College Archives - Hanover Mortgages

May 11, 2021

Investing in a College Town Rental Market: Ann Arbor, Michigan

College towns are attractive markets for investors in rental properties for several reasons. Students and faculty create large and dependable markets of tenants. Local economies dominated by academic institutions are remarkably stable compared to those based on manufacturing or agriculture. Larger universities create hundreds of non-academic jobs in research centers, medical facilities, and new companies spun off by technologies developed locally.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the main campus of the University of Michigan, is an excellent example of a campus-based economy that is much larger than its facility and student body. One out of three local jobs are in educational service, and an additional one out of ten are in technical, professional and scientific services. At $39,235, Ann Arbor’s average per capita income and its median family income of $102,615 are 20% to 30% higher than national averages.

WalletHub ranked Ann Arbor, the nation’s fifth-best college town and the best small city college town in 2020 based on academic, social, and economic opportunities for students. It also ranked Ann Arbor, the nation’s “most educated city in 2020,” outranking San Jose, California, and Washington, D.C. It also placed first in educational attainment and quality of education and attainment gap.

Read: 5 Reasons Why You Should Still Buy an Investment Property

college university student leaving library

Affordability is Under Fire

Popularity can have a downside, and Ann Arbor is experiencing the price of success in rising housing costs and decreasing affordability, especially in Washtenaw County as a whole.

As of February 2020, the average monthly rent in Ann Arbor was $1,580 for an 882-square-foot apartment, a 3% increase over 2019, higher than the national median for a comparable apartment ($1,468) and considerably higher than nearby Detroit ($1,069) or East Lansing ($1,294), home of Michigan State University. Half of Ann Arbor tenants spend 30% or more of their household income on rent. HUD defines cost-burdened families as those “who pay more than 30% of their income for housing” and “may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care.”

“Ann Arbor – and its central driver, the University of Michigan – is a magnet for highly educated households with upward mobility and significant disposable income. With some exceptions, Ypsilanti (City and Township) and their challenge of being overloaded by a disproportionate number of at-risk households and homes with negative equity – is where the most affordable options exist,” stated a 2015 Washtenaw County housing study.

“Ann Arbor will become more costly, and less affordable, especially to non-student renters in the short run and eventually, to aspiring buyers as well. The driver for higher costs is a combination of high livability and quality of life, great public schools, resulting in sustained demand by households with discretionary income, and resulting expectations of stable and continually rising property values,” the study concluded.

Read: Investing in a College Town Rental Property: Charlottesville, VA

The Ann Arbor Rental Market is Vast and Profitable

In many ways, Ann Arbor is a great rental market. The massive student body drives demand. About 70% of the University of Michigan’s 46,000 students live off-campus and the current cap rate for Washtenaw County apartment buildings is a respectable 7.6%. (The capitalization rate is the ratio of rentals’ net operating income to property value. Low cap rates imply lower risk, and higher CAP rates indicate higher risk.)

Living off-campus is so popular; the university maintains web pages listing rentals and providing advice and information for off-campus renters. This summer initiated a “virtual housing fair” to help students find rentals for the 2020-2021 school year.

group of young college students hanging out at home

Homes.com lists 1,235 properties in Ann Arbor, with a median home value of $355,600, about 17% above the national median of $304,100 in July. Of the total homes in Ann Arbor listed on Homes.com, 60% are for sale, and 34% are rentals.

Read: What to Know Before You Rent to College Students

Though several new high-rise apartment buildings recently opened and more are under construction, single-family rentals still dominate the market. Homes.com lists more than 200 single family homes for rent in Ann Arbor. Smaller rental households are a result of the above-average presence of single-family rentals relative to apartments. The average household size for Ann Arbor rentals is 2.2 people, compared to 2.3 for Michigan and 2.5 for the nation as a whole.

COVID-19 and Ann Arbor, Michigan

COVID-19 delayed the University of Michigan’s plans for the fall semester but did not cancel fall apartment rentals. The university’s plans include both in-person and remote classes, a new academic calendar, and the elimination of breaks and changes centered around preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Despite the pandemic, Ann Arbor is still one of the best college town markets in the nation. As in most markets, acquisition is a challenge. Property prices in Ann Arbor are rising, and the smaller, less expensive homes that make ideal single-family rentals are few and far between. Otherwise, conditions are good for single-family rental owners and will improve as the nation returns to health.

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Steve Cook is the editor of the Down Payment Report and provides public relations consulting services to leading companies and non-profits in residential real estate and housing finance. He has been vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Realtors, senior vice president of Edelman Worldwide and press secretary to two members of Congress.

Source: homes.com

April 12, 2021

How to Pay Off $130,000 in Parent PLUS Loans for Just $33,000

Millennials are not the only ones saddled with the obligation to pay back massive amounts of student loans. Many parents take out loans in their names to help their children pay for college, and in many cases, these loans are getting in their way of achieving their goals, like retiring.

Under the federal student loan system, parents can take out Parent PLUS loans for their dependent undergraduate students. One of the major differences between Parent PLUS loans and the loans that the students take out is that there are fewer repayment options available for Parent PLUS borrowers. Parent PLUS loans are only eligible for the Standard Repayment Plan, the Graduated Repayment Plan and the Extended Repayment Plan.

There are other strategies for managing Parent PLUS debt, however. When consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan, Parent PLUS loans can become eligible for the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan, in which borrowers pay 20% of their discretionary income for up to 25 years.

Currently, ICR is the only income-driven repayment plan that consolidated loans repaying Parent PLUS loans are eligible for. However, when a parent borrower consolidates two Direct Consolidation Loans together, the parent can potentially qualify for an even better repayment plan and further reduce their monthly payments.

Nate, the high school math teacher

Let’s take a look at Nate, age 55, as an example to see how a parent can manage Parent PLUS loans and still retire as hoped.

Nate is a public school teacher who makes $60,000 a year and just got remarried to Nancy, who is also a teacher. Nate took out $130,000 of Direct Parent PLUS loans with an average interest rate of 6% to help Jack and Jill, his two kids from a previous marriage, attend their dream colleges. Nate does not want Nancy to be responsible for these loans if anything happens to him, and he is also worried that he would not be able to retire in 10 years as he had planned!

If Nate tried to pay off his entire loan balance in 10 years under the federal standard repayment plan, his monthly payment would be $1,443. Even if he refinanced privately at today’s historically low rates, his payments would still be around $1,200, which is too much for Nate to handle every month. Also, since Nate’s federal loans are in his name only, they could be discharged if Nate dies or gets permanently disabled. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep these loans in the federal system so that Nancy would not be responsible for them.

In a case like this, when it is difficult for a federal borrower to afford monthly payments on a standard repayment plan, it’s a good idea to see if loan forgiveness using one of the Income-Driven Repayment plans is an option. In Nate’s case, his Parent PLUS loans can become eligible for the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan if he consolidates them into one or more Direct Consolidation Loans. If Nate enrolls in ICR, he would be required to pay 20% of his discretionary income, or $709 a month. Compared to the standard 10-year plan, Nate can cut his monthly burden in half by consolidating and enrolling in ICR!

But that’s not all …

Double Consolidation

For Nate, there is another strategy worth pursuing called a double consolidation. This strategy takes at least three consolidations over several months and works in the following way:

Let’s say that Nate has 16 federal loans (one for each semester of Jack and Jill’s respective colleges). If Nate consolidates eight of his loans, he ends up with a Direct Consolidation Loan #1. If he consolidates his eight remaining loans, he ends up with Direct Consolidation Loan #2. When he consolidates the Direct Consolidation Loans #1 and #2, he ends up with a single Direct Consolidation Loan #3.

Since Direct Consolidation Loan #3 repays Direct Consolidation Loans #1 and 2, it is no longer subject to the rule restricting consolidated loans repaying Parent PLUS loans to only be eligible for ICR. Direct Consolidation Loan #3 could be eligible for some other Income-Driven Repayment plans, including IBR, PAYE or REPAYE, in which Nate would pay 10% or 15% of his discretionary income, rather than 20%.

Reducing Nate’s monthly payments

For example, if Nate qualifies for PAYE and he and Nancy file their taxes using the Married Filing Separately (MFS) status, only Nate’s $60,000 income is used to calculate his monthly payment. His monthly payment now would be reduced to $282. If he had chosen REPAYE, he would have to include Nancy’s annual income of $60,000 for the monthly payment calculation after marriage — regardless of how they file their taxes — so his payment would have been $782.

