While in college funds may be tight but the self discipline of providing for yourself in the future will be great way to learn the skills that you will also need in building your career. In fact investing money while in college has so many benefits that it should probably be included on the curriculum. Poor credit isn't necessarily a barrier to you getting a loan to consolidate your debt as the companies understand your situation. There does though have to be an explanation when you apply for a loan for debt consolidation. Poor credit requires you to explain how you came to be in arrears and, just as importantly, why things are going to be different now. They ignored all the warnings and speculation drove prices ever upwards regardless of common sense. Naturally any boom based on speculation is doomed once people sense that the market is overheating. The market reached its peak in early September of 29 and prices began falling sharply losing 17% of their value over the next month. Money can be made in almost any type of investment but matching it to your personality will make it a much more sensible approach. When we think of the different ways of investing money most of us think in terms of the stock market but there are plenty of other types of investment to consider. For example you could choose gold or any other precious metal, real estate, Certificates of Deposit or even old automobiles. Take your time and speak to licensed debt counsellors from as many places as you can find. While a couple of extra days won't make much difference at this stage they could add months or even years on to the length of your repayment schedule. And the old adage of time is money is very true if that happens. As part of assessing your own comfort level you will want to feel comfortable that you can afford to risk losing the money that you are planning to invest. Obviously you don't want to lose it but if you absolutely can't afford to then you should look for something which carries a significantly lower level of risk.