When people fail to pay their bills on time, many of the creditors assume that the debtor does not have the means to pay the debt. Many creditors with the assumption that you are not capable of paying your bills will often set up an arrangement or else lower the amount so that you can repay the debt. This is a step to credit repair, however it takes you to contact the creditors to let them know your situation.

If you have several bills on hand and all the bills are pressing it makes sense to payoff the debt that benefits you the most. After this bill is paid you can set aside an amount the following paycheck to payoff another of the bills. Once you follow this strategy it allows you to work your bills down gradually thus repairing your credit. If you don’t have the funds to repay the entire bill at most pay the minimum amount so that you can continue using the service. Most debtors assume they are in debt and there is nothing they can do to resolve the problems that plague their lives everyday. Creditors are always on their back, and their paychecks are never enough to make ends meet.

This is the process of giving up on life. When we give up it often leads to stress. The answer is often in front of them or comes somewhere down the line. Sometimes we see Credit Counseling or Debt Consolidation advertisings and think, ‘how can they help me.” The fact is Debt Consolidation is only a lead to get creditors off your back for a moment. Credit Counselors are more prone to help you find a solution to repairing your credit. Credit Counselors is the solution when you don’t see a way out on your own. The professionals work closely with your creditors, you, and work toward a resolve.

This is certainly a way to get creditors off your back, work out an agreement with your debts, and reduce the stress level that comes along with financial burdens. Some of the Credit Counseling Services offer a low fee for their services and provide you with a financial managing solution. The services often offer help with managing your money, as well as offering counseling to homeowners, students, and so on. There are many solutions for debt relief so the key then is not assuming the worst. Again the main solution is paying off the debts that are considered priorities. If you have secured loans it is always wise to find a way to pay these bills first. Unsecured loans pose a threat, but nothing compared to secured debts.

Some of the nonessential bills can include credit cards. Although you are responsible for this bill, however the worst that happens with credit cards is that you loose your privileges. Check your terms & agreements, since some credit cards may allow you to pay the interest on the cards. This will give you the time you need to find a solution for paying off the card. Some cards may even allow you to pay the minimum balance on the card and allow you to keep the card in your possession. If you have credit cards you might want to consider paying your bills, which will give you time to repay the credit card.

Pay the maximum amount on the credit card before the bill comes in so that you have funds available to pay your bills the following month in case you don’t have the funds available. There is always a solution, so never assume that you can’t deal with any problem. You might want to cut back on some of your spending so that you will have extra cash when those bills come in also. Cutting back only provides a solution for gaining money and repairing your credit.

1) Budget

You need to make a budget. If you are not sure how or just not good with money, many businesses such as H&R Block, offer free financial consulting to help you put a budget together. It really isn’t that hard, and does not need to be a huge pain in the ***. You just need to get it sorted out once so you can see where you are spending your money and where you need to spend your money. Most people don’t have a clue where their money is going. Getting a budget organized puts things into a much clearer picture.

2) Plan

Planning is a great way to save money and avoid racking up your student credit card debt. Make it a point to go shopping at regular times (Monday afternoon for example). This gives you a specific time to make sure that you are ready and organized. Before you go to the grocery store, make a list and stick with it. Pay attention to the things that you know you need like shampoo, soap and food, then plan to buy in bulk when you need to restock. Heading out with no set direction will lead you to impulsive spending, getting organized and planning things out will help you stay in control of your credit card use.

3) Buy in Bulk

We noted before that it can be a good idea to buy in bulk. There is no doubt about it warehouse shopping can save a lot of money. Even if you are just a couple of guys sharing an apartment, you can always split large quantities. The key to this is only buying the things you need. Just because you can buy 32 pounds of penut butter for $12.50 doesn’t mean you should. You can however make smart choices and buy staple foods like pasta, rice, flour etc. in bulk. Many household items are also available in larger quantities, and often at significant savings.