Double consolidation can be quite an arduous process, but Nate decides to do it to reduce his monthly payment from $1,443 down to $282.

How Parent PLUS borrowers can qualify for forgiveness

Since Nate is a public school teacher, he would qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and after making 120 qualifying payments, he would get his remaining loan balance forgiven tax-free.

Since Nate is pursuing forgiveness, there is one more important thing he can do to further reduce his monthly payments. Nate can contribute more to his employer’s retirement plan. If Nate contributed $500 a month into his 403(b) plan, the amount of taxable annual income used to calculate his monthly payment is reduced, which further reduces his monthly payments to $232.

Summarizing Nate’s options in dollars and cents

With the standard 10-year repayment plan, Nate would have to pay $1,443.26 every month for 10 years, for a total of $173,191.
With a consolidation, enrolling in ICR, filing taxes using the Married Filing Separately status and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, he would start with $709 monthly payments and pay a total of around $99,000 in 10 years.*
With double consolidation, enrolling in PAYE, filing taxes using the Married Filing Separately status and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, his monthly payment starts at $282, and his total for 10 years would be around $40,000.
For maximum savings: With double consolidation, enrolling in PAYE, filing taxes using the Married Filing Separately status, Public Service Loan Forgiveness and making $500 monthly contributions to his employer retirement account for 10 years, Nate’s monthly payment starts at $232, and his total payment would be around $32,500. He would have contributed $60,000 to his 403(b) account in 10 years, which could have grown to about $86,000 with a 7% annual return. Comparing this option with the first option, we can project that Nate pays about $140,000 less in total, plus he could potentially grow his retirement savings by about $86,000.

As you can see, there are options and strategies available for parent borrowers of federal student loans. Some of the concepts applied in these strategies may work for student loans held by the students themselves as well.

An important thing to remember if you are an older borrower of federal student loans is that paying back the entire loan balance might not be the only option you have. In particular, if you qualify for an Income-Driven Repayment plan and are close to retirement, you can kill two birds with one stone by contributing as much as you can to your retirement account. Also, since federal student loans are dischargeable at death, it can be a strategic move to minimize your payments as much as possible and get them discharged at your death.

Also, loan consolidation can be beneficial as it was in this example, but if you had made qualifying payments toward loan forgiveness prior to the consolidation, you would lose all of your progress you had made toward forgiveness!

As always, every situation is unique, so if you are not sure what to do with your student loans, contact a professional with expertise in student loans.

*Note: The projections in Options 2 through 4 assume that, among other factors such as Nate’s PSLF-qualifying employment status and family size staying the same, Nate’s income grows 3% annually, which increases his monthly payment amount each year. Individual circumstances can significantly change results.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Associate Planner, Insight Financial Strategists

Saki Kurose is a Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®) and a candidate for the CFP® certification. As an associate planner at Insight Financial Strategists, she enjoys helping clients through their financial challenges. Saki is particularly passionate about working with clients with student loans to find the best repayment strategy that aligns with their goals.

Source: kiplinger.com

March 31, 2021

MintFamily with Beth Kobliner: 3 Ways Your Kids Will Redefine the American Dream

A friend’s 20-something son shocked his parents with his post-graduation plans: He was moving to Southeast Asia to sell selfie sticks.

Millennials in a nutshell, #amiright?

But who can blame them for taking non-traditional paths, given the poor financial hand they’ve been dealt: record levels of college debt, uncertain job prospects, stagnant wages, and more. It’s why one in three Millennials is deeply dissatisfied with their financial situation, according to a much-quoted new study from George Washington University and PwC.

Findings from a recent Harvard survey cut even deeper: half of Millennials say the American Dream is dead. Yep, that cornerstone of post-war America—the house, the car, the upwardly mobile career track—is about as relevant to them as black & white TV. To parents raised on the mythology of the American Dream, that’s grim news.

But the situation may not be as dire as it appears.

As they’ve done with everything from communications to careers, Millennials are redefining what it means to lead a “better life” (something parents see as key to the American Dream, according to a 2015 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll). This new paradigm is rooted in the experiences of people who came of age after the financial crisis of 2008, and reflects how they see the world. It offers a flexible lifestyle (one that some might see as transient) and a reworking of the traditional measures of success.

Here are three ways that our kids will make their own American Dream—and thrive.

1. They’ll rethink what college means—and how to pay for it.

Two-thirds of parents say the American Dream includes sending their kids to college, according to a September poll from the youth media company Fusion. These moms and dads are right to think this, as college grads earn about $1 million more over their lifetimes.

For Millennials, cost and career aspirations are informing this major life decision more than ever (call it pragmatism if you want). Gone are the days of selecting a school based on its bucolic campus or dominant football program. Kids (and parents) want more value—and less debt.

That’s why it’s so critical to start the college cost conversation early—like 9^th grade-early. Want an incentive? A start-up called Raise.me allows high schoolers—as early as freshman year—to earn “micro-scholarships” from over 100 colleges. Got an A in chemistry? Won the lacrosse playoffs? Volunteered at your local animal shelter? Each awesome achievement can earn your kid $500 to over $1,000 from various colleges. Even “mayor” of Millennials Mark Zuckerberg backs it: Facebook is one of Raise.me’s main supporters.

Best way to avoid the college cost guessing game? Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)—the key to scholarships, grants, work-study, and low-rate federal loans. The form is notoriously long and complicated, but it’s getting better! Starting this year, you can access the FAFSA on October 1, 2016 (up from January 1, 2017). Why the new, early start? It means you’ll be able to auto-fill the form for the 2017-18 school year using your 2015 tax return data. (More details here.)

Parents of kids who excel in hands-on environments can encourage them to consider the growing trend of apprenticeships (a traditionally European idea that’s catching on here in the U.S.), particularly programs offered in tandem with a community college degree.

2. They’ll understand that owning your own “home sweet home” is only sweet when you can afford it.

In 1986 (back when I was graduating from college!), 76% of young people saw owning a home as essential to the American Dream. Today that’s down to 59%, according to the Fusion poll.

That means your kid is more likely to bunk with you—or rent—than take on a mortgage she can’t afford (so don’t turn her bedroom into a home office just yet). If she does move in with you, make sure she uses this time as an opportunity to save! (And work out any financial details in advance with this helpful guide from eHow.com.)

Renting has traditionally gotten a bad rap, but it lets your kid explore—new towns, new jobs, new people!—without being stuck in one place. Take our selfie-stick seller: his Southeast Asia stint lasted less than a year before he was back in the states and settling into a new city and new gig. Like his fellow Millennials, he’ll probably rent for several years. Buying may not even cross his mind until his early 30s. A Zillow study shows the average first-time homebuyer is now 33, up from 29 in the 1970s. Of course, you’ll want to talk to your kid about the realities of owning a home, including how to sock away a chunk of money for a down payment once she’s ready.

3. They’ll value happiness and independence over a huge paycheck.

The entrepreneurial goals of Millennials can sometimes seem a little, er, lofty (like the selfie stick plan that didn’t exactly take off), but thankfully, many are starting to pace themselves.

A study from Upwork, a company that helps businesses find freelance workers, showed that 62% (mostly Millennial) freelancers planned to work a full-time job and moonlight on the side for two years before quitting to follow their dreams. Two years may not be a magic number (a specific financial goal would be safer), but at least they’re earning—and learning—prior to taking the leap.

Today’s young people aren’t all work and no play, either. Millennials’ drive for success, salary, and even entrepreneurial goals pales in comparison to their desire to spend time with family and friends, which they rank as “one of the most important things” in their lives, according to the Harvard survey.

The takeaway? We’re raising a generation that demands independence, flexibility, and a true work/life balance. Perhaps that’s the new American Dream.

Sounds like something we can all believe in.

How do you define the American Dream for your kids? Tell me on Twitter using #NewAmericanDream.

BethKobliner

Beth Kobliner is the author of the New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life, and is currently writing a new book, Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not), to be published by Simon & Schuster. Visit her at bethkobliner.com, follow her on Twitter, and like her on Facebook.

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Source: mint.intuit.com

March 9, 2021

4 Reasons Paying for College With a Credit Card Is a Terrible Idea

Get 5% cash back!

Earn 10,000 airline miles!

Credit card offers and promotions are everywhere. All those rewards are tempting and can get you thinking of ways to get the most out of your credit card.

