Don't rule out the college of your freshman's dreams because you think it's too expensive. Experts say marketing a four-year college education resembles marketing airline tickets: Schools charge full price to those students who can afford to pay, then offer discounted "fares" to everyone else to fill their classrooms.

These charities make no-interest loans to students. Many religious and ethnic organizations also offer no- or low-interest education loans. Central Scholarship Bureau Makes about 120 loans annually of up to $15,000 over four years to meritorious students from central Maryland whose families have adjusted gross incomes of less than $75,000. Rolling deadlines

After a year of falling house prices in numerous parts of the country and a meltdown in the mortgage market that affected borrowers regardless of their ZIP code, many hope that housing markets will finally start to get better. But if there's any improvement in 2008, it may be relatively modest. It's difficult to get a consensus on exactly when housing will turn the corner. Local markets will certainly vary, but at the least it's likely that some of the same problems that plagued 2007 will carry over into next year. At best, market conditions could start to stabilize, with home sales regaining strength. If more buyers get back into the market, some of the huge inventories of new and existing homes for sale can begin to be worked off.

Reverse mortgages used to be a way for homeowners to get extra cash during retirement. Now they're also being used for a more-pressing purpose: helping people who are struggling to meet payments on high-interest-rate loans to keep their homes. The strategy, which is relatively novel but gaining popularity among legal-aid attorneys and housing advocates around the country, calls for persuading lenders to take the cash generated by a reverse mortgage in lieu of foreclosing on older homeowners.

World climate has ice ages, and baseball had a Dead Ball Era. Mortgages have their defining epochs, too. In 2003, when mortgage rates dropped below 5.5 percent for a time, it was the Year of the Refinance. The years 2004 through 2006 constituted the Era of the Exotic Mortgage, when homebuyers were eager to get any type of loan so they could grab houses before prices were out of reach. Then came 2007, the Year of Reckoning, when home prices went down and the foreclosure rate went up. And 2008 will be the Year of the Refinance again, but for different reasons than those that drove the refi boom of 2003. Five years ago, low rates spurred people to refinance. In 2008, homeowners will refi because their adjustable-rate mortgages will hit their reset dates, sending rates skyward.

Many programs offer to bail you out of an impending mortgage rate increase. Do any really help? Major considerations: Often, these programs require counseling sessions, which may take too long if you're in a loan due to reset soon. Some have special requirements, which may disqualify you. You first may have to negotiate with your lender, who may or may not help. The loan terms for which you qualify may be unattractive. Also, investment property or non-owner-occupied property may be excluded.

A home is yours forever. As long as you can afford the mortgage and taxes, you don't ever have to move. There's no landlord to terminate your lease, raise your rent or deny you permission to make changes to the property. Homeownership also forces you to save. If you have a traditional 30-year or 15-year mortgage, a small portion of each monthly payment reduces your indebtedness. And the amount that goes toward amortizing the loan increases over time. This can be very useful for people who lack the discipline to save on their own.

The political debate over how to deal with a surge in defaults on home loans is raising a question that consumers ought to consider: Is my mortgage broker really working for me? Borrowers often see mortgage brokers as their allies, searching far and wide for just the right home loan at an attractively low price. But many brokers are making it clear they don't see things that way. They are fighting efforts by federal and state politicians to impose a fiduciary duty on them to put their customers' interests first, as lawyers, real-estate agents and financial planners generally are required to do with their clients.

As mortgage woes spread, what's a nervous borrower to do? Mike Wilt, who lives in Uniontown, Ohio, is trying to figure that out. Mr. Wilt, a marketing director for a communications firm, is current on his $180,000 adjustable-rate mortgage -- the home's price when he paid for it. But he says he may soon start to fall behind, as he's been notified that his interest rate jumped to 11.5% from 8.5% in September, which will cost him an extra $400 a month. When he tried to refinance back in March, Mr. Wilt was turned down for a loan with better terms because of his credit score; not even his boss's friends from a local bank could help. "The rules that got me into the original mortgage had changed," says the 31-year-old, referring to what he perceives as tougher lending standards.

Too many borrowers may be unfairly blaming credit scores for their higher-than-expected loan rates or extra credit-card fees, according to a recent working paper. The real culprit may be your own misunderstanding of how the lending process works, coupled with a failure to conduct adequate research before you apply, suggests the MIT Department of Economics working paper. The paper, written by a team of Federal Reserve and university researchers led by Sumit Agarwal of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, admits a FICO credit score may determine if you're offered a loan. But other factors may contribute more heavily to your rate and fees.