Student loan | 10 Tips for Zapping <b>Student Loan</b> Debt - Real-time chat for online <b>...</b> |
- 10 Tips for Zapping <b>Student Loan</b> Debt - Real-time chat for online <b>...</b>
- How To Pay Off Your <b>Student Loans</b> in Just 3 Months - Brazen
- Liberate 41 Million Americans From <b>Student Loan</b> Debt
- Debt counseling expert says <b>student loan</b> crisis is a “ticking time bomb”
- US government announces EQUIP <b>student loan</b> program - Business <b>...</b>
- Beware of <b>Student Loan</b> Debt Relief Offers and Credit Repair “Deals <b>...</b>
| 10 Tips for Zapping <b>Student Loan</b> Debt - Real-time chat for online <b>...</b> Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:00 AM PST Even the most ambitious college grad might have some trouble getting excited about this one: repaying student loans. And with the average graduate leaving college with $27,204 in student loan debt, that day is sure to come for many a young professional. So yeah, maybe you'd rather poke your eye out than think about repaying your loans. But if you don't spend some time figuring out your best strategy, you might be making higher repayments than absolutely necessary. That's right. You might be able to take home more bucks each month. How's that possible? Check out these tips on how to take your student loans from overwhelming to under control: 1. Don't freak out, advises The Project on Student Debt. If those loans are a huge pain because of unemployment, health problems or other unexpected financial issues, you have options to delay payments until you get back on your feet. A deferment or forbearance might be right for you, but consult your lender and make sure you understand the terms of postponing your payments. Keep in mind that interest accrues on all types of loans during forbearances, and on some types of loans during deferment, which increases your total debt. If you can afford it, consider making interest-only payments. 2. Stay organized. If you have a mess of private and federal student loans, it can be difficult to keep everything straight. The government's National Student Loan Data System tracks all your federal student loans, which makes it just a little bit easier to stay on top of who you owe and how much. 3. See if you qualify for debt forgiveness. Who said there are no free lunches? Depending on your field, you could qualify to have part of all of your federal student loans cancelled. If you do volunteer work, you could also qualify for loan forgiveness. See FinAid's student loan forgiveness section for details. 4. Consolidate, but with caution. If you're struggling to make your monthly payments, consolidating your loans can make your life easier by giving you a single, lower monthly payment and more repayment options, but there are caveats. This Forbes article breaks down the pros and the cons. 5. Tackle private student loans first. Private student loans almost always have higher interest rates and less repayment flexibility, so it's best to address those loans first, says Miranda Marquit, a personal finance writer for Yielding Wealth. "We really don't want the interest capitalized (meaning the interest accrued is added to the principal and then more interest is paid on the interest)," Marquit writes. 6. Pick up the phone. If you're having trouble keeping your head above water with student loans, just communicating with your lender can cut hundreds of dollars from your monthly payments. Keep in mind when switching payment plans that the length of the plan could mean more interest costs over time. 7. Set up automatic payments. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day rush, but missing a payment can result in killer late fees. It can also prevent you from getting a lower interest rate — many loan services will take off a quarter of a percent after a designated number of on-time payments. Check with your lender or bank to see if they offer automated payment programs. 8. Overpay if you can. Times are tough financially for everyone, but if you can scrape together a little extra money and put it toward you loans, that little bit each month can add up to a lot over the long term. "It's amazing what even an extra $50 per month can do for debt eradication," according to a post on My Dollar Plan. "[It] saves you $3,000 on consolidated loans and about $1700 on non-consolidated loans." 9. Check out whether you qualify for income-based repayment (IBR). If your federal student loan debt is high relative to your income, income-based repayment could help alleviate the pressure of repayment. If your total student loan payments for the year are higher than 15 percent of your annual income, you can have your loan spread out further and your monthly payments lowered. Another perk? If your IBR payment is less than the monthly interest that accrues on the loan, the government will pay your unpaid interest for up to three years, according to the Student Loan Network. If you are still making IBR payments after 25 years, your debt is forgiven. 10. Don't let loans prevent you from pursuing your entrepreneurial path! There are programs specifically designed for entrepreneurs and the Small Business Administration can also help set you up with a plan to help launch a business while keeping current on your student loan payments. Meg Handley is a writer and online journalist who covers a wide range of money and business topics including economics, investing, and real estate. She lives in Washington, D.C. and tweets as @mmhandley.  | ||||||
