If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Failing to pay student loan debt has serious consequences. Your tax return refunds can be intercepted, massive collection fees of up to 20 percent of your balance can be added, it will hurt your credit score, and your wages can be garnished without going to court.
We are wary of used cars salesmen, but how conscious are we of the fact that almost everything we buy is sold to us by a commission-based broker who wins when they convince us to buy more than we came to purchase?
Applying logic or assumptions to a corporate policy is never going to work. The agents are limited by the policies and procedures in place at the time of the event.
It's that time of year again. Graduation. That seminal moment in our lives when, in ceremonies of varying degrees of pomp and circumstance, our elders pass on the wisdom of the ages to those of us who are evolving from the shelter of the ivory tower to the stark reality of the "real world."
Young adults are depositing more to savings accounts and paying down 57% more student loan debt than Gen X or Baby Boomers. Finger is pointing at the Great Recession.
The government gets to borrow for 10 years paying less than 2 percent interest on U.S. Treasury notes, while students must pay 6.8 percent interest on the loans they get from the government!
A greater tax deduction for students is not a handout. On the contrary, it helps those who are willing to meet the challenges of higher education to invest in our collective future.
Despite the fact that tuition costs show no signs of decreasing, you can become less reliant on loans and more focused on a secure financial future by following a few easy rules.
Now is the perfect time for graduating students to think about getting their finances in order for summer and beyond. Regardless of their financial situation, each college graduate needs to utilize the same basic tools to set themselves up for long-term financial success.
If America is going to provide real meritocratic opportunity for intelligent and hard-working young people, it cannot merely focus on Ivy League universities or similar private institutions of higher education.
These students and their families cannot bear additional costs. The president's proposal, although it might lower interest rates very slightly in the first year, will ultimately allow those rates to rise uncontrollably.
Student loan debt is used to make an investment in human capital. Since this investment may seem intangible to young people, they may start to wonder: is college worth it?
What can we tell the parents? We know that not having a bachelor's degree cost the average American about $1 million in lost earnings over his or her lifetime. The parents discuss, and intrinsically understand, the enormous benefits of broadening one's mind and horizons through higher education.
Today the poor line up for Powerball tickets, the middle class over-trade their stock portfolio. Both are bad bets made by people that don't have better options. Why not give young people guidance when they start to deal themselves their hand?
1) Get organized Start a file cabinet where you begin to collect all of your financial papers. Need help? Read one of David Bach's Finish Rich books....
In 2009 book, I argued that advancing technology -- and especially software automation -- would increasingly threaten the jobs taken by college graduates. Economists are now finding hard evidence that this trend has been underway since 2000.
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