Sunday, January 13, 2008

How To Pay Back A Lot Of Student Loans To Save Your Credit

Student loans mean a lot for college students because their future depends on the money that will be given to them. Most students often find themselves burning the midnight oil trying to keep up with their course work and getting stressed out due to the student loan debts accumulating.

College is getting more and more expensive every school year, which is why student loans are important to students and parents as well. Here are some tips and guidelines that will help put your college life into perspective and help you avoid future student loan debt nightmares.

You need to try to know your financial situation. You should estimate the cost of tuition, travel costs, college texts, room and board, college tuition, personal expenses, etc.

Next look for a loan that is right for you. All student loans are not the same because not all payment plans are the same, nor do all pay for the same things. For example, if you do not have to worry about food, housing or transportation because you will be living at home you will need a different loan than most.

This is a great time to find a job, which will work with your lectures and school work schedule to help pay personal expenses or pay some of your tuition. You can easily find jobs on your university's bulletin boards. There will be many part-time jobs at the malls, coffee shops, restaurants, etc.

This is also a good time to learn practical skills, and earn money from doing so. Learning skills like foreign languages, which are offered on weekends or evenings would help you any time in life. As you learn you can interrupt and be paid as you go. Also, computer skills will help you find great part-time jobs.

Do not apply for credit from multiple credit card companies. Choose only one card which will give you the best rate and with no hidden charges. And go EASY on that credit card!

Pay with cash instead with plastic. You will be less tempted to make impulsive purchases. It is such a sinking feeling when the credit card bill arrives and you have no clue how you're going to cover it.

Many universities have programs to help their students with their finances. Some offer housing in exchange for volunteer work as resident assistants in dormitories.

Being a student should be fun and a great experience. Juggling education with student loan debt can easily be done, for thousands have for years.

The trick is, live life like a college student while you're in college so you can live life like a well-educated and mature human being ready to begin life on a firm foundation without major debt.

Court helps people to learn about how to apply for credit cards. You can read more of his work by visiting: http://whalehookloans.com

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Get Your Answers About Student Loans

Not many people can get through college without incurring some form of debt. Even with full academic scholarships there can be unforeseen expenses that can mean the difference between a semester of studying and one spent working a part-time job. The sad reality is that most parents never save enough money for their children to attend school.

There is money available but only if you make a certain amount or less. Most people must take out student loans in order to attend school. There is a lot of information to process about student loans. If you have questions regarding student loans, this article is for you.

What are student loans?

Student loans are exactly as they sound. They are loans designed to help students with their educational expenses. Most students need money for college tuition, books, lab fees and living expenses.

Granted there are federal programs that give students money for school, such as Pell Grants, but these are income based. If the parents make too much, they must rely on savings, scholarships and loans to cover the expenses.

How do I apply for student loans?

The first thing you need to do is go to the college, university or vocational school and enroll. The second item on your "to do" list is to fill out a Federal Student Aid Application.

It will take several weeks for the application to be processed and notification of monetary award sent to the school and yourself. This is not something that can be rushed so make sure to allow enough time by doing this as early as possible.

How much money should I take out?

This is a hard question to answer. Ideally you should take out only what you need to cover tuition, fees, books and living expenses. There are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself. Are you going to be working?

If so... how many hours will you be able to work after you factor in class time and study time. If you are involved in collegiate sports you may not have the time to work. Will you be receiving any aid from anyone else such as spouse or parents?

Try to take out just what you will need. Remember that you will have to pay all of this back so let that be your guide in determining how much to take out in loans.

When do I have to start paying the loan back?

For Federal student loans you do not have to begin repaying until six months after you leave school. This is considered a grace period. For all other types of loans you will begin repayment within sixty days of your first disbursement.

That means you will be paying at least the interest payment while you are enrolled. That is why so many people go with Federal student loans over private loans.

I'm unemployed and my student loans are due, what can I do if I can't make the payment?

The first thing you should do is contact your lender. Explain to them the situation. For Federal loans you can file for a forbearance that will delay when you must make payments. They have the option in granting you this privilege.

Always make sure and keep in contact with your lender. Keep them apprised of your financial situation and try to begin repayment as soon as possible. For other types of loans you will need to contact your bank or the company who gave you the private loan. They may or may not have a program to help you through your financial rough spot.

Mike Selvon's portal at http://studentloan.mininicherecommends.com/ will expand your knowledge on student loans. Visit us and leave a comment at our blog at http://www.mynicheportal.com/financial-services/ where a free gift awaits you.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Peer-To-Peer Loans And Student Loans

Small time entrepreneurs and individuals found a cheaper option
to finance and start their businesses online. With banks
offering high interest in loans, credit investigations and
onerous amortization obligations, online communities raised
money and lend it to complete strangers. This is called Peer to
Peer lending or P2P.

Peer to Peer lending is a type of "social lending" wherein the
lender would bid money to finance a loan application from a
struggling entrepreneur from a different country or any
prospective person with reasonable need to acquire loans. These
loans are needed to start up a business, finance a significant
project or help a third world person to start at business and
become productive. Voluntary investors pool the funds, send it
to the online marketplace like http://Prosper.com, MicroPlace,
Zopa or Kiva and delegate the collection process to a collecting
agency and charge them with rates lower than what banks offer
minus the administrative process.

Loans are divided among lenders and payments are sent directly
to the P2P sites which then distribute the money to lenders and
report non payments to credit agencies or collection firms.
Formal arrangement seems to make people more conscious about
repayment terms without any bank involved in the process.

