By using the equity in your home, you may qualify for a home equity line of credit that works much like a credit card, available for use when and how you please, but at a lower interest rate and often lower payments. Under the tax law-depending on your specific situation, you may also be able to deduct the interest of your home equity line because the debt is secured by your home. Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac says that, "Smart consumers are out there making plans. . . . They are either consolidating debt, or leaving the table with a check, or both." Now might be a good time to look at getting a home equity line of credit if you have major expenses coming up or are looking to consolidate debt.

A home equity loan in the form of a credit line is revolving credit in which your home serves as collateral, making it a secured loan. Usually these loans are at a variable rate, meaning that if the short-term interest rate goes up, you