| How To Pay Off Your <b>Student Loans</b> in Just 3 Months - Brazen Posted: 07 Sep 2012 03:00 AM PDT At the beginning of this year, I got a side job and paid off my student loan debt in three months, after spending almost six years making the minimum payments. If I had kept making the minimum payments, it would have taken me something ridiculous like 10 years to pay them off. Then I went ahead and bought new clothes, paid for a two-week European vacation, maxed out my Roth IRA and topped off my emergency fund. You see, my side job pays me what some people make in an entire year. Here's the story of how I got my side job: I met my side job boss at the dinner party of a mutual friend. I liked his company and started following it. A few months later, I saw that he put out a full-time job announcement, so I contacted him and said I could do everything he wanted as a consultant, and for only three-quarters of the salary he was offering. Oh, and I didn't need benefits. He signed my proposal. You can and should take a few lessons from my story: network your butt off, provide massive value and ask for what you want and for what you're worth…But you know that already, don't you? You've probably heard that again and again. I hope so. Because the lesson I want to share is one you probably haven't heard already: If you want to earn more, you need to change your money mindset.Let's be honest. If you don't change how you think about finances, you'll never make drastically more money than you do right now. You'll never pay off your student loans, you'll never have an emergency fund, you'll never have enough retirement savings and you'll never get to eat spaghetti in Rome with your boyfriend until your lips meet. Before your brain will allow your heart to take action, you need to change your paradigms about money. Whatever you think or believe you know about money, give yourself the permission to start over. Here's what I mean: For most of us, passion and money are mutually exclusive. We don't really believe that Wall Street execs love their jobs, nor do we accept that do-gooders actually want to get paid for their bleeding hearts. The stories we tell about money are, in general, abysmal. Money is emotional and messy when it comes to needs, wants and desires. Money is the root of all evil and yet necessary for survival. Its reputation, lacerated by these competing ideas, scares us from managing what money we do have, let alone starting to think about how to make the most of it. To earn more, I had to realize I am no less deserving of wealth than the next person. I've had to let go of the ideas I heard growing up, like "the rich get richer." And I've had to internalize that it's actually realistic for me to make loads of money. These lessons are particularly difficult for Gen Y to swallow.We're a do-gooder generation. We've seen wealth corrupt and businesses go bad, and we want no part of it. We rebel as artists, nonprofit fundraisers, bakers and freelancers. We protest in part as a response to corporate greed, and in part because we graduated into a recession with no other choice. That's a lot of baggage to carry around. It's going to take time to get rid of it. But letting go means you'll carry less shame around your finances and you'll earn more money with confidence. Change your mindset around money, and you'll change the direction of your bank account, permanently. Do you have mental barriers that keep you from earning more? How can you change them? Rebecca Thorman's goal is to help you find meaningful work, enjoy the heck out of it and earn more money. Her blog Kontrary offers career, business and life advice that works. She writes from Washington, D.C. | ||||||
| Liberate 41 Million Americans From <b>Student Loan</b> Debt Posted: 27 Jan 2015 03:00 AM PST Mary Green Swig | Steven L. Swig | Richard Eskow
President Obama's proposal for tuition-free community college education, and the broader discussion that it has inspired, confirms our belief that it is time for a comprehensive solution to a $1.3 trillion problem: student debt in the United States. We strongly support the concept of tuition-free public higher education, and are encouraged by renewed arguments in its favor. But we must also confront what has been done to the last several generations of students. They have been forced to take on debt that is crippling to them, to our economy and our society. A student debt "jubilee" would reflect both the values upon which this nation was founded and the economic principles that have sustained it through its greatest periods of growth and prosperity. It is time for a truly transformative idea: Let's abolish all student loan debt in America. If you agree, click here to take action. Jubilees Then and Now The Liberty Bell represents our nation's core values, combining personal freedom with community action. The words inscribed on the Bell – "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof" – are from the Book of Leviticus and refer to a Biblical "Year of Jubilee," when all debts were periodically forgiven by the nation's rulers. Those Jubilee years – proclaimed at 49-year intervals for over 4,000 years – were both moral and practical in nature. On one hand, they were an acknowledgement that prolonged and excessive debt was an unconscionable burden. That morality is woven into the ethical foundation of Western civilization, which accepts the notion of fair debt but rejects indebtedness which is usurious or impinges on human freedom. But they were also an economic necessity, preserving social harmony while ensuring uninterrupted production. The practical value of debt forgiveness has been explored by scholars who note that it reinforces social cohesion and prevents large groups of people from falling into poverty or oppression. These goals remain as important today as they were in ancient times. A vibrant middle class is the engine of a functioning economy. A sustainable future is impractical without it. While "jubilee years" were created long ago, the concept lives on today in different forms. Most modern Western societies have drawn on similar