Over the past several years, college tuition has gone up and the available grant money has gone down. Many students have no other choice than to use student loans to pay for at least part of their college education. While some students may welcome graduation day, others dread it due to the impending student loan payments that soon await them. When it comes to managing your student loan debt, preparation and planning are your two best defenses. Even if you are already a couple of years into your degree program, you can still take action.

Don’t Borrow More Than You Need
Depending on your income level and your FAFSA results, you may be eligible for a higher loan amount than you need to cover tuition charges. It is true that money is tight for most students but what you borrow now is eventually going to be due at a later date. If you have a credit on your student account after your grants and loans are applied, you can always ask your college to cancel the remaining loan amount.

Buy Books off Campus
If you buy books from your college bookstore, you are going to pay full retail price for them. Most colleges will allow students to use their financial aid or student loans to pay for their books. This may seem like an easy and quick way to obtain your learning materials but you may get stuck paying interest on those books in the end. For the most part, you are only going to use the books once and there is little sense in going into debt over the cost of books. Rather than purchasing the books from your campus, try half.com, ebay.com or other Internet websites that sell used college textbooks.

Pay the Interest on Your Loans While Your Are in School
Depending on the amount of student loan debt that you have, the interest payment is likely to be a few dollars a month. By paying the interest payment on your student loans every month, you are likely to save hundreds if not thousands of dollars once you have to start paying the loans back.

Stick with Government Backed Loans
It can get very tempting to accept a loan offer from a private banking institution to help cover college related costs. Private loans can look even better if your grants and federal loans are not covering your day to day living expenses or other necessities while you are in college. While it may sound good, private loans typically come with higher interest rates, stricter terms and no grace period.

By taking preventative action while you are still in college, you could save yourself a ton of debt later down the road. With the current state of the economy, it is more important now than ever to plan for your financial future.

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You would think that since the housing market is still swimming near the bottom, that you would be able to find affordable homes or apartments to rent. I recently made a move back to my hometown and I was shocked to find out that most landlords have kept their monthly rent the same even in this economy. A few years ago, property owners could get top dollar for their rental homes and apartments but people just aren’t willing to pay what they were a short while ago. If you are looking for an affordable rental property, don’t be afraid to negotiate the price with the property owner.

Point Out Flaws
When viewing a rental property, do not be afraid to point out any flaws that you find. Take a good luck at the carpets, paint, appliances and make the property owner aware of the problems that you find. It might not save you a bundle, but the property owner may be willing to knock a few dollars off of the monthly rent if you make it known that you aren’t going to pay the asking price if things aren’t in excellent condition.

Cosmetic Changes
If you are looking at a rental property that could use some TLC, you can always inquire about fixing the place up yourself for a reduction in rent. Property owners will sometimes reduce rent if the tenant is willing to paint, landscape or make minor cosmetic changes.

Utilities
Most rental property owners require that tenants pay for their own utilities. If a rental property owner needs to rent the property, you may have some luck with getting the owner to pay one or two utilities. While the property owner may not budge on the more expensive utilities such as the electric bill, they may be willing to pick up the garbage or water bill.

Location
You may find a property that will suit your needs in a less than desirable location. If the neighboring property looks a little run down or you have to drive a good ways to the nearest grocery store, make this known to the property owner. Once again, landlords do not want their properties sitting vacant and they may be willing to reduce your rent if you point out a few inconveniences.

You can negotiate the price of just about anything and a rental property should be no different. I believe in getting what I pay for and that includes my housing. Even if the property owner is not willing to negotiate when you first look at the property, they may change their mind if the property continues to sit empty.

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A guide for repaying back a student loan is meant to help students understand their financial responsibilities and manage their financial affairs in the right manner. While moving out of college the last thing a student wants to think about is repaying back his/her student loan.

As a student borrower you are saddled with certain responsibilities just as you complete negotiating your loan. To maintain a good standing with the lender loan obligations need to be fulfilled diligently. Even one missed payment is an indication of delinquency to the people who may be reviewing your application for a home or a new car in the years to come. Ignoring your loan repayments could place you in default records. However, there can be circumstances where it may become genuinely difficult for you to make timely repayments. In such a situation you need to get in touch with your lender immediately. There are many ways in which you may get payment relief.

