When you’re at a loss as to what to give, the trusty gift card seems like the perfect present, doesn’t it? They can be found just about everywhere from the internet to drugstores, are available in any dollar amount and cover just about everyone’s tastes. Or so it seems.

Everyone has his or her own version of the American dream. If yours is home ownership, you will need to clean up your credit history and find the proper mortgage loan for your needs. There are hundreds of mortgage options currently available within the home financing industry–one such home loan option is the interest only mortgage.

During the introductory period of an interest only mortgage loan, the monthly payments you make will only contribute to the interest you owe, not the principal amount of the loan. This strategy allows borrowers to have lower monthly payments at the beginning of their mortgage payment cycle. Typically, interest only loan mortgage periods last from around five to ten years.

When it comes to personal finance, there’s a lot of misinformation that continues to circulate, especially on the internet. Rumors and even flat out lies are presented as truth and can lead the average person to make unnecessary mistakes that will negatively impact their financial well-being.

We’ve decided to round up the most common myths that people believe as true and give you the facts so you can make more informed decisions regarding your money, beginning with debt:

Have you ever wanted to live in the lap of luxury and buy everything you could ever want and more? Everyone at some point has platinum-coated dreams, but most cannot afford it.

But for just a few minutes, why not envision yourself as the super-rich jetsetter who might receive the following lavish Christmas gifts? Nothing wrong with dreaming, right?

When shopping around for a mortgage loan, you will undoubtedly come across two frequently used terms: Fixed rate and ARM.

Fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgages are the two most common types of home loans, but do you know the difference between the two? If not, you may not be sure which one is best. Compare the following pros and cons of each to determine whether a fixed-rate mortgage or adjustable rate mortgage is better for you.

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, you have probably heard the song “The 12 Days of Christmas” more times than you care to remember. Well, every holiday season, PNC calculates the cost of those gifts in their Christmas Price Index.

The infographic below shows how the cost of the items in the index have changed for 2010 (check out the 2009 12 Days of Christmas). Unfortunately, if you plan to buy your loved one everything from 12 drummers drumming to a partridge in a pear tree, budget for a nearly 10 percent increase in price over last year.

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When it comes to money, it seems like everyone’s an expert. Most financial gurus you see or read about are often experts in one area or another, but they’re seldom experts in everything. That means it’s up to you to determine which advice is sound–and which advice you should ignore.

To help you out, however, here’s a list of commonly heard financial advice that ranges from illogical to downright dangerous:

From roughly 1995 to 2010, we’ve seen technology evolve at an alarming rate. We were still excited about cordless phones and CDs when we suddenly saw the onset of the Internet, mobile devices, flat screen TVs, online banking and so much more.

Some of these changes have had an effect on our finances, for better or worse. Let’s take a look at what changes have occurred over the past 15 years and how they have affected our bank accounts.

They usually say “cash is king,” and they have a point.

Just take a trip down memory lane and try to remember all the bad presents you’ve received over the years. Well what if instead of those awful gifts, you received their cash value deposited into a savings account? You’d be surprised at how much a lifetime of bad presents amounts to.

If you are in school, or if you have kids attending college, you know that every year the expenses associated with a higher education rises. Paying for college is increasingly difficult as available scholarships shrink in number. Additionally, federal student aid does not always cover all the costs of going to school. There are private student loans, but sometimes those are not practical (or attainable) in an individual’s situation. If you are experiencing a “funding gap” with your educational financing, you might be able to close with the help of P2P lending.

You probably already know that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending offers various opportunities for those wishing to consolidate credit card debt. P2P lending also helps businesses find financing. Business microloans are becoming increasingly popular as start-ups find it difficult to get more traditional financing, and there is a very real possibility that students might find P2P lending helpful for closing a college funding gap.