Own Your Loan, Don't Let Your Loan Own You

It is often said that the most effective debt management strategy is to be debt-free. But, in order to pay for your college education, you may need to take out student loans. The hope is your student loans can greatly assist in furthering your education. but there are some instances that getting student loans has lead people to be buried deep in debt.

Now, planning for successful repayment involves a certain amount of planning. The planning should start before you place your pen on your first promissory note. Just as you are making a commitment to your career by way of investing time and money in higher education, you should also make a commitment to your financial future by way of effectively managing your student loans from the beginning.

Here are some recommended tips and tactics that may help you handle your student debt effectively and repay the loans successfully.

Tip #1: Do Your Research: Always note that not all loans are the same. Some of them, such as the ones provided by the Indiana Secondary Market for instance, offer benefits during school as well as after graduation in the form of repayment incentives, while other do not.

Tip #2: Pay Attention to the Mail: Typically, every borrower receives important information regarding the student loan he or she took out.

Tip #3: Be Organized: When taking out student loan from a particular institution, it is always best to save all of your student loan documents and correspondences. This makes you aware of what exactly you've agreed, what is expected from you as a student loan borrower, and how much you have borrowed. Also, when setting up your record-keeping system, make sure you will find easy to maintain over the life of the loan.

Tip #4: Be present at All Required Entrance and Exit Sessions: When you take out student loan, you will be required to complete student loan counselling sessions. This is often considered when you first obtain the loan and upon graduation.

Tip #5: Learn to Manage Money like an Expert: It has been said that if you live like a professional while you are in school, you will live like a student once you've finished your degree. In other words, it is important that you know very well how to handle your money while you are attending school. This will help you lessen the total amount you end up borrowing, and in turn, the amount you will responsible for repaying.

Tip #6: Maintain at least Half-Time Enrolment: Considering a half-time enrolment is highly necessary in order for you to qualify for an in-school deferment. The half-time enrolment normally takes six credit hours. Regarding your school's requirements for half-time status, see your financial aid officer.

Tip #7: Take Advantage of Tax Savings: Some of the student who takes out student loans qualifies for tax credits. To see your own status, check with your tax advisor. The credits are actually based on your qualified tuition payments, and they can help reduce the amount of Federal tax you pay.

Tip #8: Start Repayment on Time: As you enter the repayment period, note that being aware of your student loan obligations is very crucial. This is where the student loan default usually happens. It occurs when you fail to pay back the loan as agreed or meet the other terms of your promissory note.

If you need further information regarding your student loans, always remember that the financial aid staff at your school is probably your most important resource. There are also some publications from federal and state governments, lenders and scholarship granting organizations, and financial ad guidebooks that are available from your local book-store.









Thursday, February 25, 2010

Budgeting For Your Student Credit Card

When you use your student credit card, you must ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover your balance of your statement. This article will give you an indication why you must only spend with your credit card what you have available.

To start this off, think about your life as a high school student and what has happened so far. For most high school graduates who have lived with their parents through their teenage formative years, they have not had to worry about finances. Coming onto campus with little knowledge of finances can be a tough combination with the rewards that credit card companies are willing to offer if you open up a credit card. The first key when thinking about budgeting for your student credit card is to read what you are signing up for. The rewards you will receive for signing up for a new credit card pale in comparison to the finance charges if you run up a balance on your credit card.

Take this fact into consideration when you are filling out a credit card application. The average graduate from college owes roughly twenty-two hundred dollars on credit cards, according to Nellie Mae who leads the nation in student loans. If you think about this fact and how long it can take to pay back this money when including interest, you would probably not take out that credit card.

If you have $2200 in credit card debt and your interest rate on the card was twenty percent, you would be paying over four hundred dollars in interest. Most students feel that they will pay this back when they graduate and make money in the real world. What is not often considered is how long this can take to pay back and it can be difficult to pay this back with other living expenses such as rent, car payments, insurance, and the list goes on. What seems like a big check often is much less once you have taken into consideration the costs of living everyday life.