It started when consumer's started to doubt financial
institutions capabilities of helping them alleviating from loan
payments with high interest rates and therefore, their ethics
was being questioned. The maverick online companies' attitude
toward this predicament is if they can get this done cheaper
between ourselves, what do we need a bank for?

There are two variations of Peer to Peer Lending on the
Internet, the first one is Online Marketplace model and Family
and Friend Model. The marketplace model of peer-to-peer lending
connects borrowers with lenders through an "auction process" in
which the lender who offering the lowest interest rates "wins"
the borrower's. Some loans are packaged and resell the loans but
ultimately, they are sold to different individuals.

The "family and friend" model lets go the auction process and
concentrates on lenders and borrowers who already have prior
knowledge of each other and formalize an online collaboration
and debt servicing. The advantage of the "market model" benefits
the borrower with its match-making aspect to the lender that
offers the lowest interest rate for loans. These loans are
unsecured and therefore, risky.

Lenders charge enough to cover defaults in payment and still
profit from the investments. There is also a strategy of
repayment which is shame. People who borrow repay real world
co-ops because they fear losing face among peers. Their
objective, therefore, is to make their small business profitable
and regularly repay the loans to conduit collection agencies.

The peer to peer lending process uses "social computing"
phenomena such as internet blogs, podcasts and participation
from online volunteers to match borrowers with prospective
lenders. Loans become cheaper as a result while lenders can earn
more from other investments. Many investors believed that they
get higher returns from 11-13% returns without much management
while borrowers get lower rates and less hassle.

About The Author: Thomas Winn is a freelance writer for many
small financial blogs. For more on peer-to-peer student loans,
please visit
http://blog.FiLife.com/virgin-moneys-student-loan-alternative/

Monday, December 31, 2007

Using Student Loans Services For Your Education

Students entering college face a wide variety of choices when it comes to an education loan. The college or university can help answer some questions, but often are not equipped to answer questions about interest rates and repayment options.

Student loans website is a one-stop website that covers the type of loans that are available to students. The different types are Federal loans, parent loans and private lender loans.

College is very expensive. Even if the student receives a scholarship to pay for books and tuition, what about room and board? There are still many other expenses to consider. If a student is taking a heavy class load or is involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports, there can be little time for a part-time job to help pay for the other things.

Many college classes now require access to a computer or a laptop. Scholarships and grants do not pay for this additional expense, so as a way to help combat these costs, many students and parents turn to a Stafford loan or to a private college loan.

The website, StudentLoans is great because it offers information on consolidating Federal loans such as the Stafford loan and even interest rates on private college loans. There are three sections on the website. The first offers information for students that include all of the available Federal loans, as well as consolidation information.

The second section is for parents of college students. The parents have information on managing college debt as well as tips to help for financing. The third section is about private student loans and the current interest rates.

Student loans com can help provide you with the information you need in order to make an informed decision about the types of loans you will need, to finance your academic career. The student loan can be a tremendous asset or a true liability if you are not aware of the different types of available. The difference can be getting a lower interest rate or being forced into whatever rate your credit score dictates.

There are many websites that can help you in making a decision regarding financing the expenses of college. Student loans com is a great place for students and parents alike, who are unsure on what types of loans are available.

While some don't require repayment until after graduation, there are some that require repayments to begin once the money is disbursed. Sending children to school is expensive, but it does not have to break the bank.

Mike Selvon's portal at http://studentloan.mininicherecommends.com/ will expand your knowledge on student loans com. Visit us and leave a comment at our blog at http://www.mynicheportal.com/financial-services/ where a free gift awaits you.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Can A Student Loan Be Discharged With Bankruptcy

It doesn't really matter how old your student load is. Since October 7, 1998 the only way that you could include a student loan in a discharge is if you can prove that they are the cause of an undue hardship. This is hard to prove.

Any bankruptcy cases before October 17, 2005 if your student loan was given to you by a company that was insured or a non government entity you could include it in a discharge. But if those that offered you and gave you the student loan was of a non profit or a government funded entity they could not be included in a discharge.

Often times there are other alternatives in apply for bankruptcy on a student loan. Because the negative aspect of applying for bankruptcy with a student loan is that while you are in court your creditors don't have the ability to send you bills, so if it ends up ruling not in your favor. That next month you would receive a bill will all have the interest and late payments that have accrued while you were waiting for the judgment in your bankruptcy case.

Student loans tend to be one of the most flexible loans out there they have more options that you can pursue then just a standard loan. If you see that you are not going to be able to pay back your loan talk to you lender. Let them know exactly what is happening and more often then not they would be able to help you out of that situation.

Those that decide what can be included in the bankruptcy and what can not be included will be based upon the decision of the bankruptcy judge. In many cases a ruling is really made by just a gut feeling.

To prove that your student loan is causing you an extreme hardship you must prove three points and if you miss one you will not have it included in the discharge. The first one is that you have things in you circumstances that will make your current financial state will continue for a most to all of the repayment period of the student loans.

Second, you have been trying to make good faith effort to be able to repay your student loans. By making payments for several years, showing that you did try to pay off your debt.

The only exception to this one is if you never had the money to pay the loan in the past. Lastly you must show that you would not be able to, based on income and expenses maintain a minimum standard of living for those of your house hold and yourself if you were made to pay this loan off.

While in the bankruptcy court you may have the means to give what is called a partial discharge this is where you have shown that your income and expenses will not be able to pay the entire loan but would be able to pay a smaller bit of the loan. But even to get a partial discharge you must still meet all of the above requirements that we have listed previously.

Court helps people to learn about private student loans. You can read more of his work by visiting: http://whalehookloans.com