Should I Pay Off My Student Loans With A Credit Card

Being a student who wants to further their education can often times put you into a heap of debt.  This debt will come in the form of student loans.  The cost of schooling is increasing every year and depending on what type of career you are heading for it is possible for the student loan debt to reach as high as six figures before the student graduates.  There are many different ways that a student can pay their loans off once they have graduated and have a steady paying job.  One of these ways is to pay off the student loans with low interest credit cards.  The question that is always asked is should I do this and is it a good idea?  This article will help you to make the best-informed decision.

Paying With A Credit Card

Depending on the amount of your student debt it might not be possible to pay the student loans off with only one credit card.  If you are considering this as an option it will probably take more than one credit card to successfully complete this task.  Many people will have to obtain several cards before having enough credit to pay the full amount of their student loans.  Depending on how your credit cards work you may be able to obtain a cash advance to put towards your loans.  Many credit card companies will also send you convenience checks to be used for any purpose you wish.  These checks work just like other checks you may write.  They have the option of being used for whatever you want or need to. 

Interest Rates

If this is the method you are leaning towards to pay off your student loans it is important that you find the lowest possible interest rate available.  It will not save you any money if the interest rate on the credit card is higher than the interest rate that is already being assessed on your student loans.  It is easy to compare all interest rates by doing research on the Internet.

Other Options

There are other ways to pay off your student loan debt other than piling up debt on credit cards.  There are debt consolidation loans that are created for the purpose of paying off student loans.  This loan is an unsecured loan that may or may not come with a higher interest rate however you will only have one loan to make a payment on and one interest rate to be paid.  Unlike the student loans where you are paying more than one payment every month as well as extra interest. 

When considering options of how to pay off your student loans the option of credit cards may come to mind.  This is a decision that should be thought through very carefully.  There are many options available to you.  Credit cards do not have to be your last resort.  However if this is the way you decide to go be sure to do your homework and find the best interest rate available.

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3 Useful Financial Tips For Recent Graduates

We all know that college education is almost a luxury today and that’s the reason why lots of young people leave college with the debt. When you’re a recent graduate with thousands dollars in college debt and you’re unemployed then it can be quite hard to get all the thoughts in your head in order and to believe in the better future.

We say that there are so many things which are much more important than money but unfortunately we need to admit that finances are an important part of life. So to feel confident it’s very important to have healthy financial habits and make wise financial moves. Don’t act spontaneously and consider every decision which may affect your monetary life. Here are some helpful tips for those who have just left college and now are in search of ideas for successful financial future.

Believe In Yourself While Choosing a Job 

Youth unemployment is one of the most important problems for today’s economy. Many recent graduates are trying to get employed but there are not so many jobs available for people without professional experience. But despite all these things it’s important to believe in yourself and don’t stop until you will get a decent job. You should be realistic regarding a job you can get. 

You’ll not become a boss after working one month so in case you dream of career growth you need to be patient and very hard working. Use all the recourses to find a job, for example, look in the Internet because there are many online jobs available. Be active and communicate with different people, it’s possible that you’ll meet someone who’s able to offer you something interesting. Consider intern jobs because they can help you to gain some experience and who knows, maybe in the end you will get a job according your professional skills. 

Manage Your Debt 

Don’t forget that during our lifetime we build our credit history which is a very important financial tool. If you have a student loan then it’s necessary to create a long-term plan to eliminate your debt. Stretching your loan may seem a good option but keep in mind that for a longer term you’ll have to pay more in interest rate. 

Debt consolidation may leave you without different benefits lenders offer those who make payments on their loans in time. That’s why try to live frugally, get a job and stay responsible about your student loan debt. Avoid multiple debts. Don’t buy a car or a house until you have your college loan. Also be careful while using credit cards, use different lending products only if it’s really necessary and you can pay back in time. 

Set a Budget and Learn How To Save Money 

Put your financial goals at first place and think long-term. Create a plan and describe every step you are going to make in your life to reach financial prosperity and independence. Try live frugally and don’t spend money on things which will make you happy only for a while. 

But to stay motivated you should let yourself to do or buy something you like from time to time. But do it carefully, such holidays shouldn’t strike through all the job you’ve done before. Respect yourself and efforts you make each day to achieve your goals. Good luck!

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Easing the Financial Stress of Canadian Students

A college education in Canada can be an expensive time and many students are already stressed enough with assignment deadlines looming without crumbling under other stresses such as those brought on by finance. Many fall foul of such stress through their own reckless behavior, however. Leaving their parent’s nest for the first time exposes them to opportunities and temptations that were either restricted or completely off the cards.