To make sure you are correctly budgeting for your student credit card, you should only spend what you can pay for. This should be included in a monthly budget if you need to. Some students will only put gas on a credit card or groceries and have that money sitting in their checking account at the end of the month. Taking the time to understand when you should spend money and not spend money is a key to making sure that you properly maintain a disciplined budget with your credit card. Budgeting and not spending beyond what you can pay for is a skill which must be learned at a young age. If you do not develop this habit at a young age, you could find yourself continuing with the same habits as you get older. This can partially explain why the average American household owes roughly nine thousand dollars in credit card debt.

Hopefully this article on the importance of budgeting for your student credit card has explained why it is so imperative. Seeing the type of credit card debt the average student finds him or herself in should explain completely why you want to budget for your student credit card.

Best student loan consolidation,

Student loan consolidation, a way to slim down your monthly burden

Going to college is very important. Thus, Americans, even married once still continue to go to college. This is because you have better future if you are able to finish college; this is true in American and even in the other parts of the world.

To help you with this important factor in your life, student loans are available to help you go through college education. However, students end up with knee-deep in student loans.

If you are one of these students, you need not despair; you may shop around to find the best student loan consolidation entities to help you in the process of getting out of debt.

Best student loan consolidation will help reduce your monthly payment of up to 50%.

You cannot find any better deal than that. Reducing your monthly payment will mean that you can have some spare money for other purposes. Best student loan consolidation will thus help you have some money to meet other expenses like car payments, household needs, and childcare.

Additionally, because of the best student loan consolidation program, your credit rating will improve and you can even extend your paying period from the usual ten years to as long as thirty years.

You may also find the best student loan consolidation company that will give an additional percentage of interest on top of the savings from the consolidation. This will be good to lessen your monthly burden.

Additionally, if your student loan is under the federal direct student loans, you may qualify for the best federal direct loan consolidation program.

In this program, in addition to the 50% or more reduction in your monthly payments, there is a lock in lower interest rate available for you.

This lock in lower interest rate is best for your student loan consolidation program because it will shield you against inflation rates.

This will mean that you will not have to worry about additional charges due to the inflation rate fluctuations.

To top is all off, the best student loan consolidation deal under the federal direct program is easy to apply, and there are no fees, credit checks, application, or original charges.

Thus, it is a clean way through paying your student loans and can even spare you some money for other purposes. Is this not the best student loan consolidation program you will ever find?

If you are not sure if your student loans are under the federal direct student loans program, you may check out the Internet. Match your student loans if they will qualify for the best student loan consolidation program.

You can also find in the Internet additional information that you can use to help you get out of that knee-deep debt.

Borrowing Student Loans Responsibly

As you may know, student loans are today's largest form of student aid. Researches have found out that it made up to 54 percent of the total aid awarded every year. However, with the rise of student loans, several cases of student loan defaults occur. The student loan debt is even today's one of the major problems of most student borrowers. It is rising every year and the college expenses as well as the graduate school costs have definitely gone up faster than inflation.

Well, let me tell you that this case often surface when you take a particular loan then another student loan followed by another loan. It is often said that as much as you take student loan offers, your loan debt gets bigger and bigger. Since the case for student loan debt always happens and it carries certain burdens to the attainment of the student's dream of higher education, it is then important that you consider some steps that will help you lower or manage your debts.

Perhaps one of the most necessary things to consider is to borrow loans responsibly. Think Before Your Borrow Many people find it easy to rush through the student loan process. However, if you take a minute considering some of the money saving tips mentioned below, you could save yourself some bucks in the long run. So, read on.

Falling Into the Loan Trap? Oops! Avoid it! Most of the time, you may find it tempting to borrow up to the maximum amount. Well, this is what many people call as the "loan trap".

It is the case where you borrow the maximum amount of money from the student loan lending company or institution even if it is more than you can afford to repay. It often occurs for the fact that need-based loans are very easy to apply for and they don't usually require payments while you are attending your degree.

So, to avoid certain consequences as you enter the repayment period, you should avoid the loan trap. How Much Loan Do You Actually Need Before you consider borrowing a student loan for your college, think first how much loan you really need. Always note that when taking out student loan, you don't have to borrow the entire amount which is usually specified in your award letter.

