Tag Archives: private student loan consolidation

Student Loan Consolidation

student loan consolidation

Without a doubt, student loan debt can be very overwhelming. A private student loan consolidation can make that more manageable and free up funds for other activities.
How difficult is the process? It depends on who you work with. You certainly want to work with a company that will look at your current financial situation and help you determine which private student loan consolidation program is best for you.
There are many benefits to a loan consolidation.
When you dive into a loan consolidation, a couple of things can happen:
1. You might get an interest rate reduction.
2. You may have a lower monthly payment.
These two reasons are why people decide to do private student loan consolidation. You can’t go wrong when you have less money to pay back and you don’t have such a huge monthly responsibility. It’s important to know that you can consolidate your federal education loans through private student loan consolidation. You can only combine your private loans for this type of consolidation. With Cedar Education Lending you have a private student loan consolidation program developed and managed to promote a private student loan consolidation and refinancing opportunity for college graduates with private student loan debt.
As it states on FinAid.com, since most private education loans do not compete on price, a private consolidation loans is merely replacing one or more private education loans with another. So the main benefit of such a consolidation is obtaining a single monthly payment. Also, since the consolidation resets the term of the loan, this may reduce the monthly payment (at a cost, of course, of increasing the total interest paid over the lifetime of the loan).
There are many in advantages to private student loan consolidation programs. The question is will you take advantage of them!
After highlighting the advantages of student loan consolidation, conducting a careful debt consolidation company review is essential to identify a trustworthy partner for this financial strategy. Such reviews and resources will provide insights into various companies’ reliability, customer satisfaction, and the effectiveness of debt consolidation. Understanding these aspects is vital in making the right decision that aligns with your financial goals and offers the best terms for your situation. Choosing a company with positive reviews and a strong track record can ensure a smoother consolidation process, ultimately leading to a more manageable and efficient way to tackle your student loan debt.

Cedar Ed Lending Shares Pre-College Student Saving Tips for Your Education Fund

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.

 

The class of 2015 might be in for a surprise this graduation season

According to a recent Fidelity survey, between ballooning student loans, credit cards and money owed to family members, they are facing an average $35,200 in college-related debt.
“We’re tending to find people are still surprised at the level of debt they’re graduating with, which suggests we still have a long way to go in terms of having conversations about planning for college, saving for college and figuring out the best place to go [to college],” said Keith Bernhardt, vice president of college planning at Fidelity Investments.
Based on the most recent data, the bulk of the class of 2013’s debt is in government loans, with graduates owing an average of $26,000. They also had an average of $19,000 in private loans, $18,000 in state loans, $13,000 in personal and family loans and $3,000 in credit card debt.
For those that have federal loans, now is the time to consolidate them. The same can be said for private student loans, especially those that carry an unnecessarily high interest rate. Whether you are thinking about a private student loan consolidation or a federal student loan consolidation, remember that by consolidating, you may be increasing the total amount owed if you choose to extend the repayment term.

Tips to ease the pain of student loan debt

According to consumerfinance.gov, the amount of student-loan debt has surpassed $1 trillion. Below is list of tools that can help you cut down the payments and interest rates.
1)Consolidate your loans.
By consolidating, you are combining a number of loans into one monthly payment. The pros are you have one payment at one interest rate. You may be able to lower your overall interest rate, but keep in mind that if you increase the repayment period, that’s more payments and potentially more money being paid out.
You an consolidate your federal loans or your private loans. There are a few options for a private student loan consolidation, such as cedaredlending.com
2)Increase the frequency of your payments.
This is an easy way to cut down on your interest payments. For example, If you have a student-loan payment of $800 a month, pay $400 every two weeks. This will help cut down on your interest and end up saving you in the long run.
By doing this, you wind up making the equivalent of an extra monthly payment each year.
For example, $800 a month equals payments of $9,600 each year. But $400 every two weeks equals payments of $10,400 each year.
3)Work for a service organization.
Whether it’s the military, Peace Corps or Teach for America, many service organizations offer grants that you can use toward student loans.
Teach for America says it will pay 100 percent of the interest on qualified student loans while you’re in the organization.
Peace Corps members are eligible to receive an $11,100 grant.

