Government Student Loan Consolidation Pros and Cons

Student loans can feel like a crushing burden to many people. One possible solution is government student loan consolidation. Although this can certainly lower your overall monthly burden, it's important to do your research before you rush out to consolidate. There are some specific negative consequences you should also be aware of.

First off, let's discuss the benefits of government student loan consolidation. Once you consolidate, you will have a stable interest rate below 8.25%. This rate can never change so it will make planning for the future much simpler than it was before at a variable rate that could shift with the economic winds. You can also choose to extend the term of the loan out to 30 years which will significantly lower your monthly payments. All of this can be accomplished in a very simple loan application process. And don't worry about fees, credit checks, or prepayment penalties, because none of these apply.

It may seem like a slam dunk case, but there's more to it than that. When weighing government student loan consolidation, you must consider the negatives. There are two specific situations when you should never consolidate. If you are near the end of your loan term, there is no benefit and when your consolidated rate would be higher than your current rate you should absolutely hold off. There are additional reasons that might figure into your decision though. Consolidating now could mean missing out on a lower interest rate in the future since you can only take advantage of government student loan consolidation once. You will also lose your 6 month post graduation grace period once you consolidate.

Given all of these factors, take the time to look over your specific situation. Do further research and try to determine if government student loan consolidation is right for you.

Some Simple Advice on Student Loans

In these hard economic times, it is important to understand your options when you are thinking about a student loan or getting ready to pay one off. Some people are confused about how student loans work, but it is vital that you know how these student loans work so you can make the best decisions as you move forward with your education or begin the pay-back process after the degree. There are a few common mistakes that you can avoid that will save you money as well.

If you feel that you are unsure what a student loan really is and how it works, let's explore this first. Being informed about what you are getting in to and what us expected of you with a student loan will help you make an informed decision. In a nutshell, a student loan is an unsecured loan (meaning no collateral is necessary) that can be given to you by a bank or government organization. Depending on your age, these loans may be given to your parents for your educational use. Unless you have a full ride scholarship or a lot of little scholarships or grants that add up, you are probably going to need a student loan to get through college.

Your next question may be wondering if you should even take out a student loan right now. If you're High School graduation is just around the corner, then you may need to reword that question to ask what options you have in this recession. You may have read all the reports on the job market, and how college degree holders are still finding themselves without jobs. What was once your golden key may not look as golden anymore, and tacking a student loan onto the top of it may not seem to make sense to you. But remember, our economy has always gone through these peaks and valleys. Even though jobs may be scarce, those with the degrees will be the first to get the jobs once they are out there again. If jobs are unavailable, then the best place for you may be in college, furthering your education, while the economy heals, even with a student loan.

If you are one of the many that finds yourself at the point where you need to begin paying back that student loan but you don't have a job, then there are still some options for you. You first option may be to continue with your education, even though this means you will take out more loans. This course goes hand-in-hand with college being the best place to be while you're riding out this iffy job market. There also may be programs that let you defer your payments even longer so do some research on this as well.

Finding loans and funding to complete your education is a huge step. To ensure you get a student loan, make sure you do your homework and know all the facts. Check the current job market and be sure that there are going to be jobs available when you complete your courses.

Student Finance - Reducing the Cost of Education

As we all know, being in education can be a very expensive time. It often has significant costs (accommodation, food, bills, books etc) and, because it can take up a lot of your time, you are often left with little or no time to work to pay for your education.

Thankfully the government recognises this fact, and also realizes that education is crucial to our country's long-term growth prospects. As a result, it offers several tax breaks for those in education. The following are a few of the more common ones, which may well apply to your or your children:

1. College Costs

If your income is below a certain level, currently $65,000, you are allowed to claim up to $4,000 in tax breaks on your college costs. Even if you income is higher than this ($65,000 - $80,000), you can still claim $2,000 in reduced taxes.

To claim back tax on the costs of your education, you need to complete an IRS Form 1040.

2. Tax Credits

There are a couple of tax credit schemes that you can take advantage of if you have low to moderate earnings. The first is the Hope Scholarship, which can be worth up to $1,500 for each of your first two years at college. The second is the Lifetime Learning Credits scheme, which is worth up to $2,000 per taxpayer.

There are a couple of conditions which apply to these schemes - first, a student may only make use of one of them each year. Second, you are not allowed to withdraw money from certain types of saving account while claiming a credit. Third, you are not allowed to claim college expenses at the same time. However, both schemes offer significant advantages, making them well worth investigating.

3. Tax Free Educational Accounts

There are a couple of types of bank account that you can use to protect your savings from tax, and to help fund your education. These are Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and section 529 plans. In both cases, your money is not taxed provided you withdraw it and use it to pay for legitimate education expenses.

The only real downside to using these accounts is that they may make you ineligible for other types of educational funding help, so you should check with your financial advisor or speak to someone at your bank to help you decide which is best for you.

As you can see, funding your education doesn't have to be as expensive as it can seem. The government has provided a number of tax benefits for students, but it's up to you to make the most of them.

Once a self-confessed spendaholic, Paul Watkins now works hard to control his own finances, and enjoys passing on the lessons he's learned so that others can do the same

Student Loan Refinancing - A Guide

Refinancing your student loan can be a tricky business; there seems to be plenty of information on the internet but a lot of it can be quite misleading. This article looks at addressing particular issues so that when it comes to refinancing your student loan you are armed with all the correct knowledge.

It is usual that student loans have a period after the student has left education that the loan does not have to be repaid. This can be anything from a year to six months and is a perfect opportunity to shave years off the loan repayment period as any payment made during this period goes toward the principle repayment and is not wasted on interest. If you are hoping to refinance then this period is also very important as it can save you money and the lender will give better repayment options.

Financial institutions also offer lender incentive deals to reduce interest rates and further save money for the person taking out the refinanced loan. It is important when considering loan refinancing to take these into account when targeting the right deal for you as they can change your rate of interest from a quarter percent to anything up to two percent. This can lead to massive savings so remember to calculate these discounts and incentives to your final figures.

Rules in the recent past have changed and long gone are the days of refinancing your student loan on multiple occasions to continually get the best deal at the current interest rates. Borrower can now only add additional loans to the refinance package so it is important to get the right product first time around. Research is imperative to make sure you select the right product for your personal economic situation as this loan can be anywhere up to and above 10 years..

It is always a good idea to keep your credit score in a healthy position. When looking to refinance and consolidate any type of loan, the better your credit score, the better rate of interest you will be offered. Once again, this can lead to massive differences in the repayment of the debt so it is an important point to consider.

Student Loans - Helpful Tips

There is nothing as frustrating for a student than running short of money to pursue his educational goals. But then there is nothing to lose hope as there are low interest student loans designed exclusively for students who need funds to pursue higher studies. There are essentially two types of loans, the first one from programs run by the government and the second type can be obtained from private lenders. The low interest student loans offered by private sources are tougher to procure and they give a lot of importance to credit rating. But the government loans are easier to procure and you do not even need collaterals or a good credit rating to obtain such loans.

What do low interest loans mean? These are especially designed for students where the monthly payout is affordable and the tenure of the loan is also long, so that it becomes easier for the student to repay the loan. The interest amount that you pay for the low interest loans is effective from the day of loan disbursement. You could either decide to pay the interest amount first or have it added up to the principal amount to be paid back.

Though students have the option of taking low student loans from private sources, it is recommended not to go for these, since government-backed loans are easier to repay. Their terms and conditions are far more flexible than privately-organized cheap interest student loans. Also, government-sponsored loans can be obtained directly or through programs backed by the government.