Just borrow what is enough. Reduce Your Loan As Much As Possible There are several options available for student loan borrowers. But, before opting for one, it is necessary that you question yourself if you can hold down the expenses; if you can work more, either in the academic year or during vacations; or if there are scholarships available for you. It is often said that if you minimize spending or bring in more money, the amount you have to borrow for your education tends to go down. Consider Student Loans with the Best Terms Note that the lower the interest rate, the less pricey the student loan is.

This actually means, the less you will have to repay for your student loan debt. For your own sake, here is what your batting order should be (from the least expensive): Student Loans 1. Federal Perkins Loans 2. Federal Subsidized Stafford or Direct Loans 3. Federal Unsubsidized Stafford or Direct Loans 4. Alternative or Private Loans

As you may know, most of the students thinking for student loans have access to a special loan source these days. These sources, like the Air Force Aid Society, have student loans terms that are comparable to the Perkins or Subsidized Stafford or Direct Loans. Of course, it may be worth your time to look into the possibilities. T

here are some sources these days that offer low-interest student loan programs, and perhaps one of the most resourceful is the College Board's online Scholarship Search. Parent Loans 1. Federal PLUS Loans 2. Private Loans or Alternative Loans As mentioned, there are two available forms of education loans for parents.

These programs are what commonly offered by some colleges anywhere in the world. But, for great chances of availing the benefits of such programs, it is best to check with your financial aid office to see if the school you wish to attend offers its own loan program. This will also allow you to know if you qualify for the loan, before you submit a PLUS loan application. How Much Should You Borrow? Many experts agree that you should borrow only as much as necessary.

As mentioned earlier, it is often tempting to borrow whatever you are offered or are eligible to borrow. However, it is necessary to think first carefully about hoe much you really need, as well as to consider other possible options. Always note that there is actually no need for you to borrow the entire amount shown in your award letter.

And, even more important is that, never plan to borrow as much as you can up the yearly limits because if you do so, expect yourself to be deep down in debt. Consider Options That Will Reduce Your Loans If you are thinking for borrowing money to support your education, try to ask yourself first if you have savings left that you can use instead of taking out a student loan from the school of your choice.

Also, think if you can get by with less by way of holding down expenses, or if you can do something great, like working more, either in the academic year or during vacations just to support your education.

Also, think for the possible scholarships that you can apply for, or you can be qualified for. There are actually a lot of options left for you out there. The best move to take now is to know and understand them. Estimate Your Loan Payments It is worthy to note that the more you borrow for your education, the higher is the amount of your monthly repayments will be once you finish your degree.

So if possible, try to estimate your loan payments. There are a number of student loan repayment calculators out there that you can use to do the math. What's more, you have the chance to calculate your monthly payments based on the estimated starting salary of your chosen occupation. The Essential Borrowing Tips Now that you have pondered enough about your student loan with the things you have to consider before borrowing, as well as with the amount you need to borrow, I guess it is now important for you to look at the most recommended tips for borrowing student loans.

Just consider the following: 1. Start by looking at the award letter given to you by your servicer. From the letter, figure out which need-based loans you have been qualifies for and for what amounts. 2. After looking at the full financial picture, such as the awarded aid, education cost, and family share, you should then consider settling on an amount that you actually need to borrow. 3. The rule is: never borrow more than you need. Always note that as a student loan borrower, you are not required to take the full amount of the loan you have been offered. 4. Don't ever forget about student employment as an alternative for borrowing. Even though working at a job can seem like an extra burden for students, so is struggling with high loan repayments after college. 5. Apply for the student loan right away. This is very necessary especially if you want to ensure that the loan is approved as well as the money paid to the college before you have to make your first student account payment. 6. The key to successful application is to follow the loan application instructions carefully. Note that any mistakes you make will delay receipt of the funds. 7. When you are applying for a Stafford or Direct student loan, be prepared for the amount that is paid to the college to be less than the amount you signed for. Usually, a fee of up to four percent will be deducted from the student loan. This deduction occurs before the check is sent to the college of your choice. 8. If you already figured out the exact amount you are borrowing before any borrowing process begins, you should start keeping track of your student loan tab, which is what your monthly repayment amount will be after you graduated from college. There are student loan calculators out there than can do the math for you. 9. If instances occur that you find yourself needing more than the amount that's been offered in your award letter, it is necessary to contact with a financial aid counselor before taking on an additional loan. 10. And, if you do take on an additional, unsubsidized loan, just consider making interest payments while attending your degree. The interest won't be much and this will help you save money. If you delay or capitalize the interest payments, you will end up having to pay back significantly less than. As mentioned, planning and thinking your moves for taking out student loans is very necessary for a successful borrowing. If you do consider what have been mentioned above, then there is no doubt for you not to attain your dream education, and even a successful career in the future.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Consolidating Your Student Loans

