Related Consumer Finance Programs - The following lists of companies and financial service providers offer services to assist you with handling your debts. Combine debt with a consolidation loan or use a credit counseling or debt relief program for help with lowering your payments and getting your credit card bills and other obligations under control.

• Debt Consolidation Services - If you have a large amount of  credit card and other debts, now may be a good time to consolidate your debt and lower your payments.
• Personal Loan Consolidation - Looking for a smaller loan for the consolidation of debt? Start your search at the directory of personal loans, where you can compare and apply online with different lenders and related companies.
• Debt Settlement Negotiation - Are you finding yourself unable to meet your monthly budget because of too many credit card payments? Negotiating your debts may or may not be the right choice to get help with your financial situation. Compare programs designed for helping people with similar debt problems.

Start Smart: Money Management for Teens

Do You Really Need Those $125 Designer Sneakers?

A "need" is something you cannot live without. A "want" is something that would be nice to have but isn''t necessary.

"A need may be a pair of sneakers, but a want is the $125 pair advertised by your favorite athlete," explained Paul Horwitz of the FDIC.

When you can control your spending on life''s wants, you''ll have more money available to save for what you need in the future.

Janet Kincaid of the FDIC offered this tip: "Take a day or two to think about any purchase that will cost a significant portion of your savings," she said. "If you really need to buy the item, it will probably still be there for you. If you don''t need it but you still want it, perhaps you can buy something similar that''s a lot less expensive and save the remaining money for other things."

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 8/18/2006

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 is a free online 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 to outside companies providing loans and other related financial services. Use this website at your own discretion. Last site update: 2012-02-02.