moral and practical arguments to end usury, indentured servitude and slavery. Bankruptcy laws extend a kind of individualized "jubilee" to people who are overburdened with debt. (Ironically, student debt is exempted from most forms of bankruptcy relief.) Now we face a new moral challenge. We need a new and transformative movement, one which echoes the struggles of recent history while drawing its inspiration from ancient traditions. Our massive student debt burden is a moral and ethical challenge. This debt draws upon the as-yet unearned wealth of each new generation, mortgaging tomorrow's wealth and inhibiting the prosperity of the future. How did we get here? The Rise of Student Debt There was a time in living memory when many Americans could obtain public higher education at little or no tuition cost. Today a college degree has become prohibitively expensive for many, while millions of others are required to borrow extensively in order to meet its soaring costs. Rather than address the cost of education, the root cause of the problem, the government became the primary lender for student debt, a move that contributed to runaway costs and crippling indebtedness. As a result, student debt is now the second-largest form of personal debt in this country, exceeding credit card debt and trailing only home mortgages. Student debt is a dark betrayal at the heart of the American promise, and it must come to an end. The statistics paint a clear picture: Student debt has soared and continues to rise. The total amount owed is now $1.3 trillion. Approximately 41 million Americans now carry student debt, a figure that rose 40 percent between 2004 and 2012. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average amount owed for each graduating borrower has risen from less than $10,000 in 1993 to more than $30,000 in 2014 (in inflation-adjusted dollars). This debt has disproportionately affected lower-income Americans, but has affected households at all but the very highest income levels. It gets worse. Unscrupulous "educators" and loan servicers in the private sector have exploited unwary students and their families. For the last six years, debt-burdened college students have entered the worst employment environment for young people and graduates in modern history. Politicians who have been too timid to tax hedge fund billionaires the same way they tax their personal assistants are ironically using the money from debt-burdened students and their families to offset the loss. Social factors make the burden even greater. Upward social mobility is at record lows for the United States, and continues to fall. We pride ourselves on being a nation where "anyone who wants to work hard can get ahead," but the statistics belie that statement. Education seems to be the last avenue of advancement for lower- and middle-class American young people, many of whom are faced with a terrible choice: either accept their economically disadvantaged lot in life, or assume a crushing debt on the hope that tomorrow's earnings will eventually offset today's burden. This is not a moral system. It is our nation's Faustian bargain with the future, forcing students and their families to mortgage their hopes and dreams because society is no longer willing to provide them with an education. That is a moral abdication and it has led to a form of indentured servitude for young college graduates, many of whom entered the worst job market in decades. A Moral – and Practical – Solution Student debt doesn't just represent a breakdown in our social conscience. It also reflects a loss in our longstanding economic judgment. The entire society benefits from well-educated citizens, who provide it with better employees, brighter visionaries and leaders, artistic enrichment, and wiser participants in a collaborative democracy. It is time to forgive this debt and set our students and their families free. We propose a Student Debt Jubilee that will forgive all $1.3 trillion in American student loan debt. Here's how it can work: Most student loan debt (approximately 86 percent) is held by the federal government. That means it is actually owned by the very people who owe the debt. That debt can be forgiven by government action. The remainder is held by private lenders and will be the subject of future proposals. Many people's first reaction will be: We can't afford it. While we will provide more detail on the funding process soon, the answer is a simple one: Yes, we can. First, let's reflect on our priorities. The Jubilee would cost less than the 2001 tax cuts – which primarily benefited the wealthiest among us – and is only slightly more than the 10-year cost of offshore tax loopholes for corporate America. For another perspective, a study published 18 months ago showed that the costs of the war in Iraq had already exceeded $2 trillion. We realize that a "student debt jubilee" will cost money. But it will also stimulate economic growth, by injecting more money into the overall economy, and that growth will provide more tax revenue for the government. There will also be a major expansionary effect, as young Americans liberated from debt are able to buy homes, start businesses and pursue their dreams. And in the future our economy will benefit from a better-educated population. Going Forward As we address today's student debt, we must also ensure that tomorrow's college students aren't forced into excessive debt. We must therefore see to it that residents of every state have access to tuition-free public higher education. This is not a radical notion, or even a new one. President Obama's plan for free community college stands on firm footing. The University of California was tuition-free until the 1960s, for example, and free higher education was available in New York City for well over a century. Germany