Life is a Song68856

If youre looking to consolidate debt, you may want to consider an unsecured debt consolidation loan. This type of loan does not put your property in jeopardy by using it as collateral; therefore its a great choice to save you both money, and your credit.

Youll have to figure out just how much you owe, on all of your credit cards plus store cards, and take out a loan that covers this amount, at least. This will be your first step for applying.

One thing to be aware of is the interest on your current cards, because it may be that these are actually lower than your unsecured consolidation loan. Since it would be silly to get yourself into a higher interest rate, the alternative would be to transfer the balances, if possible, to the card with the lowest interest.

If you do decide that its best to go for the loan you originally planned on, the unsecured loan, the best thing to do is shop through lenders and price and compare. You can find all of the information that youll ever need on the Internet. Gathering referrals from friends and family can be helpful in obtaining your loan.

Your credit and income will heavily determine your interest rate, the amount you may obtain, and the length of your new loan. Some interest rates are fixed while others are variable. Youll want to find all of this out ahead of time before venturing out on your debt management quest.

The process isnt always the fastest when it comes to closing the loan. To speed it up, youll want to submit copies of statements of all of your credit cards and loans, to verify where the loan money will go.

Again, youll want to make sure that the monthly payments that youll be making on this new loan arent higher than the payments that you were paying before; especially since the interest on these loan arent tax deductible.

Be careful in choosing your loan, and make sure that when you're investing in your future your making a wise decision.

It is important to ensure that an unsecured debt consolidation loan reduces the overall amount of monthly payments and interest you pay. Also be aware that the interest paid on credit card debt or personal loans is not tax deductible.

Spider Web Cake Ingredients

One pkg. Chocolate Cake Mix

One Can Prepared White Frosting OR (1/2 cup white chocolate chips & 1/2 tsp. shortening)

Butter knife or Wooden Pick

For Spiders:

Large Black Gumdrop & Black Licorice Whips

OR

Peppermint patty & Red Licorice Whips

OR

Chocolate Doughnut Hole & Black Pipe Cleaners

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Making the Cake:

Bake the cake according to package directions. Let cool and remove both layers from pans.

Place first layer upside down on cake plate or cake board. Frost top of cake and place second layer right side up. Frost entire cake with chocolate frosting.

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Making the Spider Web:

Using white frosting, make 4 to 5 concentric circles from the center of the cake outward, starting small and ending about 1 inch from the cake's edge. It should look like you've drawn a bull's eye on the top of your cake.

Now draw a butter knife or wooden pick carefully from the cake center outward like the spokes of a wheel. This will pull the white frosting to resemble a real spider web. About 8 lines will make an authentic-looking web.

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Spider Web White Frosting Alternative:

Place 1/2 cup white chips and 1/2 teaspoon shortening (do not use butter, margarine, oil or spread) in small, heavy zipper-close plastic bag. Microwave at High 45 seconds.

Squeeze gently until all the chips are melted. Microwave an additional 10 to 15 seconds if needed. Make a small cut in bottom corner of bag; squeeze mixture onto cake as directed above.

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Making the Spiders:

Gumdrop Spider: Cut 6 one inches pieces of the black licorice whip. Poke 3 holes on each side of a large black gumdrop and insert licorice "legs". Plop the spider on your wonderful web cake.

Mint Patty Spider: Cut 6 one inch pieces of the red licorice whip. Place a small mint patty on your cake, pressing slightly into the frosting to hold. Add 3 red licorice pieces to each side of the mint patty. Pipe a little reserved white frosting onto the mint patty for eyes.

Doughnut Hole Spider: Cut 6 one inch pieces of black pipecleaner. Form each one into a rounded "L" shape. Insert 3 pipecleaner pieces into each side of a chocolate doughnut hole. Place spider on your cake.

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Cake Design Variation:

Instead of chocolate cake, bake a pumpkin spice cake, white or yellow cake. Color white frosting with orange food coloring. Simply add red and yellow food coloring to the white frosting a drop at a time until you have a nice deep shade of orange. Make the spider web with black decorating gel for a completely differently and unique cake presentation.

View the finished Chocolate Spider Web Cake...

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food. For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patricia_Jensen