In many cases you may not be required to make repayments untill you graduate. The problem is that even after graduation there are many students who may not find suitable placement within the grace period. In other cases even a secured job may initially not pay enough to meet loan obligations along with covering other necessary expenses, which may lead to loan repayment issues. Keeping this in mind there is usually a six month grace period before the repayment schedule kicks in after your graduation.

You need to choose one from a number of strategies available that may help you in repaying your student loan. Nearly all lenders and service providers offer several options by way of different repayment plans and you should check with your lender about the availability of plans. A few of them are discussed below.

Graduated repayment- In this a long term repayment plan option spread over 12 to 30 years based on the total amount borrowed. For example, loans below $7,500 can be extended up to 10 years, $7,501 to $9,999 up to 12 years and so on, with 30 years repayment period for loans of $60,000 and above. You begin by making smaller repayments which gradually increase every two years. Under this option the monthly repayment cannot be less than 50% or above 150% the installment payable under the standard repayment option. It should also be equal to at least the interest amount payable subject to a minimum of $25.

Standard repayment- Standard repayment- For Federal Stafford and Federal PLUS loans the standard repayment schedule is structured over a period up to 10 years with the rate of interest calculated at 8.25%.The minimum monthly repayment installment for both loan types is $50 per month.

Extended repayments- In extended repayments you need to make smaller monthly repayments over a longer repayment period that can extend from 12 to 30 years depending on the amount borrowed. However, the total interest paid over the life of the loan is much higher. For example, if you borrow $20,000 @ 6.8% interest the effect of switching from standard repayment to extended repayment would be:

Income sensitive repayment- This is applicable to a certain class of borrowers and takes into account a specific percentage of the borrower’s income to calculate the monthly repayment.

Loan consolidation- This provides the facility of consolidating many types of loans into a single loan with just one repayment to be made on a monthly basis on a low rate of interest.

Prepayment option- This option offers a very good opportunity for reducing the overall cost of the loan. Most private student loans incorporate terms that allow you to payoff a part of your loan before the scheduled repayment begins. This can be done at any time during the life of the loan.

Additionally, there may be certain programs offered by your state that can reduce or even cancel your loan altogether if you are performing certain services that include teaching and nursing. You can verify the availability of such programs by checking with the state agency for post secondary education of your state.

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I can’t remember the last time that I actually ordered a box of checks or wrote out a check for that matter. There are two major ways to utilize paying bills online and I use both of them. Gone are the days of waiting for a check order to come in the mail or spending the money on check printing fees. Most people know about online banking and bill pay but I am surprised when people tell me that they still write out checks. There are people who are hesitant to use online bill pay and online banking due to the risk of identity theft and fraud. While I can understand this concern, it has also been proven that most identity theft still occurs through regular old snail mail. Not sure if using online banking and bill pay will save you money? Check out how I save money every single month by paying my bills on the Internet.

Save on Check Orders
You can pay anyone or any bill by using your bank’s online bill pay system. Your car payment, insurance, credit card payments and even your rent can be paid online. Your bank cuts the check for you and mails it to where ever it needs to go. If your bank has an electronic agreement with the company you are paying, then your payment will be made even quicker. Checks are expensive but they are an expense that you can easily get rid of by using your bank’s bill pay system.

Reward Points
If you have a debit card, many banks offer reward programs which are very similar to credit card reward programs. Every time you make a purchase, your rewards account earns points that you can later purchase goods and services with. If you use your debit card to pay directly on a company’s website, the payment could earn you reward points. I use my debit card for every day purchases and to pay bills online. Just last month, I earned enough points to receive a new cookware set for absolutely free!

Stamps
With the price of stamps constantly on the rise, now is a great time to stop mailing out your bills all together. A book of stamps might not seem like a huge cost, but if you pay all your bills through the mail, you could be spending well over a hundred dollars a year on stamps.