4) Use Coupons and rebates

No matter how you feel about them, the truth is that using coupons can save you hundreds of dollars every year. Coupons can be used at grocery stores, retail chains, any store where the item is sold. Some stores offer double coupon days, which is an extra bonus. On average, you could easily save from 5% to 15% simply by presenting a coupon. As a student you get access to many special discounts. Never be shy to ask if a store has a special student discount. In many cases simply asking can save you the tax.

One of the primary goals in managing your money as a student at college or university is to pay attention to your needs and once they are met, use any additional money for fun stuff. It is a very bad idea to use your student credit card as if it were cash.

Everything you need to know to make the right choices about your loans.

There are hundreds of websites that deal with school loan consolidation and student loan debt, but in reality, most of them are trying to sell you a loan, or make you complete a loan application to access their information about school loans. Not us!  We have the largest compilation of  free information to help you make the right choices about consolidating your school loan.  Research the various types of loans. Learn how to apply for a school loan, discover a few of the secrets about loan discounts and how to combine your current loans into a single, manageable school loan.  Find out how to lower your monthly payment and your interest rate at the same time. Please enjoy the information provided on the site, and bookmark us for future use.

What is Loan Consolidation?

School loan consolidation is the process of taking your current school loans, and paying them off with one new consolidation loan. Students who have gone to school for 4+ years, and received Federal student loans will have amassed a large, deferred loan balance by the time they graduate. In many instances, several types of loans will have been used, with various interest rates and monthly payments. A school consolidation loan pays off all of these loans, and gives you one, easy payment to a single lender.

• Reduces your monthly considerably.
• Locks in your interest rate.
• Simplifies your finances by having you make only one payment a month.
• Improves your credit rating.
• Saves you money today when you need it most.
• Provides flexible repayment options.

What You Should Know About FAFSA

The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the first step in the financial aid process. In order to qualify for a student aid loan you will need to complete the FAFSA application.

If you currently have student loans and are planning on doing a school loan consolidation, you will probably not need to complete the FAFSA again.

The FAFSA online application will ask income history and other important information. After submitting the application, it will be processed by the Department of Education. Once they have determined what aid you qualify for, you will be sent a Student Aid Report (SAR). An electronic copy of your SAR is also made available to the schools you’ve listed on your FAFSA.

The Student Aid Report will show what types of aid you qualify for, including federal and state grants, such as the Pell grant, Stafford loans, and parent loans.

If you were awarded student loans or parent loans, you will then complete the application process for the specific type of loan you qualified for. Generally the funds are transferred to the college, and you will receive a disbursement during registration if your awards were above the cost of tuition and fees. These disbursements can take up to 45 days from the time they are issued.

• Reduces your monthly considerably.
• Locks in your interest rate.
• Simplifies your finances by having you make only one payment a month.
• Improves your credit rating.
• Saves you money today when you need it most.
• Provides flexible repayment options.

The FAFSA online application will ask income history and other important information. After submitting the application, it will be processed by the Department of Education. Once they have determined what aid you qualify for, you will be sent a Student Aid Report (SAR). An electronic copy of your SAR is also made available to the schools you’ve listed on your FAFSA.

The Student Aid Report will show what types of aid you qualify for, including federal and state grants, such as the Pell grant, Stafford loans, and parent loans.

If you were awarded student loans or parent loans, you will then complete the application process for the specific type of loan you qualified for. Generally the funds are transferred to the college, and you will receive a disbursement during registration if your awards were above the cost of tuition and fees.  These disbursements can take up to 45 days from the time they are issued.