With the high cost of college tuition, you might be wondering if you can use a credit card to pay for school and get rewards. But before handing over your card, you should know there are significant risks involved.

4 Issues to Consider Before Using a Credit Card to Pay for College

It seems like a great idea: If you earn 1% cash back on all purchases and use your card to pay a $10,000 tuition bill, you’ll get $100 in rewards. However, the reality isn’t that simple.

Dr. Robert Johnson, president and CEO of the American College of Financial Services, believes there’s few, if any, advantages to using a credit card for your education.

“I think it’s dangerous for students to use credit cards for routine expenses,” he said.

That’s because credit cards are significantly different from other forms of debt, such as student loans. Relying on a credit card to pay for your tuition and fees can cause problems later on. Watch out for these four issues.

Compare Your Options

1. Sky-High Interest Rates

Some student loans have an interest rate as low as 4.45%. In late 2017, credit cards had an average interest rate of 13.16%, according to the Federal Reserve. If you have poor credit or don’t have an established credit history, you could face interest rates as high as 25.00% for a credit card. That difference in interest rate is significant.

“Credit cards are riskier because the interest rates are substantially higher and because they’re so easy to use,” said Dr. Johnson. “One must make a deliberate and purposeful decision to take out a student loan. It’s so easy for someone to simply take out a credit card and incur high-interest-rate debt without thinking through the ramifications.”

Over time, your credit-card balance can balloon. You could end up paying far more than you originally borrowed.

“Credit-card debt is the highest-interest-rate debt and is very difficult to extinguish if the balances get large,” said Dr. Johnson.

If you think you can avoid paying high interest fees by paying off the debt quickly, make sure you have a concrete repayment plan. The average cardholder has a balance of over $4,000. With college costs added on top of that, you could end up paying thousands more. Once you get into credit-card debt, it can be tough digging yourself out.

2. Fees Might Negate the Rewards

You might be able to earn rewards for charging your tuition, but you could end up paying more than the reward is worth in fees.

Schools charge an average 2.62% processing fee, according to a 2016 CreditCards.com survey. That means a $10,000 charge to pay for school would add $262 to your bill. That’s more than double what you’d earn in cash-back rewards and would make college even more expensive.

3. Fewer Repayment Options

Beyond high interest rates, credit cards have more limited repayment options compared to federal and private student loans.

With student loans, you typically have a grace period. You don’t have to make payments on your loans until six months after graduation. If you experience financial hardship and have federal student loans, you can postpone payments or even qualify for a reduced payment with an income-driven repayment plan. With a credit card, you don’t have those benefits.

If you use a credit card to pay for college, you’ll have to start making payments right away, even while you’re still in school. If you lose your job or face an unexpected emergency, you still have to keep up with your payments or risk wrecking your credit history. You can quickly end up over your head.

“Credit-card debt limits their flexibility once they graduate, as their earnings go toward trying to extinguish debt,” said Dr. Johnson.

4. Effect on Your Credit Score

Your credit history can have a significant impact on your life. A poor credit score can impact you in many ways, from applying for an apartment to job hunting.

Your FICO credit score is determined by a range of factors. One of the most important is your credit utilization. Accounting for 30% of your score, your credit utilization is how much of your available credit you use. The more you use, the more it hurts your credit report. For example, if you have a $10,000 limit, charging $2,000 will leave you with a better score than charging $9,000.

The problem with using a credit card to pay for college is that it raises your credit utilization. A single semester can cost thousands, eating up a huge chunk of your available credit. If you can’t afford to pay off the card right away and carry a balance, it can take years to get rid of it, lowering your credit score.

If you need to buy a car or want to purchase a home, a poor credit score can cause you to pay higher interest rates or not be approved at all.

Be Smart About Paying for School

If you’re going to school but don’t qualify for federal loans, or if you’ve exhausted all of the financial aid the government offers, there are safer options than using a credit card to pay for tuition.

Private student loans are more expensive than federal loans. But both have much lower rates than credit cards. Many loan servicers also offer important benefits, such as a grace period after graduation and alternative payment options. Student loans can be a much better tool for paying for school compared to your Visa.

If you’re concerned about your credit, you can check your three credit reports for free once a year. To track your credit more regularly, Credit.com’s free Credit Report Card is an easy-to-understand breakdown of your credit report information that uses letter grades—plus you get a free credit score updated every 14 days.

You can also carry on the conversation on our social media platforms. Like and follow us on Facebook and leave us a tweet on Twitter.

Image: GeorgeRudy

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Source: credit.com

February 9, 2021

6 Ways I Saved Money On College Costs

Check out this list of ways to save money on college costs. This is a great list!

Check out this list of ways to save money on college costs. This is a great list! How much does college cost? This is a question many wonder. There’s rarely a week that goes by where I don’t receive an email from a student or parents of a student who are looking for ways to cut college costs. That’s why today I want to talk about college costs and how you can create a college budget that works so that you can save money in college.

College is very expensive – there is no doubt about that.

However, I want you to know that it IS possible to get a valuable college degree on a budget!

The average public university is over $20,000 per year and the average private university totals over $45,000 once you account for tuition, room and board, fees, textbooks, living expenses and more.

Even with how expensive college can possibly be, there are many ways to cut college expenses and create a college budget so that you can control rising college costs.

Continue reading below to read about the many different ways I cut college costs. While I was not perfect and still racked up student loan debt, I did earn three college degrees on a reasonable budget.

Related articles:

1. Take classes at a community college to cut college costs.

Whether you are in college already or you haven’t started yet, taking classes at a community college can be a great way to save money.

Earning credits at a community college usually costs just a small fraction of what it would cost at a 4-year college, so you may find yourself being able to save thousands of dollars each semester.

There is a myth out there that your degree is worth less if you go to a community college. That is NOT TRUE at all. When you finally earn your 4-year degree, your degree will only say where you graduated from and it won’t even mention the community college credits at all. So this myth makes no sense because your degree looks the exact same as everyone else’s’ who you went to college with. You might as well save money because it won’t make much of a difference.

I only took classes at a community college during one summer semester where I earned 12 credits, and I still regret not taking more. I probably could have saved around $20,000 by taking more classes at my local community college.

Also, you are most likely just taking general credits at the community college, so it’s not like you would be missing much by taking classes there instead of a college that has a better reputation for the major you are seeking.

If you do decide to go to a community college, always make sure that the 4-year college you plan on attending afterwards will transfer all of the credits. It’s an easy step to take so do not forget! You should do this before you sign up and pay for any classes as well as to make sure that ALL of the classes will transfer succesfully.

2. Take advantage of high school classes to lower your college budget.

Many high schools allow you to take college classes to earn both college and high school credits at the same time.

This is something I highly recommend you look into if you are still in high school, as it saves time and is one of the best ways to save money on college costs.

When I was in my senior year in high school, nearly all of my classes were dual enrollment courses where I was earning college and high school credit at the same time. I took AP classes and classes that earned me direct college credit from nearby private universities. I left high school with around 14-18 credit hours (I can’t remember the exact amount). This way I knocked out a whole semester of college. I could’ve taken more, but I decided to take early release from high school and worked 30-40 hours a week as well.

3. Take all the credits you can to stay within your college budget.

At many universities, you pay a flat fee. So whether you take 12 credit hours or 18 credit hours, you are paying nearly the exact same price.

For this reason, I always recommend that a student take as many classes as they can if they are going to a college that charges a flat fee tuition.

If you think you can still earn good grades and do whatever else you do on the side, definitely get full use of the college tuition you are paying for!

4. Apply for scholarships to lower your college costs.

Before you start your semester, you should always look into scholarships, grants, FAFSA, and more. You usually have to turn in any paperwork around spring time for the following semester, so I highly recommend doing this right now if you are going to college in the fall.

Another myth will be busted right now. Many believe that all scholarships are impossible to have or it means you have to win a contest. That is just a myth.

I received around $16,000 a year in scholarships to the private university I attended. That helped pay for a majority of my college tuition. The scholarships were easy for me to get as they were all just because I earned good grades in high school and scored well on tests. I received scholarships to all of the other colleges I applied for as well just for good grades, so I know they can be found as long as you do well in high school!

There are other ways to find scholarships as well. You can receive scholarships from private organizations, companies in your town, and more. Do a simple Google search and I am sure you will find many free websites that list out possible scholarships for you to apply to.