If you are still hesitant about paying your bills online, talk to your bank and ask them to provide you with the security measure that they take in order to protect your information. Your will certainly see how online banking is more secure than your standard envelope.

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When I was younger, I used to think that my mom was living on a different planet than the rest of the world due to her money saving habits. From personal care to the food in the house; she always had some crazy money saving idea that the rest of the family was forced to abide by. Now that I am older and hopefully a little bit wiser, mom’s ideas don’t seem so outlandish anymore. Matter of fact, I have even started using some of her out of this world money saving tips myself.

Shampoo and Conditioner
With three girls in the family, the shampoo and conditioner tab ran pretty high when I was younger. In order to save a few dollars every month, my mom started filling the shampoo and conditioner bottles with water once they were half empty. I used to roll my eyes every time she did this, but the times have changed. I now fill the bottles back up with water when they reach half empty as well. When it comes down to it, my hair feels just as clean after using the water diluted solution as it does when I use it full strength and I save a few dollars every month.

Canning
When I was very young, canning was a fun and exciting time. I had quite a fascination with popping the canning lids in and out as I sat there waiting for the jars to be filled. As I got older however, my urge to help and the fascination with the canning lids started to fade. With kids of my own now, I have recently revisited the world of canning and I am astounded at how much money I save. I can everything from salsa to preserves and vegetables and I rarely have to buy canned items at the store anymore. To get the best prices, I buy all of my produce that I am going to use for canning at local farmers markets and I buy in bulk. As for my canning supplies, most of them have been purchased for a few dollars at yard sales or flea markets. Canning is a great money saving solution and you can keep certain foods on hand for years.

Buying Generic
What would my friends think if they saw generic cereal in my house? That was my typical teenage thought every single time that my mom purchased generic items at the grocery store. Maybe it was just my teenage taste buds, but I was certain that generic tasted awful compared to brand name foods. My adult taste buds are luckily much more mature and they have realized that most generic foods taste the same as the brand name foods.

Mom’s ideas may have seemed crazy to me when I was a child, but they have taught me ways to save money now that I am an adult. I think we can all learn money saving tips just by looking at what our parents and grandparents used to do.

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If you have built up quite a lot of student debt, you will more than likely have looked into all of the ways that you can pay it off. One option which comes up fairly frequently is a consolidation loan.

Giving you the chance to pay off all of your student debts and transferring them into one easy to manage loan often seems like an ideal solution. However, there are various things that you need to consider before you take out a consolidation loan. While they can help, there are times when taking out this type of loan could be a very bad idea!

You Will Be Paying Back More Than You Are Now

By taking out a student consolidation loan, you will be paying back quite a lot more than your current debts. For example, if you currently owe $15,000, if you take out a consolidation loan you could end up paying back at least $25,000. Of course it all depends upon the lender and the interest charges, but no matter who you go with, you will always be paying back more than you currently owe.

The reason behind this is because a consolidation loan extends the term of the loan which lowers your monthly repayments. The lower monthly repayments allow you to manage the loan better than you currently do and it can seem like the ideal solution. For once you will have a little money left over to spend on whatever you want to spend. However, you need to understand that you will be paying back more money in the long run.

It Could Affect Your Chances of Getting a Mortgage

When you are a student you don’t always consider the long term implications of a loan. You simply think about the here and now and that can prove problematic in the long term.

If you are 25 now for example, you will more than likely want to settle down in your own house within the next ten years. With many consolidation loans you will be paying them back for a minimum of ten years. That would take you up until the age of 35 and only then will you be able to start thinking of buying your own place. For many people their consolation loans last for fifteen years or more. That is really something that you need to consider as a loan could affect your chances of being accepted for a mortgage.

Overall consolidation loans can help. If you know exactly what you are getting into then it can be an excellent way to manage your monthly debts. However, you should think about the negative implications of a consolidation loan too if you want to make the best possible decision for you.

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Bankruptcy should always be seen as a last resort option. Unfortunately many people do not understand the implications of bankruptcy or how they can avoid it. Thousands of people are made bankrupt in America each year and many of them could have been avoided if more knowledge had been available to them.

