Should You Pay Off a Student Loan With a 0% Interest Credit Card?
June 17, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Credit and Debt
This is a question that a friend of mine asked me recently, and I thought it would be a good question to throw out there to the readers of Money Crashers. If you are in your twenties, it seems like you’re a weirdo if you DO NOT have a student loan. The reality is that college is not getting cheaper, and many of our parents did not pass along a college fund for us. I have about $18,000 in student loan debt, and my wife will have even more than that. She’s in physician assistant school right now, so her student loans will definitely be worth it in another 12 to 18 months. The National Center of Education Statistics shows that a little more than 50% of students hold student loans at an average of about $10,000.
The Difference Between an ESA and a 529 College Savings Plan
June 12, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Investing, Spending and Saving
If you’ve just had a child, then it’s never too early to start thinking about their future. Sending a child to college is a huge expense, and many parents are unable to fund their children’s college expenses. By the way, it doesn’t make you a bad parent if you don’t pick up the tab for your child’s college expenses. However, if you plan early, you can help change your family tree by helping your child stay out of debt early in their life. The two most popular college savings accounts are the Coverdell Educational Savings Account (ESA) and the 529 college savings plan. Both of these savings plans act much like an Health Savings Account or retirement account, because they are invested in investments such as mutual funds and withdrawals must be used for a specific purpose or at a specific time in one’s life. I’ll give you the pros and the cons for each savings plan, and you can decide which plan will work best for you.
Your Options For Paying Back Your Student Loans
May 21, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Credit and Debt
I graduated from my undergraduate degree at the perfect time. Consolidation federal student loans rates were at an all-time low. I locked in a consolidated rate of 2.75% for the life of the loan! It was awesome, because I have already saved thousands in interest with a rate that low. Yeah I know, i’m rubbing it in your face if you graduated this May. The best consolidation rates you’ll find this year are in the 6 to 7% range. More than two-thirds of college students leave with student loan debt, and the average bill they are carrying is $19,200 according to the Department of Education. There’s an obvious need for recent graduates to be counseled about what to do with their student loans. I am only one person, and I’m not an certified financial counselor, but if you want my opinion, that is what I will give you.
Student Loans Investigation Will Benefit the Students
April 25, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College
Andrew Cuomo, attorney general of New York, is leading an investigation on the relationship between private student loan companies and public and private universities. Cuomo believes that student loan companies are providing incentives for universities to drive business their way. Cuomo is working towards stricter guidelines for financial aid offices in universities, and this investigation will hopefully eliminate unfair practices between loan companies and universities.
A Great Post About Ways To Make College Affordable
April 1, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College
Lifespy wrote an article about how to make college more affordable.
I completely agree with letting go of the idea that private schools with big brand names will always give you a better education. You can get a great education at your public state university. It all depends on how you apply yourself. Also, staying in town for two years and going to community college is a viable option for those whose parents cannot pay for their tuition. I should have done this, but instead I went to a private Christian school in Georgia and found out after a year and a half that I had amassed over $10,000 in debt just for my undergrad degree!
Are you Out of College and Living at Home? Get Out Now!
March 11, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College
I’ve got plenty of friends who left college and went back to their hometown and moved back in with their parents. I’m not so sure that the parents were happy about that, but most of them love it, because they get to collect a real paycheck and live rent free and get home-cooked meals. It sounds like a sweet deal, but is it really?
Finding The Right 529 College Savings Plan
March 3, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Investing, Random
Part of a sound personal financial plan for couples with children is planning for your child’s college tuition. This is the single best thing you can do for your child financially speaking. If an 18 year old goes to college and pays tuition and lives off of student loans, he or she will face an enormous debt load when they leave for the real world. And as we all know, the real world is harsh enough without $50,000 in debt. Planning for your child’s college expenses can be relatively painless if you start early. The 529 College Savings Plan is a viable option and a smart financial choice for savings for a child’s college expenses. The contributions are tax deductible, and the child can use the money saved up for college related expense tax free!
Bush Proposes to Raise Pell Grants and Lower Private Lender Subsidies for College Student Aid
February 6, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Credit and Debt, Random
Whether this was something initiated by Democrats or Republicans, Congress and the Bush administration are finally getting it when it comes to the level of student debt floating around the country. Today, USA Today reports in this article that Bush plans on raising the pell grants for low-income students by about 25%, and he’s going to lower the amount of subsidies to private lenders such as Sallie Mae who dominate the student loan sector. The banks are saying that this will put a monopoly on government run student aid and students will receive IRS-quality customer service. I say, go cry about it some more you corporate bank crooks! Their profit margin will still be plenty fat even by reducing the government subsidies.What this will do is put more money into the pockets of students who come from lower-income families. It will also reduce the amount of money students have to borrow to cover school costs. Current pell grant levels are enough to cover tuition, but if you went through four years of college, you know that the tuition is not the expensive part. Books, food, rent, and other necessities add up quickly and the $7 an hour part-time job just doesn’t cut it sometimes. I am a strong advocate of college students working while in school, but it is not fair to kid who have no support from their parents to be working 60 hours a week and missing out on some of the college experience. This is a good thing and Congress and the Bush administration should be applauded for it.ÂÂ
Teens Are Optimistic About Their Financial Futures
January 23, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Credit and Debt, Random
I was reading the local newspaperr, the Gainesville Sun, and it showed a poll given to teens about how many of them thought that they would be wealthy when they were older. Their biggest dreams were to be rich as the number one reason, famous as the number two answer, and then helping others in need came after that. This is what our culture helps our young people believe. They force the youth to be believe that every one of them can or will be rich and famous. However, what our culture fails to do is teach them how to do it. Kids don’t understand the hard work that goes into building wealth. They don’t realize that 99% of millionaires are self-made millionaires who worked very hard to get where they are today.
Watch Out For Holiday Scams and Scam Artists
December 7, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under College, Insurance, Random
Unfortunately, the holidiays bring out the best and the worst of people. Scams are most commonly found around the holidays, and consumers need to be educated about what to look out for when going shopping in the stores and online this year. CNN Money has a good article about which scams to look out for this year. The elderly and young people like college students tend to be the most targeted by scammers, because they tend to be more naive and more desperate for quick cash.
The newest scam lately has been the gift card scam. Scumbag scam artists are jotting down the gift card number at the store and waitiing a few days until it is activated. Once the number has been loaded with money, the scammer goes online to use it to buy things on the store’s website. CNN Money suggests only buying gift cards behind the store counter or ones that require you to scratch off the gift card number.