Tip: Many forget that you usually have to turn in a separate financial aid form directly to your college. Don’t forget to do this by the deadline each year!

5. Search for cheaper textbooks to lower your college budget.

Students usually spend anywhere from around $300 to $1,000 on textbooks each semester, depending on the amount of classes they are taking and their major.

For me, many of my classes required more than one book and each book was usually around $200 brand new. This means if I were to buy all of my college textbooks brand new, I probably would have had to spend over $1,000 each semester.

I saved a decent amount of money on college textbooks by renting them and finding them used. Renting them was nice because I just had to pay one fee and didn’t ever have to worry about what to do with the textbook after the class was done, as I only had to return them. There was no worrying about the book being worthless if a new edition came out, which was nice! Buying books used was nice occasionally as well just because sometimes I could make my money back.

I recommend Campus Book Rentals if you are looking for textbook rentals. Their rentals are affordable and they make getting the textbooks you need easy.

Read: How To Save Money On Textbooks + Campus Book Rentals Review

6. Skip the high price of living on campus to cut your college budget.

To save more money, I decided to live on my own. I didn’t have the option of living at home after high school and living on campus would have cost me a ton of money.

Instead, I found a very cheap rental house (the house was VERY small and probably could have been considered a tiny home) and was able to somewhat easily commute to work and college from it. I probably saved around $500 a month by living on my own instead of on campus, and I learned a lot by living on my own at a young age as well.

If you can live at home though and want to save money, I highly recommend it if it’s an option for you. You can save thousands of dollars a semester by doing this!

I understand that some are against this because it may impact your “college experience,” but I think most people would be fine not living on campus, especially if it’s not in the budget. You could probably save around $40,000 over the years on your degree by living at home.

How did you cut college costs and control your college budget? How much student loan debt did you have when you graduated?

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Source: makingsenseofcents.com

February 8, 2021

How I Paid Off My $40,000 Student Loan Debt In Less Than One Year

Are you interested in learning how to pay off student loans? Are you looking for the best way to pay off student loans?

Today, I want to talk about how I paid off my student loans, tips to pay off student loans, and answer many of your top questions about how student loans work. best way to pay off student loans

best way to pay off student loans

I graduated college with $40,000 student loan debt, and I paid off my student loans in just 7 months. It’s been several years since I paid them off, but I still receive so many questions about this topic.

There are approximately 45 million student loan borrowers in the U.S. with a total of $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. Yes, that’s trillion.

With so much student loan debt, it’s not surprising that I receive so many questions about how to pay off student loans. Student loans can stay with you for years, and they can affect almost every financial decision you make until they are paid off.

Student loans can prevent you from saving for retirement, make it harder to pay off other types of debt, find the job of your dreams, and so on.

Living with student loan debt can cause a lot of stress, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to pay mine off as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to live with that debt on my shoulders any more.

In this article, you will learn how I paid off my student loans, and while it did take a lot of hard work, it was well worth it.

Paying off my student loans completely changed my life, and it’s something I’ll never regret.

Paying off student loans can lead to many benefits, such as:

Feeling less stress because you no longer have a huge debt hanging over you.
Having the ability to use that money towards other goals in life, such as saving for retirement or buying a home.
Gaining the option to pursue other goals in life, such as traveling more or looking for a better job.

I know these benefits are real because paying off my student loans is one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.

No, it wasn’t easy to pay them off so quickly, but it was definitely worth it. No longer having those monthly payments hanging over my head is a big relief, and it allowed me to eventually leave my day job and travel full-time.

If you’re reading this article, then you’re probably interested in paying off your debt as well.

Below, I’m going to answer some common questions that I’ve received over the years about paying off student loan debt, the steps I took to pay off my student loans in 7 months, along with other questions you may have as well.

How I paid off my student loans.

You will want to read through the steps below if you are asking, “How can I pay off my student loans fast?”

Paying off your student loans so quickly is not easy, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You have to find creative ways to make money, understand exactly how your student loans work, reduce your expenses as much as possible, and make a plan to pay off your loans.

Below are the 8 steps I took to pay off my loans, and then I will answer many of the questions I receive about student loans so you can understand the best way to approach your pay off. As you can see, there are many different student loan repayment methods.

1. Understanding my student loans

First off, I did everything I could to better understand my student loans.

I always think it’s best that you understand your debt so you can find the best strategies to pay it off. Understanding your loans helps you pay off student loans faster and save money over the course of your pay off.

Here’s what you should understand about how student loans work:

Your interest rate. Some student loans have fixed interest rates, whereas others have variable rates. Fixed rates stay the same, and variable rates go up or down based on the market. You’ll want to figure out the interest rates on each of your loans because that may impact the student loan repayment plan you decide on. For example, you might choose to pay off your highest interest rates student loans first so you can pay less money over time.
What a monthly payment means. Many people believe that a monthly payment is all that you have to pay, are allowed to pay, or that by paying just the minimum monthly payment you won’t owe any interest. Those three things are so incorrect! Even if you pay the minimum monthly payment, you will most likely still owe interest charges (unless your interest rate is 0% – but that is very unlikely with student loans).
Student loan reimbursements. Some employers will give you money to put towards your student loans, but you should always do your research before assuming it’s just that simple. Some employers require that you work for them for a certain amount of time, that you have great grades, good attendance, and they might have other requirements as well. There are many employers out there who will pay your student loans back (fully or partially), so definitely look into this option.
Auto-payment plans. For most student loans, you can probably autopay them and receive a discount. Always look into this as you may be able to lower your interest rate by 0.25% on each of your student loans.

Related: How Do Student Loans Work?

2. I added up my total student loan debt

This is probably the most important step. I know that many of you will think I am crazy, but this is crucial to seeing success.

I recommend that you take time to add up the total amount of student loans that you have.

When you total your student loans, do not just estimate how much debt you have.

You should actually pull up each loan and tally everything, down to the penny. By doing so, you will have a much more realistic view of exactly how much you’re dealing with.

Plus, the average person has no idea how much student loan debt they have! Usually, they have far more than they originally thought.

3. I received an easy interest rate deduction

If you automatically pay your student loans each month or consolidate them, then sometimes you can get an interest rate reduction.

With Sallie Mae, I believe the reduction is 0.25%.

That may not seem significant, but it is something! Remember, every little bit counts when it comes to having a good student loan repayment plan.

Related: I recommend that you check out Personal Capital (a free service) if you are interested in gaining control of your financial situation. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your financial situation, your cash flow, detailed graphs, and more. You can also connect accounts, such as your mortgage, bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and more. Plus, it’s FREE.

4. I found ways to make extra money

Making extra money is something I did a lot of back when I had student loans, and it was the big reason for why I was able to pay off $40,000 in student loans in just 7 months.

And, I believe that the fastest way to pay off student loans is to find ways to make extra money.

Making extra money can allow you to pay off your students loans quickly because there is no limit to how much money you can make. When you make money in addition to what you make at your current job, you have that much extra money to put towards your debt repayments.

Every extra bit of money I made went towards paying off my student loans, and I would usually make a payment as soon as the extra money from my side hustles hit my bank account. I did this so I was never tempted to spend that money.

Here are a few of the things I did to make extra money: started this blog and made money from it, sold items on eBay, mystery shopped, had roommates in my house, took paid online surveys, wrote for other websites, and much more.

If you want to learn how to pay off student loans fast, then I definitely recommend that you find ways to make extra money. Here are various ideas you can try:

Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $2.75 per month, plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
Start a business. There are many business ideas that you could start in order to make extra money. You can clean houses, walk dogs, house sit, work as a freelancer, and much more.
Sell your stuff. There are many ways to make money selling things. We all have extra items lying around that can be sold, or you can even search for items that can be bought and resold for a profit.
Rent an extra room in your home. If you have extra space in your house, then you may want to rent it out. Learn more at What You Need To Know About Renting A Room In Your House.
Answer surveys. Survey companies I recommend include Branded Surveys, American Consumer Opinion, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, Prize Rebel. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products.
Find a part-time job. There are many part-time jobs that you may be able to find. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I’ve found a legitimate job through there before), and so on.
Sell crafts. If you’re looking for creative ways to pay off student loans, this one is for you!

Learn more at 80+ Best Side Job Ideas To Make Extra Money.

5. I sought out ways to reduce my expenses

The next step is to pay off student loans faster is to cut your budget. Even though you may have a budget, you should go through it line by line and see what you really do not need to be spending money on.