If you are facing bankruptcy and you want to know what your options are then read on. Remember – bankruptcy can have a huge negative impact on your life!

Contacting Your Creditors

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you have at least tried to contact your creditors. Many people avoid their debt problems and by failing to contact the creditor to let them know what is going on, they burry their heads in the sand and end up losing everything.

By letting your creditor know what is happening, it could be possible to work out a repayment plan and avoid losing everything. If you haven’t tried to contact your creditor then do so now!

Sell Whatever You Can

If the problem has become severe then it would be worth selling whatever assets you can to pay off some of the debt. Obviously the more you can pay off, the better it will be. Creditors will often consider cancelling some of your debt if you can raise the money to pay off at least part of what you owe.

Jewellery, your car and even old clothing and books can make a difference. It is easier now than ever before to make money from your possessions. Try listing things on auction websites such as Ebay.com. Basically anything at all that you can sell can help you to pay off your debts.

Ask For Help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Maybe you could get financial help from family or friends? Nobody likes to ask for money from the people they care about, but if it comes to you facing bankruptcy, it has to be worth asking.

If family and friends can’t help you, seek advice from a consumer credit counsellor. They may be able to help you to negotiate with creditors to arrange a payment plan. This often works if you have had no luck with creditors by yourself. When you use a consumer credit counsellor your creditors know that you are serious that you have no way of currently paying the full balance off.

The thing to remember is that your creditors would rather receive some money from you than none at all. Therefore they will also more than likely try to help you to avoid bankruptcy and arrange an alternative method of repayment. If you use some of the tips mentioned above, you should easily be able to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

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Over the past year or two, I have spoken to several people who are having a hard time financially. If you aren’t currently struggling to make ends meet, then you surely know of someone that is. When I talk to people about their money concerns, a few things stick out more than others. When it comes to saving money, cutting out a few spending habits can save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over the course of a year.

Coffee to Go
A few weeks ago, I met a friend of mine at the local park for a quick lunch. With chasing around two small kids on a daily basis, I fully admit that I am a coffee nut. Prepared for exhaustion, I lugged my large coffee thermos with me to the park and planted myself on a bench to watch the kids play. While my friend was discussing her money woes, I noticed the four dollar latte she was drinking from the local coffee shop. A four dollar cup of coffee every day costs over a thousand dollars a year! Making your own coffee at home costs around half as much every week as buying it from a coffee shop does.

Cable
If I was told a few years ago that I could live without an expensive cable package, I would have laughed hysterically. In a crunch, I bit the bullet and canceled my movie channels package and went with basic cable only. It saved me over sixty dollars a month and in the end, I was able to survive quite well.

Designer Clothes
Due to being a little clumsy, I tend to wear more food than I eat. While this normally would not be a huge problem, it was making a serious dent in my wallet. Rather than spending the money on designer clothes, I tend to buy store name brands for my every day basics. I never feel as guilty throwing away a ten dollar shirt as I do throwing away a fifty dollar shirt and it saves me money in the long run.

Cell Phone Usage
I used to argue that a cell phone was not a necessity and actually went years without having one. After having kids however, I did find a need to carry one on me, in the event that someone needed to reach me about the kids. I also however found that I was not using as many minutes as my plan allowed for. Cell phone plans vary and most carriers will not penalize customers if they change plans during their contract period. I ended up saving over thirty dollars a month just by changing to a cheaper plan.

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(NOTE: This is the last of our ten part series on student loans, we hope you enjoyed it and be sure to go read the other parts if you haven’t already! – Jason)

It’s relatively easy (and common) to hate your student loan payments. Student loans by nature of their being need to be repaid long before the graduating student has had a chance to set down roots and get comfortable with their finances. When you are in your forties and fifties, with a solid career, good income and support of family life, a twenty thousand dollar loan is no big deal. Unfortunately, when you are in your early twenties, you have yet to achieve more than your diploma and the bill that comes with it.

