According to BusinessWeek, "In recent months, peer-to-peer lending sites such as Prosper and Virgin Money USA have introduced student loans or started marketing existing offerings to families looking for college funds. Others, including startups GreenNote and Fynanz, are focused exclusively on making college loans."

It's not a surprising development. Peer-to-peer lending has been growing in popularity for years and the tightened credit market is making it tougher for some students to secure loans for college.

There may be a future in peer-to-peer student loans but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Here's why:

• Subsidized student loans are always preferable. Before exploring any private loans, college students should complete the FAFSA form and take steps to see how much they can borrow at artificially low interest rates.

As the class of 2008 graduates from high school, a good chunk will be heading off to college. There they will be bombarded with free t-shirts and bottle-openers: if only they'll just take a quick moment to fill out this credit card application. The average college student will graduate with $3 thousand in credit card debt -- which might not sound so bad until you think about the fact that many graduate with none, meaning that the average student who uses a credit card in college graduates with considerably more than $3 thousand in credit card debt. And don't even get me started on student loans.

Since the vast majority of kids will get credit cards (It can be helpful for building a credit history), your role as a parent is to educate Junior about the process. Here are some tips for helping your first time credit card user get off to a good (or at least not destructive start):

• Pick a card with no annual fee -- There's just no reason to pay a fee on your first credit card. Few college kids spend enough money for any rewards to justify the fee. Generally this will mean paying a higher interest rate -- tell your kid the interest rate doesn't matter because if he ever carries a balance you will disown him.
  
• De-emphasize the whole rewards thing: remember, credit companies offer rewards because they increase their profits. Getting a $50 savings bond for every $2000 you spend might sound wonderfully financially savvy, but it isn't if the joy of saving induces you into overspending.
• Urge them not to place anything other than necessities on the credit card: textbooks, gas, and other costs that aren't likely to increase due to the convenience of plastic. Clothing and especially restaurant meals should be paid for with debit cards or, better yet, cash.

Rather than wait for some snake oil salesman to sign your child up for a credit card when you're hundreds of miles away, take the opportunity to do it together, now. The CreditCards.com Student Credit Cards page has 9 cards for you to choose from, and you can click the links and fill out an application in just a few minutes.

A good friend and coworker of mine was having trouble finding the right Mother's day gift for his mom. He dearly loves the lady, and wanted to get or do something very special for her. His problem was that available cash was in short supply. After careful consideration he came up with the perfect Mother's Day gift.

He shaved off his beard and cut his hair, something she had been asking him to do for a number of years. His mom is joyous about the change.

I think I'm safe in saying that most mothers couldn't care less about whether or not we spend any money on commemorating their government-declared special day. Moms want sincere hugs and kisses. They want babbling grandchildren close at hand. They want their hands held firmly as you tell them how special they are to you. They want to know how the lessons they taught you still serve as guides in your daily life. Moms invest their whole lives in their kids. The dividends of motherhood should be just as sincere.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

Back in April, I wrote about the free Chicago White Sox kids club memberhsip. Not to be outdone, the Florida Marlins have Billy's Bunch, a kids club that's free to join for anyone 12 years old and younger. Members receive:

• A Welcome Letter from Billy The Marlin
• 2 FREE Vouchers to attend a 2008 Marlins Home Game
• 2008 Player Poster
• Baseball Cards
• Marlins Eye black

The are also monthly contests to win signed memorabilia.

It's free, and you don't even have to be a Florida resident to join. If your kid's a baseball fan, sign em' up. The eye black will come in handy for Little League.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

Summer will soon be here again and the sinking housing market might mean things are tight. You may no longer feel comfortable shelling out for summer camp for the kids, so you'll have to get creative. here's an idea: tap into the entrepreneurial instincts of youth, and help your kids start their first business. Yes, a lemonade stand.

If you log-on to Sunkist's site, you can find everything they'll need to get started: tips for young entrepreneurs, posters, a form for keeping track of sales (, recipes, advice on pricing, success stories, and information on how to use the stand to raise money for charity. If you fill out a form, they'll mail you a lemonade stand kit. They're out of stock right now, but check back soon for more.

But you probably don't need the cardboard stand: your kids will have more fun designing their own.

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

I was pregnant with my first son, Everett, when my family bought a membership to the Oregon Zoo. Here in Portland, obstetricians actually suggest eager moms-to-be walk up and down the hills at the zoo when they're trying to stimulate contractions.

It didn't work much, but it started a family connection to the zoo (and hilariously, a baby mountain goat was born the same day as Everett), and now that we have three children, we've upgraded to the most serious membership of all. My husband's favorite thing to do with the children is to get on the bus (we've given up our family car) and take the boys to see animals. With the $100 annual membership, all our visits are free but for snacks.

Ahem. But for snacks. Visits have been few and far between lately, because the snacks at the zoo now seem so expensive. Even though the baby doesn't ask for elephant ears, buying even one treat for every family member with a full set of teeth can set us back $20 -- more than our typical family grocery budget for a day (and we haven't had a zip of nutrition, in all likelihood). I don't mind packing snacks for the boys to go on an afternoon excursion (especially if that leaves me home alone in peace), but have you ever taken a five-year-old and three-year-old to the zoo and refused to buy them the treats offered at every turn? Umm-hmmm. Avoiding the "gimmes" when we truly can't afford to satisfy them is the reason we now spend a lot more of our entertainment time enjoying the wildlife in our own backyard.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

I was a big fan of the Magic School Bus when I was younger, and now the Environmental Protection Agency is offering free copies of a new book from the series, The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up: According to the EPA:

In "The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up," the children and Ms. Frizzle explore the pollution emitted from their own diesel school bus and learn about how to reduce the emissions as they find themselves traveling through a diesel engine. The children learn about idle reduction and ways the community can help reduce the health risks from diesel exhaust. At the end of the book, the "Magic School Bus" gets its own pollution control device, a diesel particulate-matter filter.