Complete the FAFSA Application

Bank of America Federal Consolidation Loans
Federal loan consolidation program from Bank of America
www.BankofAmerica.com

Citibank Student Loans & Consolidation Loans
Sign up online or use the Citi-Bank Loan Advisor to help you select the right loan
www.studentloan.citibank.com

Chase Loan Consolidation
Consolidate your current school loans and lower your interest rate and monthly payments
www.chasestudentloans.com

NextStudent Federal & Private Consolidation Loans
Consolidate for free, no charges or credit checks
www.NextStudent.com

The Higher Education Act of 1965 sets the maximum interest rates and fees on student loans. Nothing, however, prevents a lender from charging lower interest rates and fees. (The illegal inducements regulations prevent lenders from providing immediate rebates, which would be akin to paying borrowers for their loans. However, most lenders work around these restrictions by instituting a one month delay in rebate-style discounts, or by providing the discounts when the loan enters repayment or at other milestones.)

Lenders offer loan discounts for competitive reasons. Originally the competition was with the Direct Loan program. However, with the repeal of the single holder rule, lenders are increasingly competing with each other for the highly profitable student loan market.

Since the repeal of the single holder rule on June 15, 2006 allows borrowers to consolidate their loans with any lender, the originating lenders face a risk of losing their borrowers to other lenders. They are responding by offering better discounts on unconsolidated Stafford and PLUS loans, by instituting discounts that depend on longevity with the lender (e.g., rate reductions and principal reductions after so many months into repayment and waivers of the last six monthly loan payments), and by requiring certain discounts to be repaid if you consolidate with another lender. The originating lenders can offer better discounts on unconsolidated Stafford and PLUS loans because lender margins are tighter on consolidation loans.

The Most Common Discounts

The most common loan discounts include a 0.25% interest rate reduction for having your monthly loan payments direct debited from your bank account (and also often requiring online electronic statement delivery). Many lenders also waive the origination fees on Stafford Loans. Depending on the guarantor, they may also waive the 1% default fee (previously “guarantee fee”).

Many lenders also offer additional discounts for making all of your monthly payments on time. For consolidation and PLUS loans many lenders offer a 1% interest rate reduction after 36 months of on-time monthly payments for as long as you continue making on-time payments. The on-time payments must be consecutive (no skips) and start when the loan enters repayment. (A few lenders offer a “repair option” which resets the on-time payment clock, but most lenders require all the initial monthly payments to be on-time.) For Stafford loans the most common discount involves a 2% interest rate reduction after 48 months of on-time monthly payments for as long as you continue making on-time payments. A recent trend is to replace these interest rate discounts with principal reductions after reaching a milestone, such as 3.33% principal reduction after 33 months.

The most common loan discounts include:

* Direct Debit (ACH/EFT) Discounts: Interest rate reductions of 0.25% or 0.50% (Less common are 0.30%, 0.33%, 1.0%, 1.25%, 1.5%, 1.75%, 2.0% and 2.5% rate reductions, some of which also depend on on-time payment behavior.)
* On-time Payment Discounts:
o Interest rate reductions of 1% after 0 months, 1% after 36 months, 2% after 48 months. (Less common are split discounts, such as successive 0.5% rate reductions after 24, 36 and 48 months or successive 1% rate reductions after 24 and 48 months.)
o Principal reductions of 3.3% (based on original loan balance) after 33 months, 7% (based on current loan balance) after 48 months. (Less common are split discounts, such as successive principal reductions of 1% at 24 months, 2% at 36 months and 3% at 48 months.) Some principal reductions may have a dollar cap (e.g., 1% principal reduction capped at $500).
o Principal reductions of $295 or $595 after 12 months.
o Credit for first 12 months interest applied after 12 months
o Rebate origination fee of 3% minus $250 after 24 months.
* Graduation credits of $250, $300, $500 or $750 (effectively a principal reduction upon entering repayment).
* Forgive last 5 or 6 payments.
* Forgive loan balance when drops below $600.