What To Do Before You Refinance Student Loans from a Private Lender

You’ve just graduated with your bachelor’s degree or maybe even a post-graduate degree and the dreams that led to your path of higher education are now met with a frigidly austere economy. Sadly, after your grace period ends, all of your earnest intentions won’t wash with hungry creditors, but don’t despair.
A whole industry of debt consolidation has risen to meet exactly these challenges. Here are some things to ponder if you think refinancing student loans might be the best option for you.
Be Clear About Why You’re Consolidating
If you’re on the verge of defaulting on your loans, you’ll most likely be looking for solutions, and the opportunity to refinance refinance student loans is one of your prime options. Yet before you move forward with this option, you have to be sure that this is the right option for you.
If you have both federal and private student loans, for example, be aware that these loans cannot be consolidated together. You can consolidate federal loans through the Department of Education, but private loan consolidation companies will only be able to consolidate private loans.
Weigh the Pros and Cons
If you decide to refinance your student loans, one possible drawback is that you might end up paying more in the long-term. This is because by signing on for a longer payback period, the interest on your balance has more time to rack up.
On the other hand, your monthly payment could drop considerably. For example, if you owe a combined total of $50,000, you could save less than $1000 annually. Additionally, by consolidating your loans you’ll have the security of having a fixed interest rate, rather than having a number of loans whose interests fluctuate according to the current whims of the market. Considering the highly precarious state of the global economy, this is an incomparable asset.
There’s also the added convenience of only having to make one payment per month. Finally, although some people think that consolidation is a similar process to bankruptcy, it doesn’t cast any shadows on your credit rating whatsoever. (For similar reasons, student loans are the one debt that is not forgiven in a bankruptcy proceeding.)
Be Aware Of Your Credit History
Your potential for refinancing student loans may depend on your past record of paying back debts, so get a rating from at least one of the Big Three ratings companies, a process that should cost less than fifty dollars.  People often assume that having had few credit cards or making a few late payments will tank your credit, but this isn’t true. Making steady car or rent payments, for example, can give you upstanding ratings, so seek out the actual numbers rather than second-guessing yourself.
If you discover your rating issub-par, all is not lost. You can almost always refinance with the aid of a reliable co-signer.
Feel Confident in Your Ability To Repay
Signing up for a refinanced student loan won’t do any good if you’re not sure of the road to repayment. As a rule, you should have at least $2000 per month in documented income to apply for consolidation, so if your job status is uncertain, you may want to hold off.
This is an even greater concern if you’re bringing a cosigner into the picture, as defaulting will negatively affect their credit rating. On the other hand, making a year of payments on time will relieve your co-signer of any liability, so if you feel solid in your imminent earning power, let your possible co-signers know.
Arm Yourself With the Necessary Paperwork
There are a number of services out there to help you get back onto your feet, but count on having at least the following documentation on the ready:

-Names and contact info of all relevant schools

-Detailed personal contact information.

-Social security and driver’s license numbers.

Whether you only took out a few thousand for community college or went in deep for a Ph.D., chances are debt consolidation may work for you. Make sure you do your homework and avoid rushing towards a hasty decision and you’ll be back on a steady course in no time.