Sound interesting? Click here to order. The book and shipping are free and you can order up to 20. Perfect for teachers!

With the competition reduced to four teams, this week's episode of I Know My Kid's a Star brings us to what might be thought of as the top of the homestretch. This is good news. It's almost over. Soon we will no longer be treated to mothers who say things like:

• "They nailed her to the cross."
• "At home I'm used to pushing her."
• "I don't want to get frustrated with you here. Tone it down and start to cry."
  

Nor will we have to listen to children who have more maturity than their parents but are forced to speak like parrots.

Alai: "Couldn't you just talk it out with her?"
Gigi: "She's a liar and how do I feel about liars?"
Alai: "You don't like them."

At the risk of branding myself as a Pollyanna (does anyone still know what that is?), I think there may be a silver lining to a recession. No one wants to see people lose their homes or suffer the stresses that come with a downturn in the economy -- but some of our values are in desperate need of recalibration. Hard times can do that.

I have a fantasy. For those of you who have read my posts before and know where I come from as a child therapist, the fantasy probably won't surprise you. Imagine this.

The parent(s) have reviewed their financial situation and decided they will have to make some changes. Last summer the kids went away to camp for a month and the other month took three lessons each. The rest of the time, they mainly fought over the computer and ate cupcakes and cereal in front of the television.

The Olsen Twins were once the world's nations wealthiest kids but it seems that title has been handed over to none other than Miley Cyrus. PEOPLE magazine has reported that Disney's singing and acting sensation and her Hannah Montana brand are slated to bring in $1 billion by the end of the year. (Not bad for 15-years-old) And, while not a billion, other child stars, like the Jonas Brothers, Dakota Fanning, and Abigail Breslin are bringing in multi-millions each year.

This made me wonder what average kids are doing with their money and how much they get in the first place. I headed out on the streets of New York City to find out and it seems that New York's youth are spending the majority of money they receive on their sweet tooth cravings. Many said that they spend their allowances on candy, and sometimes toys and clothes.

These kids, who generally earn their dough by doing chores around the house, bring in a range of dollar amounts: anywhere between $7 and $40 a week. While Miley Cyrus says that she would like to purchase a vintage Corvette with all her cash and the Jonas brothers bought new computers with theirs, the kids on the street said that if they had that kind of money they would consider doing something else with it.

Kids may well count the days until summer vacation, but their parents are dreading it.

That's because when school's out, camps are in. And we've got to find a way to pay for it somehow.

Time was, summer meant three months of running free, finding ways to kill hot summer afternoons at the community pool or with friends or in your backyard campsite. Those days are over.

As the spring semester winds down, college students are starting to figure out what they're going to do with their summers. Working, seeing friends, internships and perhaps a bit of travel are popular plans. But in light of the soaring cost of college, this might be an ideal time to look at a great way to save some money: Taking community college classes, transferring the credits, and maybe graduating college a semester or more early.

For an example of how this works, let's look at how a University of Massachusetts Amherst student might save money taking summer classes at Cape Cod Community College. UMass is a relatively inexpensive public university -- if you're attending a private college, the savings are probably much greater.

At UMASS, the total tuition and fees for one semester is $5,116 for an in-state student, not including room and board or any other expenses. A full-time student generally takes four or five three-credit classes per semester, working out to at least $1,000 per class.

You can take a three-credit class at Cape Cod Community College this summer for $394. If you take five, that could lop a full semester off your bill, saving you more than $3,000, not including room and board. And another thing: the sooner you graduate, the sooner you'll be working full-time at a more skilled job, so the actual addition to your net worth from this strategy could be well over $40,000.

A caveat: Because most community colleges won't offer the higher-level classes you need for your degree, this strategy works best for fulfilling general education requirements early in your college career. If you're a math major, community college might be a good place to take an English class over the summer.

Before you sign up, talk with your registrar's office to learn about the credit transfer process and find out which classes your college will give you credit for.

We live in a society in which schools are responsible for everything. Parenting is no longer such a hard job if you can just push your responsibility off on the schools. There was a time when parents raised their own children and taught them necessary life skills, and schools were there to teach reading and math and science.

No more. Schools now seem to be the primary source of parenting for children. I knew we were in bad shape when schools started serving breakfast to students because the parents weren't capable of feeding their own children. Parents apparently can't be counted on to teach their kids about the birds and the bees. They can't teach them about peer pressure. They can't teach them right from wrong and a whole lot of things that my parents did just fine with.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

The other day I wrote about a fantastic freebie for kids: a violent video game courtesy of Uncle Sam.

On a more positive note, Practical Money Skills for Life -- a Visa-sponsored website devoted to financial literacy education -- is offering a pretty cool looking set of PC "games" designed to get your kids thinking about money in a positive way.

The list includes Financial Football, Financial Football Advanced Edition, and Practical Money Skills for Life, along with student workbook and a teacher's edition.

If you're a teacher, you can order many more copies and, if you're a parent, please forward this to your child's teacher if your school doesn't already have a financial literacy program in place.