Student loans are just as burdensome as any other loan and in some cases students have several loans taken out in order to pay for college. This is where student loan debt consolidation comes in with a plan of consolidating all of an individual's student loans into one manageable loan.

You need to get your facts by researching various places before you apply for one of these consolidation loans. Only certain types of loans can be consolidated under this type of loan and you will need to check. You cannot include loans such as credit cards, loans from family members, or automobile loans in the student loan consolidation.

The obvious benefits to consolidating a student loan are that there will be a single payment, probably a lower payment, and one fixed interest rate. The fixed interest rate is especially attractive because this helps a person set up a budget easier.

Of course the drawback to a fixed interest rate in this type of loan is that you may not be able to take advantage of future drops in interest rates if they occur.

Another drawback to student loan debt consolidation is the length of the term. It could be that you end up paying this loan longer than you would have otherwise and in the end pay more total interest. So be careful to get all of the data about your student loan debt consolidation loan before you sign the agreement..

Finally, you need to determine if consolidation is really for you before doing it. It may be that you want to pay off the loan faster as student debt consolidation loans tend to stretch out longer. But for most it is an attractive way to get your payments down and manage your student loan debt

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Federal Student Loans

College is expensive, and when money is tight, or just not there, some look to take out loans to cover the balance of tuition and living expenses. This is where many get confused, and some get into trouble. There are many loans out there, but they are not all created equal. Even some that are meant for student loans can be problematic. When searching, you want to be sure you are signing up for federal student loans and that you are avoiding private lenders.

Federal student loans are backed by the government, and there are laws and regulations that are supposed to be in place to protect the student and the organization issuing the loan. Recently, new laws have been passed to keep and even tighter rein on these types of loans. If you go with something other than federal student loans, you have very little protection, and your interest rate can grow beyond anything you could have imagined. It's best to protect yourself from this. When the economy takes a turn for the worse, interest rates can skyrocket and the amount you have to repay will go up as well. It may get so far out of hand that you have no hope of paying on time.

When you want to find out about federal student loans, you can talk to your college's financial aid department. They will have all of the information you may need, and they may also already have all of the forms that you need. They can give you the applications for federal student loans, and they can even help you fill things out when you become confused. With any type of loan application, confusion is bound to come up once in a while, so be ready for it. Having help from people who know all about the forms is a great start.

When you leave college, you will have some grace periods before you have to start paying back your federal student loans. Some give six months after graduation before repayment is expected to begin, though you don't have to wait if you don't want to. You can begin to repay right away if you want to do so. There are also times when you may also be able to defer payments at times when money may be tight, but remember that even though your payments may be on hold for a little while, you will still be generating interest on the loans that you will have to pay back in the end.

Monday, February 15, 2010

How To Apply For A Student Loan

There are many factors to consider before applying for a student loan. Among these are how much is available in savings or other non-loan areas. Are you going to receive any scholarships? Is the educational institution accredited? Will you be going full time or only taking one or two classes? Make a list of the expenses for each semester. Will you be living on campus or commuting? Allow enough money to purchase books, food, clothing, and other basic supplies. Once those criteria have been established, you must allow yourself plenty of time to complete the process.

Before even considering loans or grants, you must have received an acceptance letter from the educational institution of your choice. Once that has been accomplished, it is best to visit the school in person and make the acquaintance of the financial aid office. However, that is not always an option. The second step, once an acceptance letter is received and returned is to fill out the FAFSA or Financial Application For Student Aid. Most financial aid offices will help in filling out this form and sending it to the correct address. While awaiting the results from this, explore the possibilities of various grants and scholarships that are available. Again, the financial aid office will help determining the availabilities of these.

