In 1997, I started making student loan payments, five months after graduating from graduate school. Shortly there after, in a sudden moment of sheer, blinding stupidity, I consolidated my loans, reducing my monthly payment and doubling the term of my loan. I do not want to make payments for 10 more years, however, I cannot figure out how to calculate the money I would save py doubling my payments this November. [more inside]
posted on Jul 6, 2008 - 13 answers

I am looking for the best general student loan company. What are your experienes with specific student loan companies? [more inside]
posted on Jul 3, 2008 - 3 answers

A noobie question on credit scores! I know raising your score is partly done by reliable monthly payments on credit cards and loans - and people who are just starting out to build their scores, are often advised to get a card and begin to responsibly pay it off, to catch the notice of the reporting agencies. Would that mean that if you can pay off a large credit loan (e.g., in the realm of $2k) immediately instead of sticking to a monthly payment system, you're missing out on chances to further raise your score? Or does being able to pay off such an amount in full give you an equivalent gold star sticker? [more inside]
posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 6 answers

Scholarships for nursing students? [more inside]
posted on Jul 1, 2008 - 6 answers

What's the best way to loan money to a friend? [more inside]
posted on May 18, 2008 - 26 answers

Selling my car in Oklahoma, but it's registered in Texas. Can I get some advice on what to do here? More details inside, and this sale could happen today! [more inside]
posted on May 1, 2008 - 1 answers

My mortgage payments are overdue and I have filed paperwork for a loan modification. I just accepted an offer on the condo, and it is due to close on June 26. What is the best way to get clear with the mortgage company before closing? [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm buying a used car, and have a question about the whole title/lien thing.... [more inside]
posted on Apr 13, 2008 - 4 answers

Is it a good idea to take out a 401k loan to pay off unsecured credit card debt, and how do these loans work?
posted on Apr 1, 2008 - 22 answers

How do you figure out daily interest from an APR on student loans due monthly? [more inside]
posted on Feb 28, 2008 - 8 answers

Does a student loan in deferment count as debt for the purposes of figuring debt to income ratios in an FHA loan? [more inside]
posted on Feb 27, 2008 - 3 answers

My sister and her husband are in serious debt. My wife and I are going to act as their financial advisors to help them get it together. Can anyone recommend any programs/products we can look into? [more inside]
posted on Feb 19, 2008 - 39 answers

My crappy car was deemed totaled and I'm going to accept the payout and finance a new used car. I'd also like to move into an apartment soon. Step by step, how do I wrangle this plan into fruition? [more inside]
posted on Feb 15, 2008 - 11 answers

How can I model an unusual mortgage repayment strategy in, say, Excel? [more inside]
posted on Feb 14, 2008 - 6 answers

When will the new, higher conforming loan limit come into effect for US mortgages? [more inside]
posted on Feb 6, 2008 - 5 answers

Is it worth refinancing my auto loan since the Fed made a cut? My current interest rate is 3.90%, can I do better than that, and if so, where?
posted on Jan 23, 2008 - 12 answers

What's the best way you've found to evaluate whether to lease or buy when financing the purchase of a car? Can I treat it as a forward or future contract? Can I negotiate the strike price? Does anyone have experiences on which worked out cheaper for them (lease, buy)? [more inside]
posted on Jan 11, 2008 - 6 answers

My student loans were put on deferment against my will -- how do I prevent this from happening in the future? [more inside]
posted on Dec 14, 2007 - 11 answers

What does it take to get a 'rehab' mortgage to purchase a building? [more inside]
posted on Dec 8, 2007 - 0 answers

What is a fair rate of return on a ten-year loan from a family member that never expected to be paid back? [more inside]
posted on Dec 5, 2007 - 18 answers

I defaulted on my student loans and I want to know the best way to pay them back. [more inside]
posted on Nov 4, 2007 - 9 answers

I just bought a new car before getting fired two days later, and now I'm having trouble securing the loan. What do I do? [more inside]
posted on Oct 31, 2007 - 15 answers

I'm buying a new car, I have bad to mediocre credit (my score is 563) and I have an inheritance I could use to pay cash instead. Which is best for me? [more inside]
posted on Oct 18, 2007 - 18 answers

Finance Filter: I have a second loan on my condo at a rate of 7.75%.. I did this to avoid PMI. I have the cash to pay it off.. 35k or so.. Is it likely a good idea to pay it off and forgo the tax breaks I'm getting on the interest, to avoid the 7.75% rate? [more inside]
posted on Oct 16, 2007 - 7 answers

I'm a Canadian living in the US with an outstanding Canadian student loan. Getting paid in US dollars was working in my favour with regards to making monthly payments on the loan, but not so much anymore with the Canadian dollar on the rise. Is it predicted that the Canadian will stay up and keep rising in value, or this a temporary blip? I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and pay my loans off now, in one go, or ride it out for a few months to see if the US dollar manages to pick itself back up. I realise that there is no one, scientific answer for this question, but educated guesses are appreciated.
posted on Oct 9, 2007 - 12 answers