If you have done all that you can, or perhaps succumb to reckless spending, all is not lost. If you don’t have enough to pay for the remainder of your tuition or for your monthly expenses, Canada payday loans. This should only be used in the case of an emergency but knowing that it is there as an option can at least relieve a degree of stress.

Living the college lifestyle is expensive. It isn’t just the tuition fees and although there are discounts available to students, they are still expenses that were previously assigned to their parents. And students don’t often do things by halves. For those who stay disciplined, however, they can pay off their debts and perhaps even begin to save a nest egg. There are a number of methods which can help to keep financial stress at bay.

Don’t overdo the college lifestyle. This would include partying in addition to eating out. If you do party, try not to spend too much and steer clear of the more expensive drinks. Visit student restaurants when you do eat out and don’t go to restaurants where a lunch or dinner will cost as much as going out

Don’t go overboard on clothes. It is often tempting to buy clothes when you don’t need them, simply because you’re going out and want to impress someone. There are always nicer clothes in shop windows than the ones we have in our wardrobe because we can only store so many clothes at home and sooner or later, they go out of style. If you are a slave to trend, you will no doubt wish to update your wardrobe regularly, which you will need to avoid.

When you make plans for the summer, which may include a trip, be sure to include some time for a summer job. That will allow you to earn some money and you won’t be able to spend unnecessarily whilst you’re working. You can even work whilst you’re on holiday which means that you will have the extra cash needed to make your holiday a memorable one.

You can earn money by working a part-time job as there are many pros to working part time during your studies. You should be wary of other financial lending options such as credit cards. They may promise low interest rates but the reality will come sooner or later that you will stay need to pay the money back. The best thing to do is to stick to a budget that will enable you to keep a track of your incoming and outgoings and you can make necessary adjustments along the way. You also need to be brave enough to say ‘no’ when friends tempt you with their latest idea to increase your social status.

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How To Save Money for Your Degree

A tax efficient savings plan that provides a home for cash that can be put toward college tuition fees is obviously a good idea for teenagers that are keen to graduate from university with a degree after they finish their schooling. However, what is more problematic for most students-to-be than finding a home for any money they manage to save is making some money in the first place. For the majority of teenagers, the easiest way to generate cash that can be put toward their education is by taking on a part-time job.

Making yourself more employable 

The biggest hurdle for young people to overcome when searching for gainful employment is a lack of experience. Employers are reluctant to take on teenagers who will need on-the-job training when they know that there is a large pool of experienced older people willing to work for similar wages. In order to combat this problem, potential university students can make an effort to gain specialized knowledge in the field that they would like to work on a part-time basis. One way to do this is by volunteering to work for free, for a period of time; another is to study for vocational qualifications that older workers competing for the same positions may not have obtained.

Study from home 

The cost of travelling to a local educational facility in order to gain new qualifications may not be that high but if the subject that you wish to study is only offered at a college located some distance from your home, it can become a problem. In such cases, it is worth thinking about enrolling in one of the online training courses that are offered by companies such as embrace learning Ltd. Specializing in vocational training that can lead to qualifications which are very useful to job hunters of all ages, such companies offer young people a path to employment that might otherwise be difficult for them to follow if they had to travel a long distance to study their chosen subject in a classroom environment.

What to study? 

It would be nice if the qualifications you gain to help you find part-time employment in order to save money for your degree have some relevance to what you wish to study at university. However, the most important factor to consider when looking at the courses you can take online is whether there are jobs available within easy reach of your home that the courses will help you to get. There is very little point in being qualified to take on work that is not available in your area so it is worth paying particular attention to this point when you are evaluating your options. Owing to the nature of online study, you can enrol for courses with providers from all over the world but you can only accept jobs in locations that are easy for you to reach. It is also worth checking the average salaries for various different types of jobs so that you can maximize your potential to save money.

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Three Reasons Why College Students Should Care About Credit

We get it, you’re in college and you’re worried about acing your finals, rushing your sorority, and snagging a summer internship, so there’s not a whole lot of room for you to fit in anything else. But what if we told you that all those credit cards you’ve maxed out, credit card payments you’ve ignored, and debt you’ve racked up could hinder your chances of landing your dream job, renting an apartment, or taking out a loan after graduation? The following reveals just a few reasons why it’s important for college students to care about their credit scores sooner than later.

Getting a Job

The nonprofit advocacy group Demos recently reported that employers have denied positions to one in seven job applicants because of their bad credit scores. In fact, in all but eight states, it’s legal for a potential employee to request a copy of the applicant’s credit report during the interviewing process.

Sometimes employees request credit records so that they can make assess the applicant’s level of responsibility toward personal finances. If the applicant has a delinquent credit history, it may be a reflection of how the applicant will behave on the clock at the job. In other words, you could have all the right qualifications of the position, but if your credit score is in the dumps, the employer may assume that you won’t perform well at the company.