The FAFSA will generate a SAR or Student Aid Report. Use this form in conjunction with grants, scholarships and other financial awards to calculate the amount of money that will need to be borrowed to ensure payment of the educational credits. If you are planning on working while attending school, these funds can be used to offset the total repayment amounts. However, the lending institutions will use these monies to determine the loan amounts available for subsequent semesters.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Student Loan Debt Consolidation

There's no way around it. If you took out student loans to pay for college, you have to pay them back. That can be hard to do, whether you're still in school, trying to start your life outside it, or even 10 years down the line. You borrowed the money, you used it, and you have to pay it back.

What happens when that means you have to choose between paying all your bills or just those? What happens when those outstanding debts get in the way of putting money together for a house, or a car, or a family? It just doesn't make sense to walk through life incurring the debts of living while you're still dragging around the ones from school.

Fortunately, there's a solution. You still have to pay back what you borrowed, but with a student loan debt consolidation make monthly payments to just one lender.

Think of it as refinancing. The money you borrow from one lender pays off the money you owe to all those other lenders. No more juggling what's due to whom and when. Not only that, the interest rate on the student loan debt consolidation is the weighted average of those other loans, making it lower overall and bringing your monthly payment down accordingly. Some student loan debt consolidations are settled at a fixed rate, so you don't have to worry when July 1 rolls around each year that your payment will go up.

Among the student loan debt consolidation available, there are actually four different student repayment plans to research and one is bound to be just what you're looking for.

If the idea of a fixed rate really appeals to you, consider either the Standard Repayment Plan or the Extended Repayment Plan. The Standard Repayment Plan gives you a maximum of 10 years to repay, but payments are divided within that time limit at a fixed interest rate.

Extended Repayment Plans relieve the burden of monthly payment amounts still further by stretching the time to pay off the loan to between 12 and 30 years (depending on the total amount borrowed). Again, the interest rate is fixed for that time period, and the payments are lower. Be aware that over time, you will end up paying a larger amount, but the monthly payments will be easier to bear.

The Graduated Repayment Plan also allows you to spread your monthly student load debt consolidation payments over a period of between 12 and 30 years, but in this case, the amount of your monthly payment will increase every two years.

The fourth plan appeals to a number of people because it takes into account what's going on in your life. In the Income Contingent Repayment Plan, a reasonable monthly payment amount is determined based on your annual gross income, family size, and total direct student loan debt. Another advantage of this student loan debt consolidation repayment plan spreads the payments over 25 years.

If you're close to the end of your student loans, consider carefully whether taking on a new loan is worth the time and effort. However, if you still have a long time to go and many payments ahead of you - and you've already exhausted the deferment and forbearance options on your existing loans - making a fresh start with a student loan debt consolidation may actually be to your benefit.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Other Types Of Student Loans

Not all loans for college are obvious. There are two sources for financial aid that are often overlooked. Each of these will be discussed in more detail below.

Parents tend to plan their children's future well before the child is even born. Although mom and dad just know their child will be a genius and will be offered full scholarships, they also try to be ready just in case that isn't quite the case. To that end, many parents will have life insurance and annuity plans in place that will mature in time for their offspring to take advantage of the financial rewards.

By taking out a permanent life insurance plan, it can be paid for in a certain number of years. This type of insurance can then be cashed in and the payout can be applied to the child's educational needs. Parents will also cash in this type of policy and invest it in an interest bearing account thus allowing for a growth fund that will grow as the child ages. As with retirement funds below, some companies allow loans against the face value of the policies that can then be applied to educational expenses.

One or both parents may also set up a retirement fund, such as a 401k. After a period of years, these monies can be taken out, pre-tax and applied to a child's education. Some company retirement funds allow the employee to just borrow against the fund for educational purposes. For tax purposes the Roth plan is also a possibility. To get a clearer picture of how either of these is best used, one should consult a tax professional. By knowing ahead of time the ultimate purpose of this plan, the professional can help direct the individual into setting up the proper deductions.

Saving Money On Your Student Loan

Anyone that has gone through college knows it cost a lot, which leads to many take out student loans. Just as with any type of loan, it is important that you do your research to find the best student loans for your situation.

Different loans will get you different amounts of money with various circumstances behind the loan. However, there are a few things you can do with any student loan to save money.