6 Tips On How To Consolidate Private Student Loans

College is supposed to be about gaining the knowledge to succeed in the world and a college diploma that will lead to a great career. Unfortunately, these days the only way for most students to attend college is by taking out student loans.
The average college graduate now holds over $25,000 in student loan debts, a fact made even harsher by a weak job economy. If you’re worried about being able to pay off your student loans, debt consolidation might be the answer. Here are a few tips on how to consolidate private student loans.
Is It Worth It?
The first thing you should do when considering debt consolidation in ask yourself if it’s right for you. Debt consolidation is essentially selling off all of your private student loans to one new loan company. It can make student loan payments easier because instead of paying multiple loan companies with many different interest rates and regulations you can have one low loan payment a month from one company with one set of rules. It makes it easier to pay off your debts.
Research The New Loan
Before immediately signing anything that ties you to student loan consolidation, be sure to read through the terms of the loan. You want to make sure that you are completely comfortable with the rules, especially since they will be different terms than the ones you original signed when taking out your private student loans. Every term will be your responsibilityso it’s important that you go into loan consolidation with as much information as possible.
Low Interest Rates
One of the perks of consolidating private student loans is that you can lock in a lower interest rate. Usually consolidated loans have much lower interest rates, but depending on when you apply, the offered interest rates may be different. Interest rates will likely get higher and higher over time, so it’s important to go through the process of consolidation as soon as you can, as long as it’s the right option for you.
Overall Cost
Another advantage of consolidating your private school loans is that you will likely have a lot more time to pay off the loan. Many loan payment plans last as long as 30 years. Therefore the monthly payment will be lower. Since your loan gathers interest over time, you will likely spend more money overall when repaying your loan, but in smaller payments; it’s important to weigh the benefits of a smaller monthly payment or longer loan repayment plan, and base your decision off which option is better for you.
Check the Requirements
Before consolidating your private student loans, you should find out what the requirements are to qualify the loan. For example, at CedarEdLending, you must have a steady, reliable income of at least $2,000 a month. Most organizations will require you to meet a certain credit requirement as well. If you’re unsure you will meet the requirements, increase your chances of being approved for a loan by getting a creditworthy cosigner on your consolidated loan.
How Much Do You Need?
It’s important to consider how much money you need to cover your loans. If it’s less than $7,500 a year, then you may not qualify for a private loan consolidation. $125,000 is the maximum for undergraduate debt, while graduate school alumni qualify for $175,000.
Deciding to consolidate your private student loans is an important decision that deserves time to consider and research. Who knows, it could be the best decision you can make in your post-college life.

Private Student Loan Consolidation for the Average Student Debt

Undeniably, postsecondary education is one commodity that has become extremely expensive, sailing out of reach of many students. It is estimated that if the tuition and fees for college education were to be paid without any financial aid, the costs would eat up a quarter of the yearly total income of an average household.

There is no sign on the horizon that the price tag of a college diploma will go down in the next few years. It is thus natural that more students are taking out loans to finance their postsecondary education. Loan skeptics say that private student loans are traps unless you finish school and get a job. Despite the high cost, entirely foregoing your chance to get into college is more detrimental since your chances to get a good salary will be substantially reduced.
The average debt of those who enter postsecondary schools is approximately $47,503 dollars. This covers students of 2-year courses, 4-year Bachelor’s programs and graduate students. It is fairly usual that students borrow money from several creditors with varying interest rates and different repayment schemes. Tracking these loans can be difficult and the chance of missing a payment is high.
This is where private student loan consolidations come in handy. By collapsing all your debts into one private student loan debt, interest rates can be significantly lowered and monthly payment can be reduced to a more manageable figure, primarily by restructuring and extending your repayment schemes. Educational lending companies, such as Cedar Education Lending, offer private student loan consolidations without pre-payment penalties and interest-only payment options. You can take advantage of a 15-year repayment schedule which can ease the pressure of paying your private student loan debt.
Despite the skyrocketing costs, climbing up the education ranks is still the best way to enhance your chances at getting a financially rewarding career and life. Paying off a private student loan may seem like a big hurdle to overcome, but with the help of private student loan consolidation companies coupled with substantial financial literacy, your private student loan will be gone before you even know it.

How Much Private Student Loan Debt Do You Have?

 

Student Debt
More and more students turn to federal and private student loans to pay off their tuition fees and other school expenses. This has even earned the attention of major lawmakers, since the numbers are continuously climbing up, which proves that more and more families are finding it difficult to send their children to college.
Since more students are depending on these private student loans, more and more students ask themselves how much private student loan debt they currently have. Why is this so? One reason is that most students borrow from different student loan companies without even realizing that they are borrowing more than they can pay. Idealistically, they are counting on the fact that they can land their dream job which pays more than enough for them to pay the loan off. However, after graduation, they are faced with the harsh reality that it is not that easy to get a job that would pay them enough. Thus, they end up with an overhead of debts.
So, how do you prevent this from happening? First, know more. Know more about the terms and conditions, fees and interests of different student loans being offered to you. Talk to your guidance counselor of whoever is in charge of explaining the details of private student loans in your school. It is best to be armed with knowledge rather than fall into a trap. Next, talk to your loan officer. Ask as many questions as you can. Are their interests fixed or variable? Do they charge other fees aside from the interest? What are their payment terms? What are actions that result to penalties? Make sure that you know everything you need to know before you go ahead with the application.
Lastly, manage your budget wisely. If your schedule permits it, get a part-time job and save some money so that after you graduate, you have enough bread to get you through until you find a really steady and good paying job. Be wise when it comes to spending your money, and make sure you pay your monthly repayment dues on time. A good credit standing can earn you lower interest rates and even discounts.
Applying for a student loan is not bad, as long as you know the ins and outs of the situation. Be wise enough to plan ahead on how you are going to pay it after you graduate, so that you will not be surprised with the sudden responsibility of paying off debts after you graduated. Be matured enough to take responsibility.

