Loans Debts And Students
Archive for October, 2008
Finding Student Loans When You Have Bad Credit
Oct 25th
Student loans make getting a college education realistic for many people. Unless your parents can afford to help you, getting loans may be your only option. The costs of housing, tuition, food, and having fun while at school can be pretty expensive. Your college education will likely cost at least $10,000 per year.
Those who are need of extra funds for school can use borrowed money for their educations. The federal government has programs in place that allow people to get more education. Stafford loans are guaranteed by the federal government, so as long as you have need, you can get them. They are available if you have poor credit history, or even if you don’t have a job.
With Stafford loans, there is a set amount of money that you can borrow. While this increases each year, it isn’t enough for every student. If you go to an expensive college or university, Stafford loans may not provide enough resources for you. If this is the case for you, you may need to turn to private student loans.
Getting a private student loan won’t be too difficult for those of you that have good credit. Those of you that have bad credit may find this process to be very difficult. Private loans will likely cost more in interest than federally guaranteed loans, but don’t worry, investing in education is always a wise decision.
For those of you that have poor credit histories, getting a private loan will be more difficult. Lenders will rightfully see you as a decently large risk. Since students don’t have income anyway, they will question your ability to repay the loan.
If you’re a student who has maxed out Stafford loans or bad credit, here is your most basic option: get a cosigner. The truth is that you just don’t have that many other options. Why would a bank take a risk on a person that isn’t employed and has a reputation for not paying bills?
A cosigner will take away the risk from the bank, providing them with the security they need to hand you the funds you need. This may be your only chance, so let’s hope that you have a decent relationship with someone who has decent credit.
Parents, other family members, and close friends are the best people to ask when you’re looking for a cosigner. Your parents may or may not want to do it, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. You never know until you try. Many parents really want their kids to get an education and if they say yes, you’ll have your student loan.
Saving for Your Children’s College Education
Oct 22nd
As college costs increase, it can be intimidating to find ways to save up for your child’s education. Many parents know that they need to start saving money early, but they might not know where to start or how to start. Children are not cheap. One of the most expensive parts of raising a child is the college education.
Increasing College Costs
Although inflation in the United States has stayed relatively low, the inflation rate for college has more than doubled. Inflation for college costs averages between 3 and 7 percent each year, depending on the type of college or university.
The estimated four-year total (including tuition, room, and board) for a public university will be close to $85,000 by the year 2011, according to www.collegeboard.com. By 2016, the website estimates, the cost will be close to $115,000. The cost for a private education will be even higher.
What Parents Must Understand
There are two key things that parents must understand when saving for college educations.
1. Inform your children that paying for college is a joint responsibility. You should tell them early on how much you are able to contribute, and how much they should be prepared to contribute for their educations.
Although it would be wonderful if they can find a college that costs less or equal to what you are able to contribute, your children should be aware that they may need to take out scholarships and loans to fund the rest of their education. Your children should be prepared to take summer jobs and look for grants.
2. Get started early. Let compounding interest work for you by building principle early and let the interest accumulate. You should continue to contribute to the savings if possible, but starting early will give you a good head start.
Funding Your Student’s Education
Don’t expect to be able to rely on scholarships and grants to pay for your children’s educational costs. You will need to save some money to help pay for your child’s college education or consolidate with consolidation loans.
As you begin the process of saving for college, you need to first decide what kinds of accounts you would like to use for saving the money. There are various options available to parents and relatives.
Uniform Gift to Minors account: This account puts the savings in your child’s name. You, the parent, have no ownership rights to the account but will control the account until your child comes of age. This means that you will control the account until your child usually turns either 18 or 21, depending on your state.
Coverdell Education Savings Account (CSEA): Parents who qualify for this account – those families with gross income below $190,000 – are allowed to contribute up to $2,000 per child per year. The contribution isn’t tax deductible but the earnings are tax deferred.
State-Sponsored Prepaid tuition Plan: These plans promise that your investment in the plan will cover tuition at any public school in your state. It will not matter what the tuition is for the school when your child enrolls; the price is locked in when you make your investment.
State-Sponsored College Savings Plans: Individual states have these plans, but do not require the parent or student to be a resident of the state or attend college in the state. You can find more information about the 529 plans at www.collegesavings.org
Traditional Methods: You can save for your child’s education in a variety of accounts. These accounts can include basic savings accounts, investment opportunities, and annuities.
Home Mortgage Refinance Guide
Oct 17th
There are several reasons why people would want to refinance the mortgage on their homes. The most popular reason would have to be – to save money, if possible, every month.
If you qualify for a lower rate, you could lock in that lower mortgage rate and stretch out payments, so that every month you are paying less than before to live in your home. Once you decide to refinance your home, you will be confronted with a variety of choices as to what sort of new loan you can get.
One tactic people use is to shop the loan around to some banks to see what the lowest rate and best deal is for them. Refinancing your mortgage can certainly free up a lot of capital but you have to be careful though. Some unscrupulous lenders may advertise a lower rate, but once you work out the math, the lender may have already added so many points and fees to your refinancing that you are actually paying more than some of the other advertised rates.
When you do a home mortgage refinance, you may reduce your monthly payments substantially especially while we are having a low interest rate just like today. You may have bought your home during the time when the mortgage rates were really high and you are already locked into higher payments. Since mortgage rates nowadays have been hovering around 6% and lower, you may want to do the refinancing now and cut your monthly payment. As we know, mortgage rates rarely stay the same for a long time.
Many people who are in credit card debt or who have recently filed for bankruptcy may want to home mortgage refinance in order to free up some of their home equity and pay off their other debts. This can be a good strategy if the other debts are high interest rate debts.
Though there are some lenders who work hard just to provide you with an excellent mortgage refinance solution, still there are many lenders who will try to make a ton of money from you on your house refinance mortgage loan.
Do consider checking your credit reports to ensure that there are no errors. If somehow you find any, then fix them before you go securing your home refinance mortgage loan solution. You obviously don’t want any surprises on your credit report that will impact your ability to get the best rate on home refinance.
For those people who have refinanced their homes, they usually come out better than before, but as a rule, it really pays to shop around to look for that best deal you can have for your home mortgage refinance. And then maybe, you can save loads of money each and every month.