Archive for the ‘College Expense’ Category

Jun

Need-based Student Loan

Author: Sally Croft

A need-based student loan is ideally suited for students whose financial condition is not good but they want to finish their education. Before availing a need-based student loan, make sure the repayment schedule is set on the basis of your financial condition. When this is the case, you will be able to repay the loan amount without any hassle. Read the terms and conditions of the loan carefully before signing the agreement paper.

Features of Need-based Student Loans

Offered by the federal government, the rate of interest of need based student loans are normally quite low. The most famous need based student loan is the Stafford loan, which you can avail at a fixed interest rate.
You do not need to repay the principal loan until you graduation. This process is commonly known as a deferred payment loan.
You get a grace period of six months following graduation with these loans. During this period, there is no pressure on you to pay anything.
In comparison to other loan packages, you will find the approval procedure for need based student loans is relatively straightforward. You just need to fill out the loan application form correctly and the loan will be accredited to your student account with your school in a matter of days.

Kinds of Need-based Student Loans

There are four kinds of need based student loans available: Perkins, Subsidized Stafford Loans, Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and Plus loans. The main advantage of these loans is that you do not need to pay anything while you are studying.

To avail Perkins loans, you need to contact the financial aid office for application payment details. If you are interested in getting Subsidized Stafford loan, you will need to pay a fixed interest rate. Similar to the Perkins loan, you do not need to pay any money while you are in school. No credit check will be implemented when you apply for a Subsidized Stafford loan. Unsubsidized Stafford loans are different in the sense that you need to pay monthly installments on the interest even if you have not graduated.

Tags: Need Based Student Loan, student loan
Posted in College Expense, Financial Advice, Student Loan | 6 Comments »

Jun

Top Financial Tips For New College Grads

Author: Sally Croft

Find below six top financial tips for new college graduates.

For new college graduates, it is quite important that they shop around in the market and take quotes from at least ten lenders when taking student loan. There are some students that just accept the first loan offer. This is not the right way to go as your lack of knowledge may cost you plenty of money in the long run. By shopping around in the market, you will be able to make a much better decision in terms of selecting a loan package.
To get loan at low interest rates and easy repayment schedule, new college graduates need to make sure that their credit rating is good. Improving credit rating takes time but if you are willing to put in your efforts, you will start availing benefits of it very early in the piece. To improve your credit rating, start paying all your dues on time and keep a keen eye on your monthly expenses. If possible, try to save some money on a monthly basis.

If you have taken three or four student loans in order to complete your education then it is advisable that you go for a debt consolidation. With debt consolidation, your monthly installment and rate of interest is going to decrease appreciably. Another good thing about debt consolidation is that you only need to deal with one lender which is much easier to do rather than dealing three or four lenders on a monthly basis.
With regard to student loan, you have two choices, private student loans and federal student loans. Getting an approval for Federal Student Loans is quite tough as so many students apply for it because of low interest rates and flexibility in terms of repayment schedule. If your federal student loan application is rejected, you should go for a private student loan. Although, you need to pay much higher interest rates in Private Student Loan but if your credit rating is good, you can get some discount from the lender.

For new college graduates, it is quite important that they go for a loan package where they get a grace period facility. The best part about grace period facility is that during this period, there is no pressure on you in terms of repayment.
Only take the services of a lender which is accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Instead of taking loan from a completely new lender, you should stick with your current lender.

Tags: Credit Rating, Easy Repayment, Federal Student Loan, Financial Tips, New College Grads, Private Student Loan, student loan
Posted in Career Advice, College Expense, Financial Advice, Graduating Students | 3 Comments »

May

The Avoidables – 14 Things You Should Never Pay For

Author: Sally Croft

Living life as a student is the most memorable phase of life. Sharing things, rushing to last minute shopping discounts, pooling bucks to buy things, going to all you can eat outlets are something everyone has experienced one time or another. However there are certain things that you should have never paid for….!!! Surprised…I was too

. Check out the list below to find list 14 things that you can get FREE of COST, yes absolutely FREE!!!

1. Credit Report
Majority of online advertisements providing free credit reports are a scam. One exception in this regard is annualcreditreport.com. At annualcreditreport.com, you can get credit report free of cost from all three credit reporting agencies on a yearly basis.

2. Credit Card
There is no point paying yearly fee to the credit card companies as they already make significant amount of money from you by charging interest. American Express does not charge any sort of fee.

3. Banking Services
You should never pay for banking services. With competition being so intense in the banking sector right now, there are number of banks that provide free account to their clients.

4. Tax Preparation
Plenty of individuals pay unnecessarily for tax preparation. There are so many tax preparation companies operating in the market at present that provide free e-filing of some magnitude. Further, you have an option of using the IRS Free File in order to get free tax preparation.

5. Credit Counseling
National Foundation for Credit Counseling provides free credit counseling to those individuals whose financial condition is not up to the mark. Credit counseling is a course providing education to consumers about how to keep away from incurring debts that can’t be repaid.

6. Budgeting Software
You do not need to pay any money in order to get budgeting software. You can get budgeting software free of cost from Mint and Quicken Online.

7. Cell Phone:
Majority of cell phone providers offer you a free phone when you register with them for a fixed period. Once the fixed period expires, you can opt for new phone in order to get contract extension.

8. Computer Software
In this day and age of open source technology, you do not need to pay software provider such as Microsoft and Oracle too much money.

9. Books
There is no point buying books from bookstores when you get them for free at your library.

10. A Pet
You can get pet free of cost by visiting your nearest local rescue center and animal shelter. The good thing about this routine is that a needy animal will get a home.

11. Online Shipping
Don’t act like a fool by paying high shipping charges on your online buying. Instead, use websites such as freeshipping.org.

12. Auction Listing Fees
Why waste your money on auction listing fees when you have an option of Craigslist. Only pay auction listing fees when your target audience is quite wide.

13. DVD Rentals
Rather than paying $5 in the form of DVD rental fee, visit New Release rental box or a Redbox in your local grocery store. Before you go to these places, check the free daily code from insideredbox.com.

14. Exercise
Why waste your hard earned money on a gym membership fees when you can do it for free. Morning walk on a daily basis and few pushups can go a long way in improving your overall fitness.

I am sure you guys must be aware of some more FREE amenities like these. So friends, don’t forget to share your list with me and rest of your fellow readers.

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