It’s that time of year. When the kids go back to school each fall, the kids that are done going to school start to think about student loan consolidation. Scary yes, but somebody has to pay those bills. When I started seeing ads for student loan consolidation pop up earlier this summer, it made me think how lucky I was to not have those big fat student loans hanging over my head. Of course, I don’t have the fancy initials to hang off the back of my name, either.

From what I’ve seen, a number of the student loan consolidation companies make some pretty bold claims. For those Gnomies who are overburdened by financial obligations leftover from their college days, any and all claims of savings should be investigated with the highest level of scrutiny.