(MONEY Magazine) – TIP 1 Rent, drive, enjoy

Don't let rental-car hassles spoil your summer fun

• GET YOUR OWN GAS Fuel prices are wild, but don't take the prepaid-gas option; you'll pay for a full tank even if you return with a few gallons.

• USE CREDIT All companies ask for payment info up front in case you drive off to Argentina. Avoid using a debit card, as the agency can put a hold on your account for hundreds of dollars more than the estimated total. Offer a credit card instead; you can always go debit when you pay.

• KNOW YOUR COVERAGE In a 2004 survey, 15% of renters said they felt pressured to buy insurance at the counter. Here's all you need to know: Skip the coverage (which can top $20 a day) if you have an auto policy with collision coverage. Otherwise, call your credit-card issuer to see if you're protected. Some cards provide the perk, some don't.

• KICK THE TIRES These days, agencies love to charge you for damage, so report even tiny scratches before you drive off. Then go have your picnic. You'll have earned it. --Carolyn Bigda

TIP 2 Consolidate student loans now

If you have federal student loans--for you or a child--you could be paying more interest soon. Rates are set to rise on July 1 by as much as two percentage points. Consolidate now and you can lock in today's rates. Get the basics at finaid.org and check out these action plans:

• GRADUATES Stafford Loans will jump from 5.3% to more than 7%. Recent grads who've yet to start repaying can lock in a rate as low as 4.75%; if you've already begun repaying, rates start at 5.38%.

• FULL-TIME STUDENTS A legal loophole set to expire next month allows continuing students to consolidate at the 4.75% rate, but you forfeit your postgraduation grace period.

• PARENTS PLUS loans will go from 6.1% to around 8%. Consolidate now at 6.13%, and you can save your cash for the next kid. --Carolyn Bigda

TIP 3 Relax and rebalance

MONEY always tells you that the one thing you've got to do right is rebalance your portfolio regularly. Okay, you say. But when? Twice a year? When your fund deviates from your target allocation by 3%? Or 5%?

• ANSWER Two researchers at Charles Schwab studied that question to within an inch of its life and found that as long as some trigger makes you rebalance regularly, it doesn't matter what that trigger is. They compared 20 methods over 10-year periods, and the differences in risk and return were small. So do it on, say, the day after Thanksgiving. Most 401(k) websites make it easy as store-bought pie. --Penelope Wang

...WHAT ABOUT CASUAL FRIDAY? In a recent survey by SonicWall, 10% of telecommuters said they work in the nude. And that's just the ones who admit it...

...Word watch: piler ('p-i-ler) n. 1. One who organizes his desk by making piles (48% of people). See also: filer (38%). [Source: Pendaflex.]...

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