GUEST POST: Get Financially Fit! | Making College Affordable

5 Ways to Make College More Affordable

The value of a college degree isn’t what it used to be, but its importance certainly hasn’t diminished. In fact, in Sallie Mae’s report, “How America Pays for College,” 90% of families expect their student to earn at least a bachelor’s degree, with 54% expecting a graduate degree. Of course, if you’ve read any recent news about the financial details of college education, you’ll know that it’s also a foreboding prospect: there is nearly $1.3 trillion in total U.S. student loan debt, ongoing wage stagnation, and the prospect of enduring years of underemployment.

But it’s not all bad news. A notable paradigm shift is taking place: this year, a whopping 98% of current students are actively engaging in ways to make their education more affordable.

So how does a student and their family better prepare themselves? Here’s our list of the top five ways families can make college more affordable:

Get Financially Fit! | Tips for New Grads

New grads often times are offered many tips and tricks for making it out in the "real world." It can be
a little overwhelming. Geoff Williams, contributor to U.S. News & World Report, shares with us just 5 Must-Know Money Tips for New Grads.

If you have a son or daughter graduating from college this spring, or if you're the son or daughter in question reading this, it may have occurred to you that figuring out how to pay for college was the easy part. Your real financial education is about to start: that is, how to best manage the money you're going to make.

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Get Financially Fit! | Debt Organized

Are you trying to get out of debt? Start by getting organized. John Agate, Senior Marketing Manager
for Mint.com, shares with us how to get organized in order to pay off or down debt.

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Get Financially Fit! | How to Use Your Tax Refund

TurboTax® has put together an article that address how to spend, save, or stretch your tax refund.

If you are receiving a tax refund this year, how do you plan to use it?

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Get Financially Fit! | Credit Card Debt

According to Creditcards.com, about 40 percent of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month without paying it off. The website also says the average interest rate on those credit cards is more than 13 percent. GreenPath University has put together tips to get out of credit card debt.

1. Stop using your credit cards until you pay them off.

Interest rates of 15, 20, or even 25 percent or more can cause credit card balances to grow rapidly. People often find themselves on a debt treadmill, struggling to make the minimum payments and watching their principal balances grow.

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GOBankingRates | 5 Signs You Have a Spending Problem

5 Signs You Have a Spending Problem

By Cameron Huddleston

July 31, 2015

One in five Americans spent more than what they earned in the last 12 months, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey released in May. Some might be relying on credit or dipping into savings to cover their spending because they are having trouble making ends meet. And, some might be simply living beyond their means.

Regardless of the reason your spending exceeds your income, “overspending is harmful because it could be a sign you’re out of control with your finances,” said Leslie H. Tayne, an attorney who concentrates in debt resolution solutions and author of “Life & Debt.” Your overspending might be making it hard to pay bills, have money for emergencies and save for the future. It could also lead to serious consequences, such as bankruptcy.

Here are five warning signs that indicate you are spending too much, how your overspending can hurt you and how to get your spending under control:

Saving for College and Minimizing Student Loan Debt

America Saves blog offers many articles on the topic of College. Here are just a few of the articles available. For a complete listing, click here.

• How to Save or Work, and Minimize Student Loans. Yes, You Can Do It All. 
• Careful Considerations for College Financing
• Making the Most of #CollegeSavings

GUEST POST | College Doesn’t Have to Be a Debt Trap: 5 Tips for Reducing College Costs

College Doesn’t Have to Be a Debt Trap: 5 Tips for Reducing College Costs

Nine in ten parents believe that college is a worthwhile investment. While this statistic from Sallie Mae’s How America Saves for College 2015 report shows that the value placed on higher education is nearly universal, a staggering 84% of parents are also willing to stretch themselves financially in order to make college possible for their children. “Better we have the debt than [our children] have the debt,” Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley was quoted as saying in a recent Washington Post article on student loans and parent borrowers.

The increasing costs of higher education are a part of our current reality, but breaking the bank doesn’t have to be. Making smart financial decisions from the start, and turning good savings behaviors into long-lasting habits can be the ticket to a fruitful and (hopefully) debt free future – for students and parents alike.

7 Steps to a Successful Budget

Budgeting can be a simple and straightforward process.  It can also be a rewarding experience for all family members.  But, it takes interest and commitment.  Here are seven steps to help you create a successful budget.

Discuss Values – Determine what is most important to the people involved in your budget, or spending plan.  By understanding these values, you can make decisions that will provide you with the most satisfaction.

Set Goals – Begin setting goals by discussing with family members what each one may want to do with their money.  An example of a goal might be to save for a child’s education.  Have each member list the goal and a deadline.  Work on the most important goals first.

Put money aside in your budget for your priority goal.  Remember, to achieve your special goal, you must treat the money as a bill to be paid to you.

Paying Yourself First When There’s Nothing Left To Save

You’ve read it a million times if you’ve read it once. Put money away. Save 10 percent of your income. Fund your 401(k) plan. Pay yourself first. Establish a nest-egg. Spend less than you earn.

But what if you can’t?

What if you simply don’t make it from one pay check to the next on a month-by-month basis? How are you supposed to “save” when there isn’t enough money to pay the bills in the first place?

Get in shape for 2015 by saving more

A good money goal for 2015? Save more

Source: http://www.cuna.org/Stay-Informed/News-Now/Consumer/A-good-money-goal-for-2015--Save-more/


                                                 

NEW YORK (1/13/15) --With 2015 stretched out before you, now is a good time to set money goals so your finances are in better shape come 2016.

 

If you're one of the 62% of Americans a new survey found to have no emergency savings, a good first goal is to start an emergency savings account ( MarketWatch Jan. 7). Open a supplemental retirement account like a Roth IRA (individual retirement account), which allows you to withdraw the money you deposit at any time penalty free. That way you're saving money for retirement, but it's also there for unplanned expenses such as car trouble, an emergency home repair, or health problems.

 

Here are some other good financial goals to strive for this year ( The New York Times Jan. 2):