Can I buy a house using a student loan? Would this even be a good idea? [more inside]
posted on Sep 17, 2007 - 13 answers

Lent money to a friend; now things are weird. [more inside]
posted on Sep 11, 2007 - 22 answers

What's the easiest way to make my US student loan payments from England? [more inside]
posted on Sep 9, 2007 - 11 answers

Does this make sense? I'd like to use a credit card "convenience check" that is offering 1.99% APR for 12 months to pay down some of our home equity loan that is hovering at 8.25%. [more inside]
posted on Aug 26, 2007 - 10 answers

My mortgage lender sent an offer in the mail that I could change from monthly payments to payments every two weeks. This would be good for me, bad for them. Why? [more inside]
posted on Aug 17, 2007 - 21 answers

What is the best place to get a CD (Certificate of Deposit)? [more inside]
posted on Jul 5, 2007 - 8 answers

Trying to Refinance my home (& consolidate some bills). 1 year ago it was appraised at $410k. In the middle of this process, my lender indicated that 2 different appraisers indicated that it's only worth $350k compare to other similar homes in my area... although they haven't come out to do the appraisal yet. I'm concerned that because this is what they believe the value to be, it will be that or close to it. In order for me to do what I need to do (with my bills), I need the value of my home to be at $410. What can/should I do? [more inside]
posted on Jun 27, 2007 - 11 answers

Should we save for down payment or pay off our student loans? and what about retirement? [more inside]
posted on Jun 11, 2007 - 20 answers

How can a student with crap credit borrow £1,000 for a flat deposit? [more inside]
posted on Jun 5, 2007 - 16 answers

Repaying Stafford college loans that disappeared from my credit report (due to age), but still collect all tax refunds - what kind of hit might I expect on my credit, reactivating the account by a full-payoff? More importantly, what kind of deal can I propose to avoid all the interest? Anyone have experience with this? [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2007 - 4 answers

I am going to hire a landscaper to do some major renovations to my backyard. Since I don’t have all the cash on hand right now, I was planning on paying with a 0% interest credit card (and I would easily be able to pay it off in less than a year). The problem is that the landscaper (who we like much more than the others) does not accept credit cards. [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2007 - 21 answers

Help me figure out the best way to finance graduate school abroad. [more inside]
posted on May 10, 2007 - 4 answers

Student loan advice needed. Details within. [more inside]
posted on Apr 30, 2007 - 16 answers

What will my free degree cost me, and how can I make it pay? [more inside]
posted on Apr 9, 2007 - 4 answers

How can I find the amount of interest I paid on my student loans in 2006? [more inside]
posted on Apr 6, 2007 - 11 answers

How do I lend someone money? [more inside]
posted on Jan 30, 2007 - 26 answers

Is it better to pay off all my debts, or keep the debts and invest the money I would have paid them off with? [more inside]
posted on Jan 11, 2007 - 24 answers

Cheap Money Filter: I've got a moderate amount of credit card debt right now ($15k), at reasonable but not great rates (13-18%). I'll be making more money in the upcoming year, and the debt load is manageable, but I want to explore trading these loans with an unsecured line-of-credit type loan or some other loan. Advice? Suggestions on where to get a good rate (i.e. got any good junk mail lately)? [more inside]
posted on Jan 10, 2007 - 15 answers

How can I prove to the DMV that the lien on the car I just bought has been paid off? The secured party listed on the title (a bank) was bought by FCNB bank and then by BB&T bank. [more inside]
posted on Dec 31, 2006 - 8 answers

How can I estimate what the mortgage payment on a commercial building loan will be? [more inside]
posted on Dec 4, 2006 - 7 answers

BadWithMoneyFilter: I owe my college roughly $4,000. This is due to being under part time student, and not being eligible for loans. What to do as it is now in Collections! [more inside]
posted on Nov 15, 2006 - 5 answers

I just landed a well paying job in Seattle after having a soul sucking job, where I did not save a penny for about a year. While the new salary will be great, I am essentially broke, and I need a $3000 loan to relocate and get started (which has been determined to be my responsibility to cover by negociation). None of my relatives or friends have this kind of cash, nor do I have a credit card. So how would I go about getting $3000? Can I just take my job offer into a bank and use that as leverage for a loan? Mefites, help me back out of this corner and find the cash to live my dream.
posted on Oct 27, 2006 - 16 answers

Short-term loan offerings: Which product keeps the FICO "ding" to an absolute minimum? [more inside]
posted on Oct 25, 2006 - 7 answers

I recently found out that when filing my tax returns I can deduct interest paid on my student loans. My question is if I have to file my request for a deduction the same year I pay the interest, or can I wait a couple years to actually take the deduction? Here's the twister: I'm a dependent. Can I make interest payments now and deduct them from my taxes a few years down the road when I'm an independent. Does being a dependent bar me from currently taking a deduction? Thank you...I really appreciate any help.
posted on Oct 1, 2006 - 11 answers

How much money should I loan a very good friend of mine in a tough situation? I feel lost as to what I should do. (extended facts in the extended) [more inside]
posted on Sep 20, 2006 - 33 answers