The St. Petersburg Times had an interesting article in today’s newspaper about how to save money on car rentals.  According to the report, you can save money by renting from a location other than the airport (and thus saving airport fees) and by playing around a bit with your pick up and drop off times (to see if you can qualify for a lower weekend rate).

I would add that if you are renting at an off-airport location, you need to factor in the expense of getting to the car rental office.  Some companies say they will pick you up, but I suspect you might find you have to take a taxi.  Also, make sure you are doing an apples to apples comparison.  Different companies in different locations might have an entirely different set of fees tacked on to your base rental rate.

When my travel dates are definite, I always look around and find the best rate I can online at the big travel sites.  Then I go to Priceline and lowball.  I can generally save a lot of money on car rentals this way.  However, this tip comes with a word of warning.  When you rent through Priceline you pay up front.  If you cancel your trip, you do not get your money back.  Also, if you are planning on flying into Manchester, NH, and your flight gets canceled, you cannot simply divert to Boston.  You will not be able to move your reservation to a new location.

The obvious money saving tips are to check with your credit card company to see if insurance on a rental vehicle is included.  You don’t want to pay for extra coverages through the rental company if you don’t have to.  And unless you know you are going to be running short on time when you bring the car back, you are almost never going to want to prepay the tank of gas.  If you are weighing this one be sure and find out what the rental company will charge you per gallon to fill the car for you.

You will recall the mortgage finance giant was taken over by government regulators in 2008 in a $200 billion deal that included Freddie Mac.  Fannie Mae lost $59 billion last year.  The recent losses come despite Fannie Mae’s receipt of $15 billion dollars in bail out money earlier this year.  Now Fannie Mae seeks an additional $19 billion dollars in aid.

At what point does “aid” turn into a recurring subsidy?

After refusing to follow the House of Representatives in voting for an Obama backed housing bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to “cram down” residential mortgages, the Senate today passed its own housing bill.  The Senate bill attempts to ease the burden on homeowners facing foreclosure by allowing borrowers to refinance into lower cost government-backed mortgages.  Specifically, the Senate bill will expand the $300 billion “Hope for Homeowners” program which has so far been a resounding failure.  Since it began last year, the “Hope for Homeowners” program has enabled exactly 1 borrower (yes, 1) to complete a refinance.  Lawmakers hope to make the program available to more borrowers by loosening up the qualifications.

Opponents of the plan worry about the government’s increased role in taking on and insuring more and more risky loans.  The House has approved the Senate version of the bill, and it is expected to be signed into law very soon.

Many people who think they have dodged a bullet by getting a debt cancelled later find themselves facing a hefty tax bill.  Be sure to check out my article, “Taxable Cancellation of Debt: What is it?” to learn about the exceptions to the rule.