There’s probably something in your budget you can cut.

Until you look everything over,, you may not realize how much money you are wasting on things you don’t need. And, it’s never too late to start trimming your budget and start putting that money towards important things like paying off student loans!

Even if all you can cut is $100 each month, that is better than nothing. That’s $1,200 a year right there!

Some expenses you may be able to cut include:

Lower your cell phone bill. Instead of paying the $150 or more that you may currently spend on your cell phone bill, there are companies out there like Republic Wireless that offer cell phone service starting at $15. YES, I SAID $15! If you use my Republic Wireless affiliate link, you can change your life and start saving thousands of dollars a year on your cell phone service. If you are interested in hearing more, I created a full review on Republic Wireless. I’ve been using them for over a year and they are great.
Sign up for a website like Rakuten where you can earn CASH BACK for spending how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 cash back!
Pay bills on time. This way you can avoid late fees.
Shop around for insurance. This includes health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, home insurance, and so on. Insurance pricing can vary significantly from one company to the next. The last time we were shopping for car insurance, we found that our old company wanted something like $205 to insure one car each month, whereas the company we switched to charged $50 a month for the same exact coverage.
Save money on food. I joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free) and they send meal plans straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 or less per person.
Fuel savings. Combine your car trips, drive more efficiently, get a fuel efficient car, etc.
Trade in your car for a cheaper one. How much is your monthly car payment, if you have one? This can be an easy way to cut your budget drastically.
Live in a cheaper home. I’m not saying that you need to live in a box, but if you live in a McMansion, then you may want to think about a smaller home. This way you can save money on utility bills and your mortgage payment.
Learn to have more frugal fun. We don’t spend anywhere near the same amount of money on entertainment as we used to. There are plenty of ways to have frugal fun.

6. I created a plan to pay off my student loans

After you have completed the steps above, you’ll want to put it all together and create a plan.

Without a plan, you would just be all over the place, making it difficult to reach your goal of learning how to pay off student loans.

You should create a plan that details the steps you need in order to pay off your student loans, what will happen as you reach each step, when and how you will track your progress, and more.

Here’s what my student loan pay off plan included:

Setting up autopay on my student loans so I never missed a payment. I had autopay set up to pay the minimum payments on each of my student loans, and then I made targeted payments (more on this in the next point) with any extra money.
Paying off the student loans with the highest interest rates first. All of my extra money went towards my student loans with the highest interest rate, and once that loan was paid off, I put the money I was paying towards that loan towards the loan with the next highest interest rate until all of my loans were paid off. This helped me save money on interest charges
Put every bit of extra money towards my student loans. Like I said earlier, any time I made extra money, I immediately made a payment on my student loan debt, even if it was something small like $20. This meant all of my extra money went towards student loans, and I was never tempted to spend it on something else.
I checked my student loan balances a couple of times a month. Seeing my debt go down helped me stay motivated.

This plan took a lot of hard work and dedication, but it’s exactly how I paid my student loans off so quickly.

7. I stayed motivated with my student loan payment plan

For me, motivation was crucial for paying off my student loans. Luckily, I received great satisfaction each time I put even just a little bit towards my student loans.

But, staying motivated can be hard. Motivation is important because it can help you keep your eye on your goal to pay off student loans even when you want to quit, which can happen often during a big debt repayment.

Yes, student loan repayment can seem very stressful when you think about it. Many people owe thousands and thousands of dollars in student loans. It may feel like you are trying to scale a mountain.

However, think about how good life will be once all of your student loan debt is gone.

Please try to not let your student loans get you down. Think positively and attack that debt so that you can pay it off fast!

Trust me, once you finally pay off those expensive student loans, you’ll be much happier.

Some ways to stay motivated while you pay off student loans includes:

Remember the reasons for why you are wanting to pay off your student loan debt.
Make your goal visual with a debt thermometer.
Set smaller goals in between. For example: If your overall goal is to pay off $24,000 in debt in two years, then you might want to aim for $1,000 in debt payoff each month. This seems much more attainable than the $24,000 number, and this can help you stay motivated while still challenging yourself at the same time.
Keep track of your progress.
Think about how you will feel in the future.

As you can see, there are many ways to stay motivated.

8. I paid more than the minimum student loan payment

The key to speeding up your student loan repayment process is that you will need to pay more than the minimum each month.

Most student loans, especially many federal student loans, are set up for a 10 to 20-year repayment plan. But if you want to pay them off faster, then you must pay more than the minimum payment each month.

Not only does paying more than the minimum help you pay off your loans faster, it helps you save money on interest charges. For some people, that can make the difference of thousands of dollars saved over the course of their repayment.

Paying more than the minimum may sound hard, but it really doesn’t have to be. Whatever extra you can afford, you should think about putting it towards your student loans. You may be able to shave years and thousands of dollars off your student loans!

Common questions about the best way to pay off student loans

In this section, I am going to answer common questions that I’ve received about the best way to pay off student loans.

Is it smart to pay off student loans quickly? What is the smartest way to pay student loans?

There are many benefits to paying off your student loans early. For me, I hated the feeling of having all of that debt hanging over my head. No longer feeling that stress was the benefit.

I recommend sitting down and thinking about how paying off student loans quickly could positively change your life too.

It might mean you are eventually able to leave a job you hate, finally buy a house, travel more, retire early, and so on.

How does paying back student loans work?

Most student loans have a 6 month grace period where you don’t have to make your first payment until 6 months after you graduate or if you go to school less than half-time.

But, this all depends on the student loan, so you will want to make sure that you read the terms on your loan.

Even though you may not have to pay back your student loans right away, that doesn’t mean you can’t.

You can start paying back your student loans early, and you can pay more than the minimum monthly payment as well.

Your student loan servicer, whether federal or private student loan lender, will send you information to set up your repayment plan some time in that 6 month period. If you are still in school, I recommend starting to think about how you will pay off your loans.

Federal student loan borrowers have a few different options for paying back their loans, including income-based repayment plans, graduated plans, and so on. You should look into each option to see what makes the most sense for you.

No matter which option you choose, remember that you can always make more than the minimum payment, and that’s what you should do if you want to pay off student loans quickly.

Is it better to save or pay off student loans? Should I pay off my student loans?

A big question when paying off debt is if that should be your sole focus. Should you still be trying to save money while paying off your debt?

Or, should all of the extra money you have be going towards your student loan debt?

You may be wondering things such as:

Should I pay off debt or emergency fund first, as in set some money aside for emergencies?
Should I pay off debt or save up for a downpayment?
Can I pay off debt AND save money at the same time?

And so on and so on.

I paid off my student loans quickly, which meant that I focused entirely on my student loans and completely skipped any other financial goals. It doesn’t mean that’s the best decision for everyone, though.

I know several people who paid off their student loans quickly like me and didn’t have any money saved while they were doing so, and a couple of them wish they had an emergency fund.

It all depends on your situation. If you have kids, health problems, a house, people who rely on you financially, etc., then you may want to have at least an emergency fund.

I recommend reading Pay Off Debt Or Save Money – Is One Better For You? to learn more about this subject.

What other ways can you pay off student loan debt?

If you are looking for other ways to pay off student loan debt, there are plenty of other options.

These may include:

Asking your employer to help pay off your student loans
Refinancing your student loans
Seeking out student loan forgiveness

Below, I will be talking about these options in more detail.

See if your employer will reimburse your student loan debt.

Some companies offer their employees student loan reimbursements. I know of someone who received a $2 bonus for each hour that she worked to put towards her student loans.

$2 may not seem like a lot, but if you work full-time, then that’s over $300 a month (or $3,600 a year!). $300 a month for student loans is a good amount!

And, because it’s free money, it can all be put towards paying off your student loans quickly.

If you are looking for a new job, this may be something you will want to ask about.

Should you refinance your student loans?

By refinancing your student loans, you may qualify for better repayment terms, a lower interest rate, and more. This is great because it may help you pay off your student loans quicker.

This can be a good option if you borrowed private student loans and your credit score is better now than when you originally took out your student loans.

The positives of refinancing student loans include:

One monthly payment to simplify your finances
Lower monthly payments
Lower interest rates, and more

Companies, such as Credible, allow you to refinance your student loans. With refinancing, the average person can save thousands of dollars on their loan, and that’s incredible! You can save a lot of money with student loan refinancing, such as with Credible, especially if you have high interest federal or private loans.

