Healthy Financial Habits

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

Federal student loans are one of many loans granted to pay for college.  Applying for federal student loans is like any other loan application process.  Go to a search engine and search for “federal student loans”.
There will be a list of requirements that will determine whether you are eligible for federal student loans or not.  Do not be surprised if you do not meet the criteria.  If you have your parents cosign the loan, their income may be too high for you to be eligible.  Federal student loans are usually granted to those who are within a certain tax bracket and annual income range.
Do not be frustrated though; there are several private lenders that would be more than happy to give you money.  The feds can’t be the only lender out there, right?

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

Nowadays, college student loans force students to get a student job.  Even though students can comfortably live off of their student loans, many students seek student jobs so they can start paying towards their college student loans.
Working throughout college at a student job has its pros and cons.  The pros are that you can pay down some of your loan (or at least tackle a fraction of the interest), have extra spending money, and learn important time management skills.  The cons are that you need to be responsible, show up to this boring part-time job, and give up some partying time, I mean study time!
Working a student job not only prepares you for repaying your college student loans, but also prepares you for the world.  You meet hundreds of people during your college career and many of them you will never speak to again.  But, some of them will teach you valuable lessons, inspire you, and introduce you to your future boss, or maybe even fiancé.
Student jobs are well worth the time, even if they can’t pay your college student loans off in a heartbeat.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

The college student loan repayment time has come.  It has been your worst fear for the past 4 years.  You walk to your mailbox after work and a thick envelope is addressed to your name from your college student loan lender.  You open the letter and in big bold letters reads, “College Student Loan Repayment Notification”.
Thank god you got that job right out of college paying you 50k a year! What would you have done if you didn’t get that position?  It really is a shame that a single college student loan can add up to 6 figures faster than you think.
You finally get over the fact that your college student loan repayment time has finally come.  That first payment really pisses you off, doesn’t it?  It could very well be a damn mortgage payment, however if it wasn’t for that college student loan, you wouldn’t have the job, car, or house that you have right now.
After a few months pass, your college student loan repayment letters just get added to the rest of your monthly bills and you don’t think twice about it, except for when you look at your online statement and realize you’ve only been paying $15/month towards your principle, and the rest was interest-now that just ruins your day!

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

Most Americans have mortgage debt and student loan debt.  These types of debt, even though they can easily be six figures or more, are better than having six figures of credit card debt.  Student loan debt is priceless because it has allowed you to get the greatest gift of all-a solid college education.  Even though it comes with a frightening price tag, your education will give you 10 fold back when you have a great career to show for it.
Mortgage debt is also good debt.  Even though you may owe close to what you paid for the house, you will have some equity, and your house will always have a price tag on it, in the worst case scenario.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung
If you are looking to get a student education, most likely college student loans will be in your future.  College is getting to be so expensive these days that almost every student is forced to take out college student loans.  Unless you come from a fairly wealthy family background, or are a child of a university/college employee, you have no other choice than to take out college student loans to pay for your student education.
Applying for student loans can be a long grueling process; however it needs to be done.  Student loans are available through the government, as well as through private lenders.  Do the research as to which lender is the best fit for you.
Even if you need to take out college student loans, you can still find ways to make money while in college to put towards your loans.  You can apply for work/study programs at your university/college that enable you to work for your tuition payments.  You will still be paid a certain amount in cash, but the majority of the money will go towards your loans and will help with the payment process at least a little bit.  Search your school website for more information on how work/study programs will help pay for your student education and your college student loans.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

If you’re one of the lucky guys who was awarded student grants, you may never have student loan debt in your future!  Student grants are awarded to millions of students nationwide each semester.  Some grants are issued due to low family income, and others are due to academic and athletic performances.  Student grants are great because they do not need to be repaid.  You will not have student loan debt if you are awarded student grants.
You need to apply for grants just like you would for any other loan or scholarship.  In essence, a grant really is the same thing as a scholarship.  It is a quantity of money set aside to be “granted” or awarded to a certain demographic.  Search online for “student grants”, “government grants”, or any other specific grant you have heard about.  An essay or family income figure may have to be submitted in order for your application to be submitted and eligible.  This helps the grant agency weed out those that do not meet certain criteria.
Apply for as many student grants as possible.  Why would you not want free money?  Better yet, free money that will never have to be repaid!  So if you would like to be free of student loan debt, apply for as many student grants as you can while you’re in school or pursuing school.  The odds may be against you, but it never hurts to try.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