With student loans, the interest rate is adjusted every July 1st making it difficult to know how much you really are going to have to owe when getting out of college. There is, however, a way to lock your interest rates to avoid having them raised after a certain period of time.

By consolidating your interest rates you can have them permanently locked for the remainder of your studies. The next thing to look at to help you save money on your student loans is automatic payment. A lot of lenders will offer you incentives and reduced interest rates when you have your student loan payments automatically deducted from your account.

The reason being is that you are guaranteeing the lender that you will be paying the loan on time and in full amount by giving them access to your account. This also makes it more convenient for you allowing you to avoid missing a payment..

The most obvious way to save money with your loan is to be on time. The minute you are late with your payment the interest rates will go up and your credit will go down. If you do feel the pressure of making the payments on time, make sure to talk to the lender before getting too far behind to see if you can work out an arrangement of some sort.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Are You Sure You Want To Do A Student Debt Loan Consolidation_

Do you have more than $10,000 in unsecured credit card debt? Perhaps you also have more than $ 30,000 to $50,000 in secured debt such as cars, boats, recreational vehicle to name just a few. On top of that you have your mortgage payment and student loans. Are you thinking its time to do a debt consolidation loan? This article will give you some ideas which may help you make your decision.

One of the most stressful events in your life and your families life is finding yourself buried in debt. Recent studies have shown that more than 60% of divorces, filed are caused by a crippling debt situation. In many of the cases the stress has led to domestic violence or worse.

Because of these financial problems many marriage councilors are referring their clients to professional financial consolidation councilors. Hopefully, for doing so those couples will have a cooling off period before the final decision is made on a divorce.

One of the things a professional debt councilor will do is compile a complete analysis on every bit of your financial obligations. Your responsibility will be to ensure you provide them with every single detail about the money you owe. There is a good chance they will even want a complete break down of every penny you spend and where.

Don't be surprised when your councilor keeps digging and digging until they have every scrape of information they can drag from you. Once your debt loan consolidation councilor has it, they will then do a calculation of the total debt with interest. Finally they will compare what your total repayment will be; verses a consolidation loan of all the money you owe.

In certain cases after the full evaluation of your debt problems your advisor may determine that a consolidation loan won't do you any good. This involves taking into consideration your ability to repay all your indebtedness, plus the accumulated interest. This being the case your councilor may well recommend bankruptcy in lieu of loan consolidation.

However, in the event they feel you are candidates for a complete consolidation, of your cash obligations, this is when the real work starts. Either you or your councilor will contact all of your debtors to determine what the pay off amount will be and the date it is good until. By doing this you will know to the penny how much of a loan you will need.

A special note should be made here. You should not be surprised if the credit card companies will offer to lower your interest rate. It's much better for them if you don't repay the bill in full. It also will give you a bit of an opportunity, to be able to keep the credit card, at a much lower interest rate.

If you should decide to work with the credit card companies, in lieu of consolidating your money problems, you need to do your due diligence. Make certain you have the deal they offer you in writing and you know precisely what it means. If not you could be in worse trouble than when you started.

As you can see there is much to be considered before you make the final decision about how you are going to solve your current money obligations. A debt loan consolidation may take care of it now, but what happens down the road if you haven't learned how to control your debt responsibly

Student Loans For Graduate Students

For those who want to continue their education into the post-graduate level, there are still loan options available. The biggest ones are the same as undergraduate loans, the Perkins and Stafford Loans. Another resource is to look to private organizations for graduate loans. Below is a brief summary of the loans available to graduate students.

GOVERNMENT GRADUATE LOANS

Government graduate loans differ from undergraduate loans really in name only. So just like undergraduates, graduates have the opportunity to get a Perkins or Stafford loan from the government.

1) Perkins Graduate loan

A Perkins graduate loan is available to students who demonstrate financial hardship. It has an interest rate of only 5 percent and can finance up to $4,000 of the graduate student's education. For graduate students who are adversely limited economically, the Perkins loan is one of the best options.