Credible’s platform is similar to the way Expedia works for finding flights – with Credible, you simply search the available rates to find the best student loan rate for you. There is no service fee, no origination fee, and no prepayment penalty if you end up paying off your student loans faster.

To use Credible, it takes less than 10 minutes and just follow these steps:

Fill out a quick simple form (2 mins) – It only takes one form to see the many different lender options.
Choose an option you like (2 mins) – On Credible, you can easily compare the different lenders all in one place.
Provide your loan details (3 mins) – After providing more information about yourself, it takes one business day to receive your finalized offer.

Before refinancing a federal student loan, though, you will want to think about different federal benefits that you may be giving up. You may give up income-based repayment plans, loan forgiveness for those who have certain public service jobs (including jobs at public schools, the military, Peace Corps, and more). By refinancing your federal student loans, you may be giving up any future options for these loan forgiveness programs.

However, keep in mind that by refinancing your student loans, you may receive lower monthly payments, lower interest rates, and more. This may help you pay off your debt much faster.

For me, I didn’t qualify for student loan forgiveness, so refinancing would have definitely helped me if I knew about it back then.

How does student loan forgiveness work?

Teachers, nurses, and government employees may be eligible for student loan forgiveness through a program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). It is only available for Direct Federal Student Loans, including Direct Plus and Direct Consolidation Loans.

To qualify, you must be working full-time, make 10 years of on-time monthly payments under a qualifying repayment program, which includes:

Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)

You will have to certify your income and repayment plan every year, and PSLF does not apply to private student loans.

PSLF is one of the most confusing aspects of how student loans work, so I highly recommend that you contact your student loan servicer as soon as possible. They will explain exactly how to move forward with forgiveness.

Are there grants to pay off student loans?

Yes, there are grants that help people pay off student loans, but most student loan borrowers will not qualify for them.

The kinds of grants available are for health care workers, veterinarians, military personnel and surviving family members, and lawyers (specifically state defenders and prosecutors).

I recommend searching online to learn more about these grants if you fall into one of those categories above.

How long will it take to pay off student loans?

The time it takes to pay off your student loans depends on the kind of repayment plan you are enrolled in. There are 10 and 20-year repayment plans for federal student loans, or you can pay them off early.

As I’ve said, paying your student loans off early can be a very good thing, and you can possibly save thousands of dollars over your loan repayment period.

What do I do when my student loan is paid off?

After my student loan debt was paid off, we celebrated!

Paying off my student loans in full was an amazing feeling for me.

I can’t remember exactly what we did, but I think it involved a nice dinner, haha. Paying off my student loans opened up other doors for me – I felt more comfortable pursuing my side business full-time, as I no longer had a huge monthly debt payment hanging over my head.

For you, you may decide to do other things such as:

Pay off any other debt that you have
Fully fund your emergency fund
Save for retirement

And so on!

I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post on the various ways to pay off student loans, along with the common questions that I have answered.

If you have any questions about how to pay off student loan debt, please leave them as a comment below or send me an email.

Do you want to learn how to pay off your student loans? What other tips do you have on the best way to pay off student loans?

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Source: makingsenseofcents.com

January 31, 2021

How To Save Money On Textbooks + Campus Book Rentals Review

How To Save Money On Textbooks + Campus Book Rentals Review If you are looking for tips on how to save money as a college student, then one of the top things you need to learn is how to save money on textbooks such as through cheap textbook rentals. In this post, I will be including a Campus Book Rentals review because I used this textbook rental company throughout college and was able to save a great amount of money with cheap textbook rentals.

P.S. I also have a Campus Book Rentals coupon code at the end of the post, so do not miss out on this valuable Campus Book Rentals coupon for the best textbook rental company out there!

When I was in college, I always made sure to save as much money as I could. College is expensive, and everyone knows that. The costs can quickly add up. Between the tuition, lab fees, parking fees, textbook costs, and more, college costs can quickly get out of hand.

I know and understand this. I graduated with around $38,000 worth of student loan debt, and that was even with me carefully managing my costs. Thankfully I paid off my student loans (read about how I paid off my student loans within 7 months), but I do like to help others in as many ways as I can.

According to the National Association of College Stores, the average college student spends around $700 per year on the cost of textbooks.

That could be a total of a little less than $3,000 for a 4 year degree just for the cost of textbooks, and as everyone knows, the cost can actually be much higher than that.

I actually think this number that is estimated is wrong, because I don’t really know anyone who bought their college textbooks and only spent $350 or less from their college bookstore on the cost of textbooks. That wouldn’t have even covered two college textbooks for me from my college bookstore.

When I was in college, many of my college textbooks were around the $200 price for just one textbook, and I often took 7 or 8 classes a semester. This means if I paid full price for each book (whether I bought them online or from my college book store), I would have sometimes paid around $1,600 each SEMESTER!

Or $3,200 a YEAR!

That is just insane.

Below are my tips on the best ways to save money on college textbooks:

Rent your college textbooks through cheap textbook rental websites such as Campus Book Rentals.

When I was in college, I saved a great deal of money by renting my college textbooks. As I said above, college textbooks for me were expensive if I were to not shop around and just stick with the expensive books at the college bookstore. Who wants to waste a ton of money on the cost of textbooks by buying them at full price?

NOT ME! You can save a lot of money on the cost of textbooks by renting them instead.

I often rented my college textbooks that were $200 at my college bookstore for less than $50 for the semester. There are definitely some cheap textbook rentals out there!

I often found cheap textbook rentals for $25 as well That is a STEAL! I always used coupon codes as well, as they can be found everywhere. Lucky you, if you keep reading I have a CampusBook Rentals coupon code as well! 🙂

It was easy to rent textbooks online. Here is the step by step process of renting textbooks online and my Campus Book Rentals review:

I just had to find my college textbooks online such as on CampusBookRentals. Campus Book Rentals is the best textbook rental I used when I was in college. They made it easy and have a large college textbook selection for students to choose from so that you find the exact textbook you need.
I would then order the textbook for whatever time frame I needed. You can usually rent them for 45 days, two months, a full semester, or even longer. The longer the time frame, the more expensive they are, of course.
I would use the textbook for a class. Of course, this is not a surprise!
Once you are done with the textbook, all you have to do is return it. You will be provided a return label, so the return shipping is absolutely free. You don’t have to worry about the textbook being outdated, a new edition being published, losing money, etc.

I also have a Campus Book Rentals coupon code for 5% off your total purchase plus FREE SHIPPING if you need one as well. I genuinely believe they are the best textbook rental company out there right now, or else I wouldn’t be writing this whale of a Campus Book Rentals review post. The Campus Book Rentals coupon code is snowfall5. All you have to do is click on my affiliate link (the Campus Book Rentals coupon code only works with the affiliate link) and once you are ready to check out, enter snowfall5 as the Campus Book Rentals promotional code.

Skip the college bookstore for cheap textbook rentals or buy textbooks used.

The college bookstore can be a big rip off. Sorry to everyone who has ever worked at one.

I have three college degrees, and have visited the college bookstore many times to compare prices, and I do not think there was a single occurrence where the price at the college bookstore was cheaper than the price I found somewhere else, such as through CampusBookRentals.

Sell your college textbooks.

Some of you might be saying, well why didn’t you just buy your textbooks used and then sell them back, instead of renting college textbooks? Well, this is because it often turned out that whenever I bought a textbook, the very next semester they would be considered “old” because a new edition would be published. No one really buys old editions of finance books as they are considered “outdated” by many professors.

However, there are many instances where selling your college textbooks can be a great idea, and you can make some money as well. If you are looking to save money in college, then you should learn how to sell your college textbooks back so that they aren’t just hanging out in your house collecting dust.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Campus Book Rentals review and that you learned how to save money on textbooks and a new way on how to save money as a college student.

How do you save money on your college textbooks?

Campus Book Rentals coupon code for the best textbook rental company!

P.S. Here is the Campus Book Rentals coupon again as well since you took your time to read my Campus Book Rentals review. I have a Campus Book Rentals coupon code if you need one for even cheaper cheap textbook rentals. The discount will give you 5% off your total textbook purchase rental plus FREE SHIPPING. The Campus Book Rentals coupon code is snowfall5. All you have to do is click on my affiliate link (the Campus Book Rentals coupon code only works with the affiliate link) and once you are ready to check out, enter snowfall5 as the Campus Book Rentals promotional code. This coupon code is good until April 30, 2015, so you have plenty of time to use it for this semester’s classes.

