a complete range of financial services, such as: home equity loans and other mortgage financing, auto loans, credit counseling and personal loans.
• Debt Management Plan - Too many credit card debts and other bills? Shop the Debt Consolidation Loan Directory to help you find a company to develop and implement a debt management program tailored to meet your needs.
• Personal Loan Company - Personal loans are smaller than other types of debt consolidation loans and are generally unsecured; meaning that they do not require personal assets or collateral to be used security.
• Bill Consolidation - Are your credit cards and other debts out of control? Compare and review different services that can help you make your personal debt situation more manageable.

A Special Guide for Seniors and Families

Naming Names: Points to Consider Before Giving Friends or Relatives Access to Bank Accounts and Safe Deposit Boxes

Think about who else should have access to your safe deposit box. You can jointly rent a safe deposit box with a relative or anyone else who would have unrestricted access to the box, now or when you die. Or, you can arrange with your bank to permit someone to access the box as a convenience to you, not as full or partial owners of the contents. "It isn't enough to tell someone where to find your key to the safe deposit box," noted Janet Kincaid, FDIC Senior Consumer Affairs Officer. "He or she must be on the bank's records to be able to get into the box."

Becker added that it's also important to periodically review who has access to your safe deposit box. "Circumstances may change," he said. "For example, perhaps you've gotten divorced since you rented the box. You might not want that other person to have access to the contents."

Want more guidance about naming names to accounts, especially regarding your insurance coverage? You can always call or write the FDIC as noted on For More Information About FDIC Insurance. Also check out the information on deposit insurance coverage at www.fdic.gov.

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 3/23/2006

Make the correct decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services. Educate yourself!

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative / educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of services related to the management of your money, such as consolidating credit card debts, fraud alerts and car insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than to read and understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer resource library for more information.

• Cell Phone Banking - New cell phones are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This includes adding the capability of handling online banking through your phone. This FDIC article discusses some of the possibilities and precautions you should take when using your phone for banking purposes.
• How to Protect Yourself with FDIC Insurance - Read up on what qualifications are necessary and how to determine if your deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.
• Direct Deposit Safer than Checks? - The US Treasury Department reports that a majority of surveyed consumers mistakenly believe that paper checks are safer than direct deposit.
• Consider the Fees! - Learn what to look for and examine the details of each banking account offer for possible fees, such as: inactivity, minimum balance and ATM withdrawal fees.

debtconsolidationloan.com (Debt Consolidation Loan) is a free web service and directory. All information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. debtconsolidationloan.com is not responsible for the content and services, that may be provided to you, by following the links from this web site. Use this service at your own discretion. Last site update: 2012-02-01.