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 Management Credit Counseling - Too many credit bills for you to handle with your budget? Compare different programs and find the one that is the right match for your individual situation.
• Debt Settlement Service - If you have too many credit cards and other small debts and are unable to make your payments, this form of debt negotiation may be right for you.
• Personal Loan Financing - This type of lending is most often structured as an unsecured debt. This means your personal property or house will not used as collateral. Your approval (or denial) will usually be based upon your payment / credit history and your ability to repay the loan. This type of credit is also often called a signature loan.

Special Edition: 51 Ways to Save Hundreds on Loans and Credit Cards

A Message to Readers

You probably think of loans and credit cards as services — as ways to borrow money and buy things. And of course, you're right about that. But given the astounding array of credit-related services available today, with their varying degrees of complexity and costs, it's smart to think of mortgages, credit cards and auto loans as products — tangible items that you should research and compare before you buy, and then use with care.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation wants to help you reap the benefits of loans and credit cards at the lowest possible costs. That's why this special edition of our quarterly FDIC Consumer News is a collection of 51 simple, practical tips and other guidance that can help you save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

In this special edition you'll find ideas and information on topics such as how to: get the best possible interest rates on loans and credit cards; avoid paying unnecessary fees; find "emergency" loans at affordable prices; and steer clear of credit-related rip-offs and scams.

At the FDIC, we not only help keep your money safe in insured bank accounts, we also want to help you keep more of your money.

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 8/15/2007

Make educated decisions when shopping for bank services, consolidation of debt, mortgages and insurance. Read up!

DebtConsolidationLoan.com has a growing list of free informative and educational financial articles for consumers shopping for many types of financial services related to the management of your money, such as bill consolidation, fraud alerts and auto insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding your personal finances than to read and understand how they work, fees you will be charged, etc. Please feel free to visit our consumer library to learn more.

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