If you’re a parent and you have a child that is going to college you may be wondering “what’s the best type of loan to take out for son or daughter’s college expenses? It is smart to borrow a Federal Loan because they are cheaper, more available, and have better repayment terms than private loans. But if your child maxes out their Federal Student Loans, your family still has options to help pay for college.

You can still take out a Parent-Plus loan to help carry the costs, this is a Federal Loan that has a fixed rate of just under 8% and with 4% in fees. The loan is also eligible for the student loan interest deduction which allows you to deduct up to $2,500 a year on your taxes. Private student loans are another option, even though they are usually borrowed by the student, most require a credit worthy cosigner such as a parent and you’re equally obligated to repay that debt that means late payments will be reported on your credit history too.

The other option is a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit, and they may be an option if you have equity in your home. Now home loans may offer interest rates that are competitive with private student loans. But you also need to consider whether there are other ways to saving on college costs such as enrolling in an in-state public college, buying used text books, or taking fewer trips home from school. The bottom line your children’s college debt at the end of their graduation should be less than their starting salary.

Energy costs these days are very high but did you know you can cut your energy costs and save thousands of dollars. We are going to list 2 products and 1 rule that together can cut your energy bill by over 50%.

Lighting – Did you know that light bulbs also act as a space heater? 95% of energy is wasted as heat, the average American family spends 25% of it’s annual energy bill on lighting in part because the AC is running to cool off the heat coming from the lights which doesn’t make much sense. The solution for this is L.E.D.s or Light Emitting Diodes which use 10 times less energy than incandescents and run 3 times cooler. The savings over 6 years in one home assuming 25 bulbs in the house is $2000.

Entertainment Center Smart Strip – Fact, American cable set top boxes consumed as much electricity last year as all the homes in the entire state of Maryland combined. Now if you want to save some energy you need to plug your TV into the master outlet of a smart strip, turn off the TV at night and before your vacation, and you also switch off all the devices plugged into the same strip. This can give you up to 77% power savings annually.

Insulation – Finally remember heat, up to 40% of heat is lost due to poor insulation. Turns out many state and local utilities huge rebates towards home insulation projects, up to $1,500. This will get you paid for saving money!