Best Uses for a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

Bankrate, also published in MSN Money, walks through the seven most common uses for a home equity line of credit — renovations, education, emergencies, debt consolidation, real estate down payments, special events, and credit building — plus alternatives like home equity loans, cash-out refinances, and personal loans. Ryan Cicchelli of Generations Insurance & Financial Services cautions that a HELOC can be an amazing tool for the fiscally disciplined and devastating for everyone else, and that building credit with one works only when you draw amounts you can confidently repay quickly.