Tips for Evaluating Loan Discounts

Here are a few tips for evaluating Loan Discounts:

* Be realistic about your ability to make all of the payments on time.
* Focus on discounts that are immediate in nature (front-end discounts) and loan discounts which you can’t lose. These include discounts for direct debit of the monthly payments from your bank account, fee rebates you receive soon after signing up, and interest rate and principal reductions that do not require on-time payment.
* When a repayment incentive requires on-time payments, prefer those that involve a shorter time period before you can qualify for the discount. A discount that is suspended for a short time period after you are late with a payment is better than one that terminates after a single late payment.
* Be sure to ask the lender whether there is a minimum balance to obtain the discounts. Often the discounts require a loan balance that is higher than the minimum balance required to consolidate.
* Sign up for the direct debit of the monthly payments from your bank account. It is more reliable and secure than sending the payments through the mail. You will be less likely to miss a payment.
* Be sure to notify the servicer of your loan of your new address any time you move. USPS mail forwarding expires after six months, just as the grace period runs out. Having your mail forwarded can also add delays that cause your payments to be late. This may explain why many borrowers who lose prompt payment discounts do so on the very first payment.
* Read the fine print on any discounts. In particular, ask whether you will have to repay the discount if you consolidate your loans.
* Ask what is considered an “on-time” payment; usually this is within 10-15 days of the due date, but for some lenders it can be within 30 days of the due date.
* Some colleges have negotiated additional discounts with particular lenders, so be sure to ask if there are any additional discounts for students from your school.
* Ask whether a principal reduction is based on the original principal balance or the current principal balance at the time the rebate is applied. The latter is worth less, since you will have a lower principal balance after making the required number of on-time monthly payments. When the lender fails to specify that the principal reduction is based on the original principal balance, it usually means that the reduction is based on the principal balance at the time you qualify for the reduction.
* Some lenders require you to request the discounts in writing within a specific time period. Be sure to read all the fine print.
* Ask whether the 0% fees are an actual waiver (upon disbursement) or a delayed credit (at repayment or later). The former is more valuable than the latter. Some lenders are failing to disclose that “0% origination fees” are actually implemented as a delayed credit.

Once you decide whether you can go with a larger lender or a service that specializes in challenged credit student loans, you will need to complete one of their applications. Most lenders have online applications that you can complete which makes it very easy to get approved. There are many of these lenders available at your disposal and we have links to these sites here. Please feel free to use any of the information and links on our site to assist you with finding a poor credit student loan.

What is FAFSA? The FAFSA, or Free Applicaton for Federal Student Aid, is the first step in the financial aid process. In order to qualify for a student aid loan you will need to complete the FAFSA application. The FAFSA online application will ask income history and other important information. After submitting the application, it will be processed by the Department of Education. Once they have determined what aid you qualify for, you will be sent a Student Aid Report (SAR). An electronic copy of your SAR is also made available to the schools you’ve listed on your FAFSA. The Student Aid Report will show what types of aid you qualify for, including federal and state grants, such as the Pell grant, Stafford loans, and parent loans.

Eligibility

*You must attend a community college at least half time and be working toward your degree.
*You must meet credit criteria.
*Borrowers must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
*International students are eligible with a creditworthy cosigner.

Benefits

*The Signature Student Loan has a high approval rate.
*If you have less-than-ideal credit or no credit at all, you can still be eligible for the Signature Student Loan by applying with a creditworthy cosigner.
*You can manage your account online 24/7.

Features

*Easy, secure online applications with immediate credit decision and electronic signature.
*No income requirement so you can focus on your studies.
*Cosigners help students get a lower interest rate and save a lot of money.
*Six-month grace period (like Stafford loans).
*No payments are required while you are in school at least half-time.
*The Signature Student Loan has interest rates and fees that reward good credit.
*Creditworthy borrowers may request a cosigner release after making the first 24 consecutive on-time payments of principal and interest as initially scheduled.
*There is no prepayment penalty.

Loan terms

*Minimum amount: $500
*Maximum amount: $15,000
*Aggregate amount: $50,000

Interest rate

Interest rates are variable and based on the Prime rate.

Fees

There is no disbursement fee; repayment fees are 0%–3% depending on credit history.
Repayment

*Standard repayment term of 15 years, with the option to extend terms (up to 30 years) for higher aggregate loan balances.
*Prepay your loan at any time without penalty.