College Student Budget

College can be an exciting part of your life. You’re having all kinds of new experiences and you’re also taking on new responsibilities. Your new found independence isn’t all fun and games. You have to learn how to live your life on your own and college is the perfect time to learn a lot of life lessons. One of these lessons is learning how to manage your money. Learning how to create and stick to a budget is nothing short of challenging for most people and you might appreciate a little guidance.

The first step is to plan out and write down your budget. Using a money management program or spreadsheet on your computer can be a helpful tool as well. First, figure out how much income you have coming in. Count allowance from your parents, student loan or financial aid money, as well as your regular income from your job. Deduct your major expenses first, such as tuition, books, room and board, power and water bills, phone bills and any other regular expense that you have leaving each month. Some people stop here and end up running out of money anyway. This is because they didn’t take it that one step further and figure out where else their money goes.

There is a lot more that you need money for than just bills. First is food and gas. Figure out what you’ll need each month to eat and get to and from work and school. Figure out the things that you periodically need and set aside money in a savings account for these purposes. Oil changes, trips home, Christmas expenses, unusually high summer or winter power bills, whatever has come up before that you weren’t prepared for. Estimate what these things cost you yearly and divide it by twelve months. This should give you and amount to save monthly so that these irregular expenses don’t surprise you and get you off track. When you don’t prepare for the inevitable, then you’ll inevitably end up in debt or in some other serious financial trouble.

Preparing for every little emergency and eventuality may sound good in theory, by it is actually hard for a lot of people to stick to their budgets consistently. It takes practice and college students are just starting out. You may find it difficult at first, but consider your budget one of your classes. You’re learning as you go and you’re not expected to do it perfect on your first try. You will find yourself adding expenses and taking others away, your income and bills will change and you’ll need to constantly adjust your budget.

Take notes each month, whether it’s in a notebook or on the computer, so that when you plan the next month’s or year’s budget you’ll be able to review what problems you ran into before. You may decide to save more for December because last year you ended up buying more last minute gifts than you expected, ended up going to more parties than you planned and spent way more than you originally budgeted for yourself. If you have big emergencies or just don’t make enough money to get through your college years, then you might consider taking out student loans or private student loans, which have special rates and qualifications for students.

About the Author: Evelyn Saunders, a retired teacher, is the editor for student-loans.net, a provider of student loans and information on how to get private student loans as well as consolidation. For more information, please visit http://www.student-loans.net.

Qualifying for a Student Loan

It’s the holiday season. You’ve trimmed the tree, completed your finals and almost finished your Christmas shopping. Now you realize that your Christmas budget has been ultimately depleted. You still have some shopping to do, some bills to pay and three Christmas parties to prepare for. What will you do? How will you afford it? If your next paycheck isn’t coming before Christmas, you’ve probably gotten yourself into a financial bind.

This is very common at this time of year. Everyone has something to spend money on to make their holiday season a joyful one. The problem is, a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck already, and college can be especially taxing on the wallet. Whatever the reason, you’re low on funds and you’re starting to consider other options. Someone recommends taking out a student loan to get you through the next semester and this sounds like a great solution. But now you’re worried about your credit score or lack there of. You may not have taken out a loan before and you’re not sure that you’ll qualify.

There are some options for students in your position. One option is to get a conventional loan through your bank. They can look at your spending habits, reliability, deposit history and income. Banks are going to check your credit score and weigh it against your credibility as a customer. If everything checks out to be good, then you’ll most likely be approved for a loan at a pretty good interest rate. If your credit is less than stellar or you haven’t established any credit yet, then you might need to look for other financial solutions.

Student loans take the special circumstances of students into consideration. They offer more flexible payoff plans. Some may be offered through your school. For some student loans, you can apply directly online. If you prefer to speak to a person, most sites have the option of applying over the phone. You may be asked to fax in information or mail in signed documents before you can receive the loan money. Getting a student loan and paying it off diligently and on time can help you establish or improve your credit score.

Qualifying for student loans is usually easier than qualifying for conventional loans. You can use the money for school tuition, room and board, or anything relating to your school activities. Some loans have their own restrictions, so make sure that you ask questions and understand the agreement before accepting the loan money. Make sure that you don’t borrow more than you need or more than you can afford to pay off in a timely manner, and your next school year can be a happy one after all.

About the Author: Evelyn Saunders, a retired teacher, is the editor for student-loans.net, a provider of student loans and information on how to get private student loans as well as consolidation. For more information, please visit http://www.student-loans.net.

Pay Off Your Debt

So you’ve gotten yourself into a credit card bind. If you are only paying the minimum amounts due on each card, then there may not be an end in sight for years. You have to realize that you are at the credit card company’s mercy and decide to get yourself out. You have to want to get your own life back and make conscious, deliberate moves to make a move in a positive direction. If you’re not sure where to start, take some of these popular strategies into consideration when devising your pay-off plan.
Probably the best way to get out of debt is to attack high interest rate cards first. To do this, you need to actually write down your income, subtract your minimums and other monthly bills. When you see what is left, take out what you need each week for food and gas. Any extra income needs to be applied to the highest rate of interest card that you own. Just increasing the amount you pay to above the minimum can knock years of payments off of your payment plan.
Consider the extra money a payment to yourself. If you don’t pay it to yourself, then you’ll be paying it to your credit card company for years to come. Consider a couple of years of prudence over many years of padding the credit card company’s pockets. Your goal should be to at least double your minimum payment. Keep paying the same amount month after month despite the credit card company’s plans to entice you back into their clutches. You’ll see smaller and smaller minimums due. You’ll get more offers in the mail. Your credit line might get increased. Ignore these tactics and stick to your plan of getting free.
Some people find it motivating to pay off their smaller balances first. This could be a good idea if it keeps you on track. Also, if you have more than four credit card accounts, that alone can hurt your credit. These are things to consider. If you have 5 small store accounts on top of your major balance cards, then paying them off and closing them can look better on your credit report. This could give you more leverage when negotiating with your higher interest card companies to lower your interest rate. Once you get down to three or four credit cards, it’s a good idea to switch to the first plan of paying off the highest interest card first.
When you’re going through the process of paying down your debt, make sure that every time you pay off a card, you apply that amount that you were paying to the next card. It helps to pay your bills online, preferably through your bank. That way, you can always see what your last payment was and pay the same again regardless of what the bill says you owe. Round up the amount that you’re paying to a good whole number to make yourself pay a little more than you might have originally paid.

Any time that you receive a tax return, bonus, raise, money from a garage sale, any extra income, it should always go directly to the card that you’re cracking down on. Go online immediately and send that money to the credit card company. Don’t try to save it in your bank account until the next bill is due or you may end up whittling it away and missing your opportunity to knock months off of you bill. If you’re a student, you may qualify for student loans or private student loans for future emergencies which can have better terms than a credit card.

About the Author: Evelyn Saunders, a retired teacher, is the editor for student-loans.net, a provider of student loans and information on how to get private student loans as well as consolidation. For more information, please visit http://www.student-loans.net.