You’re studying hard to become the best at your dream occupation, so why ruin your chances of landing the position just because of some bad credit behavior? 

Renting Property

Moving into your first rental property after college is an exciting post-college privilege. You won't have your roomies leaving pizza boxes scattered around the house or your parents breathing down your neck. Not to mention, the perfect apartment you've found is conveniently within walking distance of all of the city's hot spots. You've fallen in love with the complex, and you're all ready to sign on the dotted line, that is, until the landlord as for your credit report.

That's right, your future landlord may want to take a peek at your credit report to make sure you're good on your word. Because if late payments scatter your credit report, your landlord may not trust you to pay rent each month.

Although there are ways to receive rental property with bad credit, such as finding a co-signer with good credit or explaining the reasons for your poor credit history, why not build excellent credit while you're in college and save yourself the extra trouble?

Applying for a Loan

When the time comes for you to borrow money, whether you're shopping around for an auto loan or taking the big step with a mortgage, you better believe such lenders will look into your credit report. Just like the landlord, the lender wants to see if you have a good history of managing your personal finances. When lenders see a poor credit report, they could decide to refuse the applicant or tack on pricey fees and interest rates in the case the applicants defaults. On the other hand, if the credit score is in good standing, lenders usually feel more inclined to reward the applicant with lower more favorable rates.

While these situations may seem far off in the distance while you're currently living up the college life, you should realize that your financial responsibility now can affect those decisions later. To begin on the right path, start by paying bills on time and avoiding maxing out credit cards.

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What Many College Students Regret, Myself Included

Your undergrad years are just four short years of your life and, financially, they couldn’t come at a worse time. I went to university during the tail end of the dot com bubble, well before people were cautious of spending or going into serious debt. It wasn’t until I was nearly finished with graduate school that the recession kicked in. However, even if your generation (or your children’s) is more conservative than mine, there are some things you can learn from me and my student loan debt.

While you may have sampled this in high school, keeping up with the Jones’s starts in college. You want to have grown-up furniture, the good dorm or even off-campus housing, a car for road trips and copious amounts of cash for the endless parties. You can do this either by working a full-time job, which is neither fun nor reasonable, or by taking out a student loans. College students aren’t stupid, but it really does feel like free money at the time. After all, you can easily pay it back once you land that lucrative job post-graduation, right?

Choose the Right Circles

It’s ridiculous to ask an 18-year-old to not care what their new friends think. However, once you start taking out student loans it’s hard to stop. Ideally, you and your parents have been saving faithfully for many years, but what happens if you find yourself at university and that just didn’t happen? Sometimes student loans are unavoidable. The key is to never take out more than you absolutely need.

If you’re using your loans on anything besides tuition, it’s time to reevaluate your situation. Do you and your roommates really need to go in on your own in-dorm beauty indulgences, or can you take advantage of the top notch exercise spas at the rec center and in town? If you surround yourself with frugal-minded people, it’s much easier to resist careless spending.

Learn to Need Less

When I was an undergrad, many of my friends (with whom I’m no longer in contact) only wore Seven jeans, designer perfume and many bought their first brand-new car. I’m not sure of their exact financial situation, but I certainly couldn’t afford that. However, I wanted to fit in so I needlessly spent and I’m paying for it now to the tune of $80,000 (although that includes grad school). The fact is that no college student actually needs designer clothes, costly perfume or a brand-new car.

Who are you trying to impress? Learn to eat both healthy and cheap by cooking yourself, going to discount stores and checking out farmers markets. Scour Craigslist and local thrift shops for furniture. When it comes time for entertainment, there are usually plenty of free or low-cost options around your campus.

Re-Thinking Those 4 Years

Depending on the degree you plan to pursue and the caliber of university you’ve earned admission to, try to take as many classes at the community college as possible. Many universities have agreements with local community colleges, making credits easily transferable. There’s no reason to pay four times as much for the exact same class, sometimes taught by the same professor.

It’s also crucial to make sure you know exactly what kind of money you can make with the degree you choose. Don’t just have a vague idea, have a solid one. In my opinion there’s no such thing as a useless degree, but sometimes you have to get creative. Those four years will fly by; what happens afterward?

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Top Financial Jobs That Will Jumpstart Your Career Path

Businesses can't function without the finance sector, so if you have a financial job, you are likely to also have longevity and job security. But which financial jobs truly make living easy? There are a few out there that will make all the years in business and finance school worth it.

Management Analyst

With incomes over $80,000 a year, management analysts make some of the biggest bucks in the business world. In addition, their job growth is projected to be faster than average through 2020. Management analysts are also employed as consultants. They help businesses to become more efficient. Management consultants make sure that an organization will be more profitable and reduce costs that may be bringing the company down so that they can bring their revenues up.

