Your Borrowing

Your Best Deals in Loans
It used to be that borrowing could actually save you money in the long run. When inflation was running wild, it made sense to avoid future prices increases by buying on credit. No longer, inflation has been so low lately that the real cost of borrowing has been at one of its highest points in year.
There is nothing wrong in borrowing-provided you do it wisely. Never borrow more than you can reasonably pay off. Never borrow for luxuries, such as gifts and vacation travel, if that means you will not be able to borrow for necessities, such as mortgage, medical expenses.

You should be sure, of course, that you are getting the most economical interest-rate deal. you may well be best off borrowing from a credit union, if you belong to one. Or taking out a lump-sump loan from a bank or a savings institution and paying it back in installments. Bankers were charging a percentage for personal loans that you could secure with collateral such as savings account, stocks or bonds.

For unsecured loans-which you often can get if you have a good job or regular income and can afford the repayments-they were charging a percentage too. The rates are considerably less than you pay on your credit-card debts. So, if you are paying interest on big credit-card balances, it makes sense to switch to an unsecured credit line and pay off your credit cards.

If you own publicly traded stocks or bonds, you can go to a stockbroker and take out a margin loan, commonly for half the value of your securities. He or she will charge you interest of only a point or two avobe the prime rate.

When you are looking for money, you generally should canvass several different kinds of lenders.
The best place to start searching for a general -purpose loan is where you keep your checking and savings accounts. Many banks charge as much as two percentage points less loans to customers than to noncustomers.

Financing for a new car
If you are shopping for financing for a new car, you can often drive a better bargain on the showroom floor than at the bank.

Purchase of a House or Apartment
If you want to finance the purchase of a house or apartment, you will find that rates on mortgages do not vary a lot from lender to lender. Still, it pays to shop around because small variation can become significant over the long term of the mortgage. Generally, you will get the most competitive rates and terms at savings and loan associations and at mortgage banking firms.
If you already have bought a home, you can turn it into a piggy bank. you usually can borrow up to 80% of your equity - that is, the current market value of your house or apartment minus the amount that you still owe on your mortgage. you do that by applying for either a second mortgage or a home-equity line of credit.

Second Mortgage
The place to get a second mortgage is a bank or savings and loan association.You can get a home-equity credit line from banks, savings and loans and brokerage firms.Another source of cheap credit may be your whole life insurance policy.Many companies also let employees borrow from their assets in corporate profit-sharing or stock plans, and from corporate savings plans.