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Source: makingsenseofcents.com

January 29, 2021

How To Sign a Lease on an Apartment You’ve Never Set Foot In

You finally found The One! After doing the virtual legwork to search for an apartment, you’re ready to take the plunge and sign on the dotted line. But how do you sign a lease on an apartment that you’ve yet to see in person?

“The virtual leasing process doesn’t need to be all that different than if you were able to tour it in person,” says Laurence Jankelow, co-founder and chief operating officer of Avail, an online rental management service.

“Once the virtual showing has been done through Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts, the rest can be done online as well,” he says.

Online applications, credit checks, and deposit payments can make the process of leasing an apartment easier for both renters and landlords or property managers. Even if shelter-in-place orders are keeping you from touring an apartment firsthand, here’s how signing a lease from home would work.

By email

Pre-pandemic, some landlords or property managers may have been slow to embrace technology, but the new normal has forced them to get up to speed. This means leases can be sent to you by email, signed by you, scanned or photographed, and emailed back. You also may have the option of mailing your signed lease.

Some landlords will ask tenants to sign a document stating that they understand the risk of renting an apartment sight unseen, to avoid liability in case the tenant is disappointed in the actual apartment. Experts recommend tenants read the lease carefully and not rush to sign until they are satisfied that all of their questions have been answered.

“Renters should be cautious of any hidden fees above and beyond rent. Some buildings have additional charges for amenities like gym, pool, and parking,” says Liz Goldman with William Raveis Real Estate in Connecticut.

Goldman advises tenants, if not using a real estate agent, to consult an attorney before signing if they don’t understand the terms of the lease. Be sure to keep a copy of all the paperwork that you and the landlord sign as they are official documents.

Rental property website

Many apartment complexes offer the option of signing the lease through the property’s website. But before signing the lease, experts recommend that tenants know the exact location of the apartment being rented and to ask to see it, rather than just a model.

“They are entering in a legally binding contract, so they need to make sure they are comfortable with everything outlined in the lease,” says Adam Goldfarb, chief operating officer at Manco Abbott Real Estate Management and president-elect for the California Apartment Association’s board of directors.

Once you decide to rent the apartment, you can visit the property’s website to begin the process to sign the lease.

For example, at one of Goldfarb’s properties, tenants would go through their general leasing procedures by logging on to the portal, filling out an electronic application, and uploading necessary documents that the on-site staff would review. Then the staff would process the application and schedule the move-in.

“At time of move-in, we would need to verify that our future resident is the person that applied, given the ID that was uploaded,” says Goldfarb.

Digital signature software

Under the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000, digital signatures are legally binding, just like written signatures. Digital signatures allow tenants to sign leases no matter where they are located. Any updates on changes are automatically sent to both parties.

“Digital leases that are state-specific automatically update based on real-time changes to the laws, and can be signed digitally, doing away with the process of printing and faxing documents—or the need to sign a lease in person amid the pandemic,” says Jankelow.

He says the largest risk isn’t the online process of leasing, but rather fraudulent landlords who don’t really manage or own the property. He says renters need to be certain that they’re talking to the real landlord before they sign a lease or pay any money.

“When it comes time to pay the first month’s rent or deposit, never, ever wire money. Wires are nonreturnable. Instead, paying with ACH or credit card, or through a secure, online platform for landlords, is probably the best option,” says Jankelow.

Some common and secure online tools renters use to pay rent and deposits include Yardi, Buildium, AppFolio, and Avail.

Source: realtor.com

January 29, 2021

How Do Student Loans Work? What You Need To Know About Borrowing Money For School

Have you ever wondered how do student loans work?

Maybe you’re thinking about going to school and taking out a student loan, perhaps you are a parent trying to help your child find the best options, or perhaps you are about to start paying down your student loan debt.

Whatever your case may be, I am hoping today’s article will help you learn more about how student loans work, so that you can be prepared for your future.

There are just so many different components to student loans, and it can make it very confusing to understand how student loans work.

There are federal vs. private loans, you can pay them back in a variety of ways, and more.

Student loans are a big part of many people’s lives.

The average amount of student loan debt per borrower is $35,359 and 44.7 million people in the U.S. have student loan debt.

Not only that, but 10.8% of student loan debt is at least 90 days past due, and there is $96.1 billion in Parent PLUS student loan debt.

I’ve talked to lots of different people about student loans over the years, and many of them have borrowed more than they should have or made other decisions about their student loans that have negatively impacted their life for years to come.

Many of those people simply didn’t understand how student loans work.

This is why what I’m sharing with you today is so important. Student loans can follow you around for years, and your student loan debt can impact any other major life decisions you make, like buying a house, having kids, the job you get, retirement, and more.

Knowing how student loans work can help you make the best decisions when borrowing money for school and as you pay them back.

Some of the topics discussed in this article include:

How do you get a student loan?
What is FAFSA?
What’s the difference between federal and private student loans?
How does paying back student loans work?
How does student loan forgiveness work?
Should parents pay for college?
Should parents cosign on student loans?
How else can parents help their children?
Should you refinance your student loans?

In today’s article, you will learn how student loans work so that you can approach student loan debt with as much knowledge as possible.

How do student loans work?

What is a student loan?

If you want to know how do student loans work, the first thing you need to know is exactly what student loans are.

A student loan is a money that is borrowed from the government or a bank to be used for college costs. Student loans may be used for tuition, dormitories (room and board), books, food, or other living expenses.

Student loans have to be paid back.

Before you take out a student loan, you should ask yourself questions such as:

Will I be able to afford these student loan payments when they are due?
What is the interest rate?
When do my monthly student loan payments start?
Does interest build on my student loans while I am in school?

I’m going to explain more about some of these questions in just a minute.

How do you get a student loan? How much do student loans give you?

How do you take out a student loan? How does getting a student loan work?

First, you will want to complete your FAFSA form, which is the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (I will be going more over FAFSA in the next section).

After you have submitted your FAFSA, your school will send you a financial aid offer, which may include student loans, grants, and scholarships. This letter will tell you how to obtain the loans mentioned in your financial aid offer. This will involve selecting the amount you want — you do not have to take the full amount offered, such as if you are able to pay for some of your tuition in cash.

In order to get the student loans you will also have to complete entrance counseling so that you understand your student loans, as well as sign and agree to the terms of the student loans.

When your student loan is approved, first your school will apply the loan funds to your tuition, fees, and dormitory/meal plan. Any money leftover will be returned to you.

I do not recommend taking out more than you need for school costs, as these will add up quickly over the years, and your student loans may explode without you even realizing it.

And, it is very common for your financial aid offer to list a higher student loan amount than what you actually need.

Content related to how student loans work:

What is FAFSA?

Like I said, FAFSA stands for Free Application For Federal Student Aid.

It is a form that is filled out by college students or those who are about to enter college to see if they qualify for financial aid.

After you fill out a FAFSA form and if you qualify for student financial aid, you may be rewarded with a grant, scholarships, loans, and/or a work-study program.

These different awards can help you pay for college.

Here are the FAFSA tips you need to know:

To fill out your FAFSA, you should go to Studentaid.gov.
Pay attention to FAFSA deadlines, which you can find here. Many don’t file their FAFSA on time. Yes, there is a deadline. You should make note of the deadline and try to submit your FAFSA way before the deadline.
Many people make the mistake of not filing out their FAFSA at all. You must fill out your FAFSA if you want to qualify for any kind of money for school.
You need to fill out your FAFSA every year that you attend school. It’s not a one and done type of form. Please, remember to do this each year. I recommend making a note on your phone calendar for the next several years so that you don’t forget.
Collect the documents that you need to fill out your FAFSA form. To fill out your FAFSA, you will need your Social Security number, federal income tax returns, W2s, and asset information.
Make sure everything is correct on your FAFSA form. Double, triple, or even quadruple check your name, address, Social Security number, tax information, and more. Errors can lead to delays in receiving financial aid!
Make sure you contact your financial aid office at the college or university to see if there are any other forms you should fill out with your FAFSA. The financial aid office is there to help you, so do not hesitate to ask questions.

What should I know about student loans?

There are many things to research when you take out student loans or enter a repayment plan. Understanding your interest rates and payments can help you pay off your student loans faster and save money.