has just joined the growing list of nations that offer their citizens a cost-free college education. We are pleased that the president's community-college proposal has sparked a new debate about four-year education as well. But tomorrow's free tuition, should we achieve that goal, will not relieve the crushing debt burden of the past. We are not naïve. We know that this idea will meet with bitter resistance from those who argue that it "rewards the undeserving" or encourages irresponsible borrowing. (Paradoxically, many of those who will make those arguments remained silent as Wall Street was rescued and tax breaks were offered to undeserving financial speculators.) There are those who will argue that the idea is fiscally irresponsible, despite the fact that it will have a positive economic impact in the long-term. We also know that, while the concept is simple, it will require more thought and discussion. That's why we will continue to explore and expand upon this proposal until we have reached our goal. This is a new idea to most people. It represents a fundamental shift in our moral universe, just as other such struggles – for workplace rights, women's rights, and civil rights – have in the past. It is an idea whose time has come. But these shifts don't come easily. They take time, and debate – and an organized movement. We hope you will join us. If you agree, click here to take action. "Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed." — Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
| Debt counseling expert says <b>student loan</b> crisis is a “ticking time bomb” Posted: 17 Oct 2015 05:21 AM PDT
WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) – The CEO of the nation's largest nonprofit credit counseling agency is sounding the alarm about the student loan crisis. Susan Keating is President of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), and pointed to figures that show college loan debt has now reached $1.3 trillion. As CEO of the NFCC, Keating is considered a foremost authority on the effects of consumer debt on Americans and the U.S. economy. The financial services executive was in town, Friday, to talk about the state of the financial services industry with local banking officials, and the staff of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, the local affiliate of the NFCC, at their offices in West Seneca. Keating said young people saddled with college debt, which is second only to home mortgage debt–and more than what Americans owe on their credit cards–has become a drag on the U.S. Economy, standing in the way of buying homes, new cars, and other consumer goods. The answer to the crushing college debt load is complex, said Keating, but one part of the solution could be making sure students and their families understand exactly what they are signing up for when they take out student loans. Among the things she said they should know, "how long it is going to take them to get out of that debt, what kind of income levels they will need to support eventually paying that student debt off." Keating put it bluntly, when speaking about the college loan crisis, "$1.3 trillion, it is larger than credit card outstandings. In debt today, second only to mortgage loans, and it is a ticking time bomb." If you or a family member need help managing student loans, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo (CCCS) has a program that can help, and the agency offers a wide of array counseling programs to fit your needs. CCCS President Paul Atkinson is the chairman of the NFCC's Operating Committee. | ||||||
| US government announces EQUIP <b>student loan</b> program - Business <b>...</b> Posted: 14 Oct 2015 08:54 AM PDT Americans collectively hold over $1 trillion in student loans. Until now, the federal government has offered money only for accredited post-secondary-education programs, which are deemed worthy by accreditation boards that look at everything from a school's faculty to its student support services and its curriculum. On Wednesday, The New York Times reports, the Education Department will announce a pilot program to explore providing loans for nontraditional, alternative forms of higher education — think coding boot camps, MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses), certificate programs, and some forms of corporate training. Courses like these aren't accredited, so the Education Department will look at alternative forms of "quality assurance." Students who enroll in courses approved by the department will be eligible for loans and student aid. Inside Higher Ed reports that the program, called "Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships (EQUIP)," will initially be limited in scope to applications from fewer than 10 schools. Skeptics of the proposal to offer loans for nontraditional higher ed argue that offering aid to programs that haven't been accredited in the traditional way leads to a lack of accountability, a complaint that has felt ever-more urgent this year in the wake of financial investigations surrounding for-profit colleges. Earlier this year, for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges was shut down over allegedly predatory practices, and made the news as 100 students refused to pay back their student loans. The University of Phoenix — the largest for-profit college system in the US — was recently suspended from recruiting students from the military while under investigation for potentially predatory practices. Peter Wylie of Gradible points out that 81% of the university's revenue is from US Student Aid, and 74% of that is from student loans specifically. Accreditation isn't a foolproof system. US News & World Report writes that some institutions appear to be accredited through "accreditation mills" online, which supply a school with credentials using a minimum standard of evaluation, and don't hold the same weight as a more reputable board — not that students are always aware of the distinction. Federal assistance or not, alternative forms of education are increasingly popular. MarketWatch reports data from trade publication Course Report finding that in 2015, about 16,000 students are expected to graduate from coding boot camps, compared with about 6,700 last year. With the programs priced at $10,000 to $20,000, many of these students take out loans through private lenders in order to attend. Data gathered from 10 coding boot camps by online lender Earnest, as reported by Wired, finds the average coding student owes about $30,000 in debt before even enrolling, and about half of that is student loans. | ||||||
