Tag Archives: paying for education

Many new parents hope to start immediately putting money away for their child’s college fund, whether it’s dollars in a jar or a slice of savings put into a 529 Plan. Even if they plan far ahead, however, that doesn’t always mean that they’ll be able to cover the full cost of a college education.

In many cases, the kids themselves will pay for most college expenses in the form of student loans taken out each year. These loans go to cover the cost of tuition, as well as room and board, books, health insurance, and other living expense costs that tally up quickly.

However, there are ways that you can save up money ahead of time in order to reduce the amount of loans you have to take out. With these easy saving tips for your education fund, you’ll be able to take some of the stress of your financial needs and be prepared to take full advantage of the college experience.

Start Early

Don’t wait until the last few months of your senior year in high school to start your college fund. You definitely won’t be able to save enough to make a dent on the daily costs of college life. Start your college fund as soon as you can, once you’ve made the decision to attend college or even know which school you want to attend.

You can establish a savings account that will gather interest. As an added bonus, your family members will see how serious you are about saving for college and may shoot you a twenty every once in a while.

Make Sacrifices

The hardest part of saving money is giving up the things you really want. While you’re young you want to have fun by going out at night, but that can be very costly. Sometimes you need to just say no to the expensive nights out or find ways to have fun for free. You’ll be surprised how much money you can save in the long run by renting a movie instead of going out to the theaters. These little sacrifices will add up.

Yard Sale

Over the years you are bound to accumulate tons of junk that you don’t need or use. It’s not going to do you any good piled up in the closet. Instead you can have a yard sale to get rid of all that extra stuff while gaining cash to put towards your college fund. You can also sell items on eBay, Craigslist, or any other online bidding site.

Pack A Lunch

Another one of the great student saving tips is to pack your lunch every day for school. School lunches might not seem that expensive, but it adds up when you’re paying for lunch 5 times a week. Instead you could put a sandwich and snack in a brown paper back in the morning. Over time you’ll save a lot of dough.

No Impulse Purchases

Some people have the bad habit of impulse shopping. When they see a cute bag or awesome pair of jeans, they take out their credit card without really thinking about it. Once in awhile isn’t bad but eventually it can cost you hundreds of dollars because of bad shopping judgment. Instead you can think about the purchase overnight. A good night’s sleep might change your mind.

Public Transit

Although getting a car is important for many high school students, it’s also a huge financial responsibility. You have to pay car payments, auto insurance, and gas costs. That’s thousands of dollars that you can put towards college

Saving money for college is one of the most important things you can do. The money that you save, plus your private student loans, will make your college experience so much easier.

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Obama’s Student Loan Reform in Full Effect in 2014: What Does This Mean for You?

December 5, 2012 cedaradmin

Every student in the United States has benefitted or will benefit from a piece of legislation passed by President Barack Obama in 2010 called the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Yet, there are many students who do not know about this bill or its implications for their student loan future. It is essential to understand what this bill does and aims to do for students just like you.

First, banks (or, third-party lenders) can no longer lend federal student loans. These lenders served as middlemen who derived a profit on a deal that really only required the federal government and the student. Now, the Department of Education distributes loans through the federal Direct Loan Program directly to students.

Next, all graduated students will be required to pay only 10% of their income in loan repayment. This cap is a great benefit to students. President Obama said he did not want the burden of student loan repayment to discourage students from pursuing degrees in career fields that are essential such as nursing or teaching but perhaps not as lucrative as law or medicine. Before, your monthly bill was determined by 15% of your income.

In fact, to further encourage careers in public service, those who work in these fields will see their loans forgiven after 10 years of on-time payments. Obama also reduced the forgiveness period for all other student loans to 20 years. That means if a 22-year-old college graduate pays their loans on time, they don’t have to worry about paying their loans while also having to worry about their child’s college tuition.

Finally, President Obama increased the amount of Pell Grant money a student can receive. A Pell Grant is money given by the federal government to students in financial need and does not need to be repaid. For many low-income students, these grants can be what allow them to attend college.

So, remember this information, students and graduates. It may help you make career moves and plan wisely for the future.

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Escalation in Tuition Costs & Borrowing

May 22, 2012 cedaradmin

From 2001 to 2011, state financing per student declined by 24 percent nationally. Over the same period, tuition costs at state schools increased 72 percent, compared with 29 percent for nonprofit private institutions, according to the College Board. Most of the cuts were due to reduced tax revenue, but the sharp drop in per-student spending also reflects a change: an increasing number of lawmakers voted to transfer more of the financial burden of college from taxpayers to students and their families.

With more than $1 trillion in student loans outstanding in this country, crippling debt is no longer confined to dropouts from for-profit colleges or graduate students who owe on many years of education, some of the overextended debtors in years past. As prices soar, a college degree statistically remains a good lifetime investment, but it often comes with an unprecedented financial burden.

About two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients borrow money to attend college, either from the government or private lenders, according to a Department of Education survey of 2007-8 graduates; the total number of borrowers is most likely higher since the survey does not track borrowing from family members.

By contrast, 45 percent of 1992-93 graduates borrowed money.

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Paying for Education With Private Student Loans

April 30, 2012 cedaradmin

In the world of postsecondary education, scholarships and federal financial aids are the scarcest resources. With the costs of education growing uncontrollably, these monetary respites are usually not enough for someone who comes from an average income household to pursue higher education.

Paying for College In the face of this dilemma, a glint of hope can be seen in private student loans. Compared to a federal student loan, the interest rates on a private student loan can be steeper. On the upside, where federal student loans only offer a limited borrowable amount, which usually falls short of the total academic expenses, private student loans offer higher loanable amounts which can augment the shortcoming of federal loans, federal aid or scholarship grants.

Compared to a federal loan, there are lesser requirements for a private student loan. To gain eligibility for federal aid, you have to prove that you are indeed of low socioeconomic standing. On the other hand, almost everyone with a good credit standing can avail themselves of private student loans.

Private student loans are also very flexible and versatile. As much as you want to anticipate all the possible expenses that you will incur over the course of a 2-year, 4-year or graduate school program, there are still some things that you cannot foresee. Since there are no deadlines for private student loans, you can apply for them as the need arises. There’s also great flexibility on how you use the money you borrowed. The cash can be used for books, transportation expenses, board and lodging and several other expenses.

Finally, once you are earning an income and have the means to pay your debt,private student loan consolidation options are available.It is common practice to borrow money from different creditors. Each has different deadlines and different terms. This makes keeping track of your debt difficult and oftentimes, payments are missed. Private student loan consolidations collapse these numerous debts into one loan which can bring down interest rates and extend payment terms.

When looking for private student loans and later on, private student loan consolidations, make sure that you explore all options. Look for lenders with good reputations. For example,Cedar Education Lending can give you very competitive deals on your student loans and loan consolidations.