Losing perspective, you start to begrudge your student loan. You might have doubts and wonder if you should have gotten that degree. This is especially true for those in the first year or so after graduation, when you are happy if you can just find a job, let alone a career. However, you shouldn’t get too downtrodden about your student loans, because they are actually a good debt.

Yes, that’s right – a good debt. It’s simple mathematics actually. Anything that has a bigger dividend than the initial investment is good. In terms of student debt, your initial investment is the loan and the interest you pay, but the return on your investment comes in the form of better wages, benefits and more stability over a lifetime.

Okay, so perhaps it doesn’t feel that way right now. You look at your meager furnishings and dream about the sofa set and stereo system you hope to have — someday. You pray your transmission doesn’t give out any time soon, so you can keep up with the overworked, underpaid level entry job that is only loosely related to your chosen field. You spend your time padding your resume, applying for jobs and listening half-heartedly to people who tell you “everyone must pay their dues”. On top of it all, you have no spare cash for a Friday night out, because every penny you have leftover goes directly to your student loan.

Someday will come. I promise. Millions of people all over the globe, in different countries, in different fields, in different cultures have slaved and scraped their way from the very bottom to work their way up from a job to a career. Your education has prepared you for it. You paid for more than just knowledge and expertise, you paid for structure and discipline. All night study sessions taught you how to do what it takes to get things done. Pop quizzes taught you how thrive under pressure. That nasty professor that drove you crazy prepared you to handle yourself among colleagues in the workplace.

There is absolutely nothing that can replace your post secondary education and the experiences that accompany it. Even the student loans themselves help you set and achieve a goal. The loans are a burden; true. The debt load can be painful and heavy at times, also true. Nevertheless, in the end, it is still a good debt. One that will reward you countless times over, and in years to come, you will encourage those who look up to you to take on the same debt.

So instead of grumbling about your student loan payments, try to see the bright side. Your student loan bought you a good education. That good education, in turn gives you an opportunity for a bright future. After all, the best investment anyone can ever make is an investment in themselves.

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Debt is such a widespread problem across the world and yet there are still thousands of people who are too ashamed to face up to their debts. Feeling humiliated and worried, they hide every bank statement, bill and final reminder that comes through the door. They take the telephone off the hook and they try to pretend that everything is fine. If this sounds like you then you need to stop and read this. Avoiding your debt will not make your debt go away – it will make it get worse.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Your Debt

The first thing that you need to realize is that your debt can be repaid. Millions of people are in debt these days and most of them are just like you – they cannot afford to repay the balance in full. However, by avoiding their debts, many people have also found that the situation only gets worse. You could end up losing your job, your possessions and even your home.

That is why it is so important to face up to your debt worries. By taking a stand and becoming more knowledgeable of your rights, you can take the necessary steps needed to become debt free again. It is possible and you can avoid any legal action being taken against you.

Start by writing a letter to all of the people you owe money to. Inform them of the situation and let them know that you are dedicated to paying the money back. Once your creditor knows that you are serious about paying back your debts, they will typically be a lot more understanding and they will try to help you.

Usually a repayment plan will be created. You will be asked to provide details on your incomings and outgoings in order to determine how much you can afford to repay each month. Once you have reached a realistic figure, the repayment plan will begin and you will start to pay back the money that you owe.

Creditors Actually Want to Help You

You need to look at the situation from the creditors point of view. They lent you money and you have not repaid what you owe like you said you would. Now they are trying their best to get you to pay by sending you reminders and telephone calls. They do not know anything about your situation and so as far as they are concerned you are just refusing to pay the loan back with no good reason.

Once they know that you are struggling, the company usually acts more sympathetic towards you. They will try to reach a solution with you. The reason they offer a repayment plan is because they would rather get the money back over a longer period of time rather than potentially not at all.

Therefore if you have a debt problem and you are currently avoiding the situation, it is so much better to confront the problem head on. Don’t be afraid to explain your situation and to try and negotiate a repayment plan. Most of the time your creditor will be more than happy to help you. Once a repayment plan has been negotiated the constant telephone calls and final reminders through the post box will stop.

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