Even though the housing industry is still in a slump that does not mean that you cannot get a very good interest rate and deal on a house in 2009.  The most obvious thing to do is to shop around for the best rate that you can find.  While that is true, there are some other things you can do to help in the process.

Check your credit score.  You can check your credit score and report once per year for free.  If you are in the market for a house, then now is the time to exercise that right.  The higher your score, the lower your interest rate will be so it is worth looking at in advance of the process.

The Federal Trade Commission has a web site where you can find out how to get your free report.  Go to: www.ftc.gov/freereports.  You will also find detailed instructions on what to do if you find errors or other misinformation contained in your report.

Clean up your credit report.  Once you have checked your credit score, look at the accompanying credit report.  If you see incorrect items on it, you need to clean these up so that they do not negatively affect your ability to get a great rate.  While this can be a time-consuming and protracted task, it is well worth performing.  In fact, you will want to delay moving ahead in the process until this is completed.  It is that important.

Make positive changes to your financial picture.  There is nothing like a clean financial picture that makes financial institutions easy to work with in obtaining a mortgage.  Take the time to pay off small, high interest consumer loans like credit cards, etc.  The best thing here to remember is that a strong financial picture and getting on top fo your personal budget shows low overall debt and a high amount of cash and assets on hand.

Consult a Realtor.  One of the many benefits of working with a real estate agency or broker is that they can direct you to the best sources of financing.  It stands to reason that since they deal with those who need financing on a daily basis, the probably have some knowledge of where to you go to obtain a great rate and service.

Compare and Be Aware.  Approach the financing portion of buying a house as you would an interview only you will be doing the interview.  Find out from two or three sources what the going interest rates are and what the details are regarding the loan and any origination and other charges that you will be required to pay at closing.  You might find some very attractive options. Use tools such as an amortization calculator, an interest only mortgage calculator and other mortgage calculators to help you with the math.

If you use these steps you can find a great interest rate on a new house mortgage in 2009.

As we all dig deep for things that we can save money on, there is one that you should not ignore: automobile insurance. If you have not been diligent in keeping up with your car insurance, you can save some serious money here. So, then here are some things that you can look at in order to lower your automobile insurance rates.

Consider other companies. You should shop around, it does nothing more than make you a responsible person. Yes, your loyalty is admirable, but that does not help when you consider that you are overpaying. This is especially appropriate if you have been with an agent for many years.

Increase your deductibles. Just increasing your deductibles will help you save money every month. But, what you should do with that savings is to invest it into a high-yielding savings account and allowing it to grow.

Investigate discounts. Most companies offer discounts based on many things. There is age, occupation, and how and where you drive. Another popular one is the homeowners / auto owners discount in which you can save money by having both of these items covered by the same insurer. Another discount has to do with students. If you have students in your family who are beginning to drive, you know what high premiums are all about. This is why you need to ask if there are any student discounts with your carrier. They might have two or three that you can use to get lower rates.

Change vehicles. Yes, this will help you save money on insurance although it is a radical way to perform this. If you purchase an older vehicle the rates for that car are lower than the newer cars. Stay away from sports cars as the rates for them are through the roof. Part of insurance costs is based on the make and model of the automobile. If it is of foreign make, it might be more expensive than a domestic because of the lower cost of parts.

Be a good driver. The final way is to be a good driver. All of the standard suggestions apply here like driving safely and obeying all traffic laws. And the big one: do not drink and drive.

If you follow these, you can make a serious dent in your automobile insurance rates. In fact, you might find your agent will be willing to help. If you are a good customer, they want to keep your business. The way to do this is to help you in any area above. It is worth the effort.

With the economy facing a down turn, Many Americans are taking a hard look at their finances and finding that they are in a much worse position than they might have originally wanted to admit. They have all sorts of credit card debt, cars that they owe more on than what the car is actually worth and home mortgages which are very disproportionate to their incomes. Many are now following financial advice offered by more conservative financial authors such as Dave Ramsey and Daniel Lapin which suggest that we should have a buffer of 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings and that we should become debt free as fast and as soon as possible.

Of course we can only use a dollar bill to do one thing at a time, and we are forced to prioritize. Do we start throwing as much money at our consumer debt as quick as possible in hopes of getting debt relief solutions, or do we start saving and build a up a buffer to prevent us from getting into any further debt. Many have said that to get out of a hole, the first thing one needs to do to get out of a hole is quit digging down. Certainly one will never get out of debt by taking out new debt while paying off old debt, so first we must accept that we won’t take out any new debt for any reason.

If we make a commitment to not take out any new debt, we’re going to need some money in savings to take care of emergency situations, such as car break downs and trips to the hospital, but we’re not going to want to save up tens of thousands of dollars earning 3% interest while we’re paying 20%+ in interest on credit card debt.

Radio host and financial author Dave Ramsey suggests that we save $1000 and then start paying off our consumer debt. This is a good number because it gives us some cushion and allows us to pay cash for many of the smaller things that would traditionally cause us to take out new debt. After that $1000 is saved we can start paying on our highest-interest or smallest-balance debt. Either way is fine, as long as you pay off your debt with focused intensity and treat it like the cancer that it really is. Of all of the debt relief options on the market, paying them off as fast and quickly as possible is the single most effective way in reducing credit card debt.

We are caught up, as consumers, in finding any way possible to help fit into our budgets. That means that refinancing options are being explored as ways to make this happen. Saving money anywhere possible leaves money available to use in more important places in our budget as well.

So, is it possible to always save money when you refinance your house at a lower rate? It depends.

Lower payments. The goal of a refinance program for borrowers is a lower monthly payment. This is a short-sighted goal. You should not be of a mindset to just fit into a lower payment. You should have as a major goal to pay off your mortgage so that you can one day own the house free and clear. Or, at least pay off enough of the loan so that if you do have to sell, you will have some equity from which you can benefit and use as a down-payment on another house.

Starting over. When you refinance, you start the 30 year process all over again unless you take out a 15 year mortgage and that is not likely since you are trying to save money on a monthly payment. What this means is that if your original mortgage was for 30 years and you have made the payments for five years on that mortgage, you will now be extending that to a 35 year term. This, plus the fact that the amount of interest that you pay is loaded up at the front of the mortgage, means more goes to interest and less to principle.

Fees and costs. Refinancing has its own closing costs and fees, just as you paid when you first bought the home. Get ready to pay these again. Better it would be for you to take that extra money and pay off some smaller, short term debt to give your budget some needed room in which to operate. Do not ignore what can be done by lowering your overall debt load in other ways before considering a refinance.

Avoid the ARM. If you do choose to refinance, be sure to avoid any offers of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Attractive because of rates, they can get you in just a few years down the road with higher payments which will put you right back where you were before.

Take a good, hard look at refinancing before you do and make sure it makes financial sense for you. Be better off, not more in debt.