2) Stafford Graduate Loan

Stafford graduate loans are available to any graduate student regardless of their financial situation. Two types of Stafford graduate loans exist: subsidized and unsubsidized. The difference between the two types lies in who pays the interest. For subsidized Stafford graduate loans, the government pays the interest. Students pay for the interest in unsubsidized Stafford graduate loans, though there is the option of not having to make payments until after graduation.

To apply for either the Perkins or Stafford graduate loans, one must submit a FAFSA form to the government. When the form has been processed the government will send a SAR (Student Aide Report). This will give further instructions on how to apply for these loans.

ALTERNATIVE GRADUATE LOANS

Alternative graduate loans, also known as private graduate loans, are loans funded by non-governmental entities. Companies offering these loans could be banks, credit card agencies or any other enterprise interested in helping graduate students secure student loans.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Why Consolidate Your Student Loans_

Once you have graduated from a college or university, you need to start thinking about the loans you needed to get through these years. They must be paid back in a timely manner in order to keep a good credit rating for such times when you may need another loan to purchase a home or car.

For some students who have a few student loans to repay concurrently, it can be a financial drain on their family finances. That is where student loan consolidation comes in.

Student loan consolidation basically consolidates all your student loans into one loan so that it is easier to manage and make payments. When you are getting a student loan consolidation whether from the government or the private market, your existing student loans are paid for and erased by the student loan consolidation lender. The balances are transferred to the new student loan consolidation. Thus you start a new loan and only needs to make a single payment each month.

There are many advantages to using student loan consolidation. The interest rates will be lower since it takes the average interest rates of your previous student loans. Thus due to government legislation, the maximum interest rate cannot be higher than 8.25 percent.

It becomes a lot easier to manage a single student loan and payment is easier. The repayment options are quite flexible. For federal student loan consolidation, you can opt to start repaying after you have graduated from school. There are also several other options.

Another beneficial side effect of student loan consolidation is that it can also improve your credit score. Since you are effectively clearing all your old student loans and taking a new one, your credit score will increase and this is important if plan to take other types of loans in the future.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Student Credit Cards

In today's world, having a credit card is a luxury. Credit cards are a great convenience, meaning that you don't need to worry about cash when making a purchase. Although some credit cards have strict requirements, there are a lot of manufacturers that are giving both high school and college students the chance to get their own credit cards. Student credit cards can be used the same way as a traditional credit card, although they do come with certain restrictions and limitations that other credit cards don't normally have.

A lot of companies and banks that offer student credit cards will normally need a co-signer as a form of insurance or collateral. This person will sign on the loan with the student, and will be the person the company falls back on if the student is unable to pay the bill. Normally a parent or guardian, the co-signer is considered to be back up and a peace of mind for the issuer of the student credit card, as they can always count on the co-signer with good credit to pay if the student can't.

Normally, the APR or interest rate is higher with student credit cards, which helps to minimize the risk for the company. The spending limit is also different with these credit cards, as most are between 250 - 800 dollars. The reason for this, is because most students have established any credit, and therefore won't have a great credit rating. Although the spending limit is obviously lower with these cards than other credit cards, they will still help students establish credit.

Students who plan to make a large purchase, can greatly benefit from using student credit cards. To make large purchases, you"ll need good credit - which is where a student credit card can really help out. You can use these credit cards as a stepping stone to building credit, and establishing a good credit rating. If you can get your credit rating high with your credit card, you"ll then be able to be approved for much higher loans in the future.

Student credit cards can also help students gain a sense of responsibility. The card works just like any other credit card, although the spending limit is much lower. Once the student has mastered usage of the card, he or she can manage money much better later on in life. These cards are great for students to have, and can teach them money skills that will last a lifetime.

Just like traditional credit cards, students should also know that student credits cards can be dangerous. Although they are great to have, there are pitfalls such as overspending. If students spend more money than they having coming in, they will be unable to pay their credit card bill, which will then affect their credit. If the company goes after the co-signer to pay the bill, it could also affect their credit as well. Therefore, students should always have a budget in mind before they start using their credit cards.

All in all, student credit cards are great to have. For high school students or college students, these credit cards are a means of freedom, and a way to teach responsibility. They can come in handy during emergencies, which is reason enough to invest in them. If your son or daughter is in school right now, you should look into student credit cards. They can help your child to establish credit - which will take them farther wherever they go in life.

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