| Beware of <b>Student Loan</b> Debt Relief Offers and Credit Repair “Deals <b>...</b> Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:15 PM PDT If you're among the millions of current or former students with debt, you've probably been tempted to click on an ad that says, "Obama Wants to Forgive Your Student Loans!" or "Erase Default Statuses in 4 – 6 Weeks!" or some equally enticing student loan debt relief offer … available only if you click or call NOW! Many the companies behind these offers have sophisticated marketing tactics to target unsuspecting students, borrowers, parents, military service members, and their families. As the Student Loan Ombudsman for the Office of Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Department of Education, I hear about these pitches a lot. My strong advice: Before you pay somebody to help you with your student loans, do your homework. It's tempting to just say: Don't do it. Walk away. Call your loan servicer instead. But there's more you should know. In my office we help student loan customers with problems they may face in managing and repaying their student loans. One of the topics that has been trending recently is about companies that promise student loan cancellation, forgiveness, credit repair, or dramatically lowered payments. Based on the experience of the Ombudsman Group and the Student Loan Ombudsman Caucus, here are some specific things you should know before signing up with any student loan debt relief company. Student loan debt relief companies charge fees for services that you can get for free. You can apply for loan consolidation through www.studentloans.gov. The application is free, and there are no extra fees. Before applying, do your research on www.studentaid.gov. On that site, you'll find information on loan consolidation, requirements for loan forgiveness, repayment estimators to help you pick the right repayment plan to fit your income, loan servicer contacts, and other important information to help you manage your loan repayment. All for free! Recent research by a member of the Student Loan Ombudsman Caucus found some of these debt relief companies charging upfront consolidation fees as high as $999 or 1 percent of the loan balance (whichever is higher); "enrollment" or "subscription" fees up to $600; or monthly account "maintenance" fees as high as $50 per month. You already pay for these services through the monthly interest on your loans; why double-pay? Keep your PIN to yourself Student loan debt relief or credit repair companies may offer to manage your loan account, and to do so, they ask you to provide them with your federal student aid Personal Identification Number (PIN), or sign a Power of Attorney. Think about it: your PIN is the equivalent of your signature on any documents related to your student loan. If you give your PIN away, you give others the power to perform actions on your student loan on your behalf. Plus, regardless of who authorizes changes to your account, it's your name on the promissory note. If that company fails to provide the appropriate updates to your loan servicer, you have to deal with the consequences. Is Your Loan in Default? If it is, you know that being in default on a student loan is bad news. Know this as well: you are a prime target for the marketing tactics of debt relief and credit repair companies. By being in default, you've already incurred added interest and you're subject to collection costs. Don't add on the additional fees charged by one of these companies to get your loan out of default. Even if your loan is in default, loan consolidation is free. Getting on a loan rehabilitation plan is free. Find out how to get out of default. Think you've been scammed? If you've already signed a contract, seek advice to learn your options. Many state governments have an Office of Consumer Affairs or Consumer Protection either within or affiliated with, the Office of the State's Attorney General. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have the authority to act against companies that engage in deceptive or unfair practices. Click on the links to file your complaint with either of those agencies. Contact your Loan Servicer If you want to talk to someone, call your loan servicer or use your online account access to get more information. They are your first source to get help with managing your loan repayment. The Department's loan servicers are as concerned as I am at ensuring that you do not spend your hard-earned money to pay for something you can get for free. If you don't know your servicer's contact information, grab your PIN and log in to StudentAid.gov. Joyce DeMoss is the Student Loan Ombudsman at Federal Student Aid. If you've tried to resolve your student loan issues without success, contact the Ombudsman. The Student Loan Ombudsman Caucus includes members at Direct Loan and FFELP program participating lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies. | ||||||
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