Saving Money Consolidating your Student Loans

Once you have graduated from college, it is now time to face a new world and start paving your own career path. However, it is also important to look back and pay off the private student loan companies who assisted and helped you through college expenses and tuition fees. Paying off several student loans can be very stressful, and it is very hard to budget your finances if you have to pay for them on different dates of the month. A great solution to this problem is via private student loan consolidation. Managing your monthly loan payments into one account can be a great help, and can better enable you to effectively budget your money and even lower your monthly repayment fees.

Although you cannot consolidate your federal and private student loans, it is best to consolidate them separately, in order to enjoy the benefits from both of them. Federal student loans will definitely give you lower rates once consolidated, so it will be far easier than consolidating your private student loans. Thus, it is best to be wise when it comes to private student loan consolidation.
Here are some helpful tips to save money with private student loan consolidation:
  • Scour the internet for a list of companies who offer the most competitive rates and repayment schemes. Make a list and narrow it down to three to four companies, before finally contacting them.
  • Once you have contacted these companies, make sure to ask questions. Some of the most important questions that you can ask are: Are your interest rates fixed or variable? Are there any other fees involved? Are there any pre-payment or cancellation penalties? It is best to be clear, so that you won’t be surprised if there are other additional fees you are being charged with.
  • Maintain a good credit rating. Borrowers with a good credit rating will of course have lower monthly payment rates, so be sure that you have a good credit rating.
  • Lower your monthly repayment fees by extending your repayment period. Some companies offer up to 25 years when it comes to repaying their loans. Choose which scheme is best for you, so that you can plan your finances ahead.
Choosing the best private student loan consolidation company can really be a tough decision to make, and it is best to choose a company with a known reputation when it comes to transparency and integrity. Choose a company who will offer you the best rates and repayment terms, to help you repay all your loans the easier and most convenient way possible.

Is Private Loan Consolidation Right For You?

 
One of the most common problems of college graduates nowadays is paying off their private student loans. It is a very stressful thought, especially if you have a loan with different companies, and all of them are maturing at the same time. Obviously, a fresh graduate who is just starting out with his or her job cannot pay off the loans in full, thus, a good strategy is to consolidate all your existing loans into one manageable account.
 
You might think that either they are multiple accounts or just one big account, the end result is still the same: you still have to pay your debts. So ask yourself: is private loan consolidation right for you? If you are unsure of your answer, try listing down the benefits of consolidating your private student loans, and then weigh them down. Surely this can help you decide whether or not this is the right choice for you.
 
Benefits of Private Student Loan Consolidation
 
  • Better budget management- having one manageable account is better rather than juggling multiple accounts with your two hands. This can also let you schedule your payments easier, rather than having multiple payment periods in one month.
  • Ease of mind- having one monthly loan payment to think of is healthier for your state of mind, rather than thinking of multiple payment dues in one month.
  • Lower rates- having consolidated your debts, the consolidated rate will be more minimal than what you were paying before, since your loans will be under one interest rate only.
  • Fixed interest rates- most often than not, your loan company will give you a fixed interest rate for your consolidated debt, so it will be easier for you to budget your money and prepare for your monthly payment rates.
  • Flexible payment terms- you can choose whether to pay for it within 10, 15 or even 25 years. It all depends on which is most convenient for you. However, try to compute if paying for it long term will save you money, rather than paying for it at a shorter amount of time.

When looking for a good private student loan consolidation company, look for one that provides you with all the information you need. Ask your loan specialist if their rates are fixed or variable, if there are any other fees (beware of hidden fees), and their available payment terms. It is possible to easily pay off student loans. All it takes is good money management and strategy.