Students
Save Money this College Season: Textbook Rental Trend Gains Popularity
By Mariana Ashley
Back-to-school season is here. And while most incoming college freshmen have factored in the cost of tuition, housing and food, most forget to calculate the added expense of what should be one of the priciest items on their school supplies list—textbooks. Some, especially introductory freshmen course textbooks, can cost as much as $200 a piece. That’s considered a small fortune to a broke college-student. Maybe that’s why some students are skipping purchasing textbooks all together and are turning to a more lucrative and economically friendly alternative—textbook renting. This trend, which really only started to take flight about two years ago, is a great money saver: students can temporarily “borrow” textbooks for a fraction of the original price.
Credit Card Ground Rules for Young Adults
Credit cards can be a useful tool in helping build a credit rating. You can help the young adult in your family to learn good money management skills and avoid racking up debt with their credit card by setting appropriate and responsible limits on the credit card. Here are a few helpful ground rules that safeguard against overusing a credit card.
Use It Sparingly
Credit cards can overwhelm new users if they make regular purchases with it. Make sure to emphasize to the young adult in your family that they should only use the credit card for rare occasions each month. Gas for the car, a trip to the grocery store, and school supplies are some stable (and fairly infrequent) purchases. Even if the purchases are infrequent, make sure that the young adult in your family uses their credit card as little as possible each month. Advise against any impulse spending, as that is often the bane of credit card users. Infrequent and practical purchases only! The fewer purchases they make, the easier it will be for them to pay their monthly bill.
Get a Low Credit Limit
When applying for the card don’t necessarily take the highest limit you can get. Read the rest of this entry »
Working While in College- Nursing Students
Job Options for Full-Time Nursing Students
Attending college is an expensive proposition. Here are a few job options for nursing students to consider in order to earn money and gain some valuable experience that will pay the bills and look good on your resume.
Nursing Student Advantage
Hospitals are notoriously understaffed and always looking for help, so, as a nursing student you have an advantage! You can help fill the hospital’s need and get on the job experience while getting a paycheck. With the demand for help so great, you can almost take your pick of the available jobs. Of course you won’t be paid as much as a nurse with a degree, but you will be paid more than at your local hamburger joint and gain valuable experience that will help you in your job search once you graduate.
College Education Loans
“A Federal Consolidation Loan is an outstanding debt-management tool. It can help you repay your federal education loans at a low, fixed interest rate with flexible repayment terms. Consolidation can lower your monthly payments by up to 60 percent.
“Consolidation allows for significantly reduced monthly payments since the repayment period may be extended to as much as 30 years depending on the total loan balance. Lower payments leave you with more money to allocate towards other household expenses including car payments, childcare, and other necessities. While extending the repayment period increases total interest payments (smaller payments are made over a longer period of time), there are no prepayment penalties for accelerating repayment.
“Education loans can vary in terms of interest rates, repayment periods, and borrowing limits. Keeping track of multiple loans with multiple lenders can be difficult. Consolidation simplifies loan repayment by turning multiple loans with different interest rates into a single loan with a fixed interest rate. The consolidated rate is based on the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated rounded up to the nearest 1/8th percent or 8.25 percent — whichever is less.
“The NextStudent Consolidation Loan goes even further by offering an additional 0.25 percent (1/4%) interest-rate reduction for automatic checking withdrawal. By doing this you will receive an immediate 0.25 percent (1/4%) reduction in your interest rate. In most cases you can choose the day of the month the payment is deducted from your account.”
To see if you are eligible, please click here.
The Financial Aid Award Letter: Receive Top Dollar from your Top Choice
By Monica Wheeler
As financial aid award letters begin to arrive mid April, college hopefuls realize a letter of acceptance is only the first step in deciding which school they will attend in the fall. A student who applies to six colleges can receive a different award package from each school. The all- important award letter spells out exactly what type and how much financial assistance will be extended.
Many parents and students assume, based on federal regulation, they will get the same basic award from each school. But, that is far from the truth. So, what do you do when your top choice school doesn’t offer top dollar? Read the rest of this entry »
