Student Loans About to Top $1 Trillion and Surpass All Credit Card Debt

With the average American household bringing in $50,221 a year, many parents face a serious dilemma on how they will pay for their child’s college education. “What happens when their child gets accepted into the college of his or her choice only to discover that it costs over $50,000 a year?” asks Forrest Broman, President of The International Educator, a newspaper that reports on news and trends in the field of international education.

“Even with scholarships and financial aid that still leaves a huge out-of- pocket expense, one for which most families are unprepared for,” said Mr. Broman. “Double or triple that amount if they have more than one kid of college age, or approaching college-age,” he estimated. What does that leave cash-strapped families to do? Borrow. Continue Reading

Interview by MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan Show About the College Job Market

I had the pleasure of being interviewed earlier this afternoon by MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan about the terrible job market for college students and recent graduates. The topic was essentially that today’s college students searching for internships and recent graduates hunting for entry-level jobs are on the front line of the job wars. They’re facing the worst job market in 35 years. If you’re looking for work, what do you do?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If the above video won’t load, try http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/college-grads-on-the-front-line-of-the-job-wars/6h3dmzq .

Is a Debt Consolidation Loan Right For You?

The struggling economy has made things tough all over, especially for recent college graduates. Besides regular expenses like rent, utilities and groceries, they have thousands of dollars to repay for student loans. Add credit card debt to the mix and it’s easy to see how someone could feel overwhelmed. A debt consolidation loan, like the ones offered by Bills.com, might be just what they need to help them pay all their bills off faster.
Anyone can lose track of his spending and end up in debt. Credit counseling services are great and they can help with lowering the amount owed to each creditor, but college students and recent college graduates often have limited funds so this option isn’t really good for them. A debt consolidation loan through Bills.com pays all creditors, then the borrower only makes one payment on one bill, instead of having the payment divided evenly between several bills.
Getting out of debt in these tough economic times could be challenging. College students and recent college graduates don’t usually own homes so refinancing a mortgage isn’t an option. And bankruptcy should be seen as an absolute last resort. Bills.com explains all the bill consolidation options available, they offer advice on what should be considered before deciding to get a debt consolidation loan, and they give free quotes online.

Paying for College Doesn’t Have to Be a Trade-off

Whether you’re going to college for the first time, going back to complete your studies or pursue a graduate degree, paying for tuition is not likely to be easy. One way students and recent college graduates have come up with to help ease the financial burden is opening franchises. Another way to earn extra money to pay off college debts is online trading.
It may not sound like an option, but online brokers like Firstrade make it affordable for anyone to invest in the future. Because they are a discount broker, Firstrade has affordable fees and other incentives like no-fee IRAs.
It’s true the economy is struggling but that doesn’t mean that all stock trading has come to a halt. The beauty of investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc., is that your money works for you instead of vice versa. Firstrade has an interactive demo, a site tour and a Knowledge Center to help anyone interested in online trading to learn about the numerous investment options available as well as the tax implications involved. They also offer live chats with Firstrade representatives. Students who invest a portion of their income from part-time jobs, paid internships, or franchises while they’re going to college might end up with more than enough to pay off their student loans after graduation.

Focus on Financial Aid – Private Student Loans

There’s been a lot of controversy recently about private student loans and their role in the financial aid process. Charlie Miller’s Commission on the Future of HIgher Education recommende scrapping federal student loans like the Stafford Loan in favor of private student loans. The Project on Student Debt says he’s headed 180 degrees in the wrong direction. In today’s show, I talk about:
+ What a private student loan is
+ Where to get one
+ When to get one
+ When NOT to get one
The short version: private student loans are ideal for bridging the gap between what aid you’ve received and what’s left to pay for. They’re not a good first resort simply because their rates are higher than federal student loans at the moment, and certainly they’re much less appealing than scholarships and grants.
Private student loans come into play if you don’t qualify for federal financial aid, or the aid you get isn’t enough. Line up as many scholarships as you can, get as much grant aid as you can via the FAFSA, get your federal loans, and then get private loans.
Check it out at:
The Financial Aid Podcast Web Site
If you have iTunes, visit:
FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes
As always, please contact me with any feedback, either here, on the show, or on the phone.