If you or your child is now living the student life in college, you should definitely look into student credit cards.  This might be scary for parents, but applying for student credit cards is not necessarily a bad thing.  You will need to start building credit sooner or later, right?
There are hundreds of credit card lenders with student credit cards available.  Some may have a parent’s name on the card for monitoring purposes.  (This is good for the student because mom and dad will pay for the monthly statement, worse case scenario.  This is also good for the parent, because mom and dad can monitor their child’s spending habits and use it as a learning tool.)
Student life can be tough at times and money can be tight.  With a student credit card, students can learn the financial ropes of the real world.  They’ll sink or swim with their student credit cards-that’s for sure!
Depending on the parents, students can also use these student credit cards as their monthly “allowance” instead of sending a check in the mail or making weekly/monthly deposits.  It is up to the parents to decide the limit the student is allowed to spend, however.  If spending gets out of hand, the parents will take the hit instead of the student’s credit taking the low blow.
Student credit cards are also a way for parent’s to track the student, even though they are miles away.  Student credit cards are ultimately the starting point of building one’s credit and promoting healthy financial habits.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

If you’re looking for loans for college, get a student job to supplement your income.  It is definitely nice to have your student loan check roll in each semester, but it’s also great to have extra spending money from a student job as well.
Student jobs are offered at every campus across the nation.  There are even programs that are called work/study.  These jobs are usually in quiet settings like an office or library.  These jobs include minimal work, which allows the student to do homework or even study while they are getting paid.
Other student jobs can be found off-campus as well.  Local restaurants and stores count on students each fall to fill hundreds of positions.  Usually in college towns, the campus and surrounding areas are desolate in the summer time because the students have gone to their homes for the summer.  However in the fall, the town becomes flooded again when the students are back in town.  Because of this, businesses need students to cater to the increased population.
If you are in search of a student job, or your child is searching, check out the student union on campus.  There should be a student employment office and many times they will place you around campus in an open office position doing administrative tasks.  The student union is a great resource when you or your student is job hunting.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

By: Kim Soyung

Student loan interest can accumulate quickly, and by using a debt calculator, you can track your interest and any other personal debt you may have.  When you first apply for those hefty student loans, the last thing going through your mind are interest rates and loan repayment.  You are envisioning all the fun and good times ahead of you in your college career.  However, each day, your student loans are quietly and secretly growing larger and larger.  By the time you graduate, you realize that the majority of your loan consists of interest that has been racking up for the passed 4 or 5 years while you were doing keg stands and beer bongs, and of course some studying here and there. Once you begin the dreaded stages of repayment, you realize that you are able to write off the student loan interest that you paid the year before.  There is a certain limit, however, of how much interest you can write off.  Yes, it would be nice to write all of it off!
You do not necessarily have to use a debt calculator to calculate your student loan interest.  Really a debt calculator breaks down your positive cash flow and your negative cash flow that is being spent paying down your debt.  Debt calculators can be found online and enable you to plug in pieces of financial information so you can have an accurate figure of your current debt.  You can also create your own debt calculator in Excel.  Start by listing any debt you may have, whether it is credit card debt, student loan debt, or a mortgage or car payment.  Add up your total debt.  This will give you your negative figure.  If you would like to find out your net worth, subtract this number from your current income.  For many, your net worth will be negative.

Please visit Paying Student Loans – Student Loans Debt for up to date news and information on obtaining and paying student loans.

The income-based repayment plan came as part of the College Cost Reduction and Affordability Act of 2007 and went into effect on July 1, 2009.

This plan was established to help struggling college graduates by lowering their monthly payment to less than 10% of their income and forgiving any remaining debt after 25 years.

In addition, the plan offers forgiveness of balances after 10 years through the Public Service Debt Forgiveness Program. With this program you must  maintain a public service job for 10 years.  These service jobs include being a teacher, social worker, or governmental worker.   After making 120 on time monthly payments, your remaining debt will be eliminated.

The federal government calculates your monthly payment based on your family size, state of residency, and income. The chart below shows what your maximum monthly payment would be under the new program.   Note: If your annual income is under $20,000 per year, your monthly payment would be $0.

Check out the Federal Student Aid calculator IBR Calculator to find out how much you could save by participating in the IBR program.

There are some limitations to this plan:

-You must have federal loans such a Stafford, grad plus or a consolidated loan made under the direct loan or FFEL

-Loan balance must be at least $30,000

-You must prove your income annually in order to remain eligible

-You can not miss any payments with the Public Service Debt Forgiveness program

- You could lose loan forgiveness if you are more then 360 days late on a payment with the 25 year plan

For more information on the program visit http://studentaid.ed.gov