Financial Analyst

Financial analysts have been one of the top jobs in finance since the very beginning. Who doesn't love analyzing money? If you studied finance and understand how to make better investment decisions, you'll have an amazing career and be making upwards of $80,000 a year. As the focus is heavily on the stock market and the values of different bonds as well as other investments, financial analysts have a solid projected longevity right now.

Financial Examiner

Financial examiners are separate from analysts and make $70,000 per year or more. They also have a fast job growth projection through 2020. Financial examiners spend time working with the laws that regulate transactions and financial institutions. Mostly, this involves assessing the risk level for loaning and bank management, but it also involves balancing finances and looking for loopholes in business practices or problems with transactions that may cause a problem with the law.

Logisticians

Logisticians make less than other jobs in finance, yet they still tend to earn over $60,000 a year. They analyze and look solely at a supply chain, where products are being delivered from the manufacturer to the consumer. Logisticians look at how the life cycle of a product is completed, such as where it begins, all the different places it moves, how it is distributed, and finally, where the delivery ends. These logic masters are great at deciphering problems in the supply chain and eliminating waste, another essential part of saving money for a business.

Market Research Analyst

Market research analysts have moved to the front and center of the business world. The recent rapid expansion of the Internet, as well as cyber technology, has allowed market research to take center stage. Who has the better algorithms? Who can get leads? Who can build interest in your product? Market research analysts help companies to answer such questions with statistical and forum information on how to brand and market all of their products and services. Without the right campaign, companies may not be able to sell anything, which is why market research analysts can net over $70,000.

Working in the business world takes a lot of savvy sales experience -- combine that with financial knowledge, an understanding of the stock market, and a firm grasp of marketing, and you’ll have many tricks at your disposal in order to obtain one of these positions. The most important thing to remember for new financial professionals is that there exists a bevy of stock analysis, accounting, and budgeting apps and technology available online. If you coincide your business and job with the movement of cloud technology and easy-to-use financial market mobile programs, then you will certainly be an asset to any company.

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Mortgages: What You Need to Know

Crucial to understand before you even think of buying a house, a mortgage is one of the most long term financial commitments that anyone can make. The current housing market means that banks and other lenders are cautious about issuing high loan to value mortgages, and chances are you’ll have to pay a high deposit, and accept that property prices are unlikely to significantly increase in the next few years and bump up your equity. Before considering these factors, though, it’s necessary to briefly review the essentials of a mortgage.

A mortgage loan is a secured loan, which involves a bank or other lending giving you money towards your purchase of a property; the house then acts as collateral, which means that if you cannot make your repayments, the lender can make their money back of its value. Mortgage loans are based on the assumption that you can pay off monthly amounts towards the loan - how long you have to repay a mortgage can vary depending on your credit history and deposit.

Lenders will also charge interest on your mortgage, which can include standard variable payments that can go up and down, as well as fixed rates, which can be low, but can then drop below inflation and real wages. You can, however, renegotiate your mortgage at different times, or try to get a better mortgage from another lender if they’re willing to take over the costs of the loan from a rival.

Some buyers prefer fixed rate mortgages, which is typically linked to the base rate of inflation; at the moment this is 1.5 per cent, and is being kept low by the Bank of England to try to stimulate lending and borrowing. Tracker rate mortgages are directly tied to this rate. Variable rate mortgages change depending on the lender, but can be more flexible, and you have the option of switching to a fixed rate for a longer term repayment plan.

Always look to settle on a mortgage that’s suitable for your financial needs, and remember that you’ll need to pay a deposit - banks are wary about issuing large loans where the buyer only needs 5 to 10 per cent of their own money; in most cases you might be paying 20 per cent upfront. However, the Government have recently launched a Help to Buy scheme that will offer buyers an interest free loan for 5 years, which should allow a 5 per cent personal deposit to be increased to a 20 per cent loan. The Government are also stepping in as guarantors on mortgage loans for those that have poor credit and not enough funds for deposits.

What kind of interest rates you’ll be offered on your mortgage will depend on your credit score, and whether you’ve repaid loans in the past. If you have a poor credit rating, you’ll likely be viewed as more of a risk for lenders, unless you’re willing to front a larger deposit for a property. It’s worth trying to improve your credit score by paying off any outstanding loans before you apply for a mortgage.

It’s similarly worth remembering that buying a house includes extra fees on top of your mortgage, which include stamp duty, property tax, and insurance - agency and surveying fees are also high, and you’ll need to put aside a large amount of money before you even move into a new place. Remember, though, that if you can get a decent mortgage and then wait out the current financial recession, you may be able to sell a house for more than you paid for it, and pay off the remainder of your mortgage. 

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