Here’s what you should understand about how student loans work:

Your interest rate. Some student loans have fixed interest rates, whereas others might have variable rates. You’ll want to figure out what the interest rate on your loans are because that may impact the student loan repayment plan you decide on. For example, you might choose to pay off your student loans that have the highest interest rates first so that you can pay less money over time.
What a monthly payment means. Many people believe that a monthly payment is all that you have to pay, are allowed to pay, or that by paying just the minimum monthly payment you won’t owe any interest. These three things are so incorrect! Even if you pay the minimum monthly payment, you will most likely still owe interest charges (unless your interest rate is 0% – but that is very unlikely with student loans).
Student loan reimbursements. Some employers will give you money to put towards your student loans, but you should always do your research before assuming it’s just that simple. Some employers require that you work for them for a certain amount of time, you have great grades, good attendance, and they might have other requirements as well. There are many employers out there who will pay your student loans back (fully or partially), so definitely look into this option.
Auto-payment plans. For most student loans, you can probably auto-pay them and receive a discount. Always look into this as you may be able to lower your interest rate by 0.25% on each of your student loans.

How do federal student loans work?

Federal student loans are offered by the U.S. Department of Education, and there are four types of direct loans available. These include:

Direct Subsidized Loan – These are student loans for eligible undergraduate students who have financial need to pay for college.
Direct Unsubsidized Loan – These are student loans for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, but is not based on financial need.
Direct PLUS Loans – These are student loans for graduate and professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students. You do not need to show financial need for a Direct PLUS Loan, but a credit check is required.
Direct Consolidation Loans – These are loans that allow you to combine all of your federal student loans into one loan with one loan servicer.

How do private student loans work?

You may find private student loans through a bank, credit union, or through the college you are going to. How student loans work through a private lender is much closer to how personal loans work.

Your payments may start while you are in school, you may need a cosigner, and your interest rate is sometimes higher than a federal student loan.

How does student loan interest work?

This is one thing many people don’t realize about how student loans work — your student loans may all have different interest rates. The interest rates on your loans depend on the kind of loan you take out and when you borrowed the money.

With Direct Subsidized Loans, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on your loan while you’re in school at least half-time, for the first 6 months after you leave school, and during a period of deferment.

This is different with Direct Unsubsidized Loans in that with Unsubsidized loans, you are responsible for paying the interest during all periods.

How does paying back student loans work?

Most student loans have a 6 month grace period where you don’t have to make your first payment until 6 months after you graduate or if you go to school less than half-time.

But, this all depends on the student loan, so you will want to make sure that you read the terms on your loan.

You’ll want to make sure that your loan servicer(s) has your current address, as you will be required to pay your monthly loan payment once it’s due. Your address may change over the years, so this is extremely important so that you do not forget to pay. I suggest knowing this information before you finish school so you are prepared.

Even though you may not have to pay back your student loans right away, that doesn’t mean you can’t.

You can start paying back your student loans early, and you can pay more than the minimum monthly payment as well. Doing this will help you to pay off your student loans more quickly and possibly save you money.

How does student loan forgiveness work?

To qualify, you must be working full-time, make 10 years of on-time monthly payments under a qualifying repayment program, which include:

Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)

You will have to certify your income and repayment plan every year, and PSLF does not apply to private student loans.

Should parents pay for college?

Do you think parents should help pay for their children’s college education? Do you think parents should be required to pay for their children’s college education?

These are tough questions to ask and to answer, but they are very important when thinking about the ever increasing cost of higher education.

I’ve read countless stories of parents who have $200,000 in student loan debt for their children, and it’s that kind of debt that causes those parents to struggle financially, be unable to reach their retirement goals, etc. These parents end up drowning in debt because they just honestly want to help their children get through college. What they don’t realize, though, is that there are other ways to help your kids graduate from college.

Please don’t be one of the many parents paying for college simply because you think you have to. If you can truly afford it, then do whatever you want with your money.

With everything being said, I must admit that I am not a parent myself, and I understand that it is probably a difficult thing for parents to face.

I believe that parents should only fund their child’s college education if the parent is on track for retirement.

This is because there are multiple ways to pay for college (paying for it with cash, student loans, grants, scholarships, etc.), but there is only one way to fund your retirement.

Remember, you cannot take out a loan for your retirement!

Due to this, you should not wreck your retirement plans to help your children through college. You should analyze your financial situation and see if you are track for retirement to see if helping your children through college is possible.

If it’s not possible, be honest with yourself and your child. Ultimately, what motivates parents paying for college most of all is love for their children. There are many ways to support and show your children how much you love them, and it isn’t just paying for college.

You can learn more at Parents Paying For College – Is This A Good Idea?

Should parents cosign on student loans? How do student loans work for parents?

Here’s an interesting statistic: the default rate on student loan debt averages around 10%.

So, what does this mean? This means that if you cosign a student loan for your child and they default, you will be stuck with the bill. This is one thing I wish more parents knew about how student loans worked before they borrowed money to pay for their child’s tuition.

While you may think that you have a great relationship with your child, everything can change once money is in the mix. In my experience, not many things cause as much tension in family relationships as money does. I have heard of several people who had a falling out with their parents and actually purposely stopped paying their student loans because they knew that their parents would cave in and start paying for them.

Yes, this is a disgusting behavior, I know, but it does happen to some parents paying for college.

College, of course, can be very expensive, which means that many people take out student loans in order to simply “afford it.” Before you cosign on student loan debt and pay for your child’s college education, I hope you fully understand how student loans work and the consequences that can come from taking them out..

Learn more at Would you risk your relationship and finances to cosign?

How else can parents help their children?

If you cannot afford to pay for your child’s tuition while staying on track for retirement, or if you decide that you just do not want to pay for their college expenses, there are many other ways that you can help and support your kids while they are in school.

Some things you can do include:

Emotionally support them. Emotional support means listening to their troubles, giving advice, and helping them come up with a solid financial and college plan. You don’t have to agree with what they’re doing, rather be there when you need them.
Help your child understand personal finance. Teaching simple skills, such as creating a budget, will help your children greatly, not just in college but throughout their adult lives.
Assist your child in learning how to make money. There are tons of ways to make extra money, and helping your children find ways to do so can help them avoid student loans and/or pay them back.
Show your children affordable alternatives. Choosing the right college and the right course of study can be overwhelming for a young person fresh out of high school. For example, your child may only think they should go to an expensive private university, but explain more affordable alternatives, such as going to community college or a state university. These options aren’t any less valuable, and they might actually be better suited for your child’s needs. Also, help them learn about ways to cut college costs as well.
Help your child apply for school and scholarships. Applying for college can feel confusing for kids, but helping them find schools and helping with the application process can make it easier. There are also numerous scholarships that your child may qualify for. Some may require them to write essays, whereas others are based on high school grades. It can take a little work to find which scholarships your child is eligible for, but finding scholarships will help them avoid as many student loans. Also, most scholarships take very little effort and are given away by the college itself, which makes it a no brainer to apply for them!
Help your child in other ways. For some reason, there is this myth out there that parents paying for college have to pay for absolutely everything else too. Set limits instead of paying for their tuition, textbooks, food, dorm, car, and everything else. You might help by giving them emotional support, letting them stay in your home while they are in college, helping them find ways to save money for college, helping them cut their college expenses, paying for something smaller such as textbooks, and more.
Set your child up with a personal finance tracker. Financial trackers and apps are great tools for young people to use to see how they are doing with their finances. Platforms like Personal Capital allow you to aggregate and track all of your financial accounts in one place. While your child might not use their retirement tracker yet, you can sign up too and see where you’re at for retirement. You can sign up for Personal Capital for free here.

Also, there are many great books that you can recommend to your children, such as: Student Loan Solution and Broke Millennial.

Should you refinance your student loans?

Student loan refinancing is when you apply for a new loan that is then used to pay off your other student loans.

This is usually a great option if you borrowed private student loans and your credit score is better now than when you originally took out your student loans.

By refinancing your student loans, you may qualify for better repayment terms, a lower interest rate, and more. This is great because it may help you pay off your student loans quicker.

The positives of refinancing student loans include:

One monthly payment to simplify your finances
Lower monthly payments
Lower interest rates, and more

Companies, such as Credible (this is an affiliate link, and I recommend them), allow you to refinance your student loans. With refinancing, the average person can save thousands of dollars on their loan, and that’s incredible! You can save a lot of money with student loan refinancing, such as with Credible, especially if you have high interest federal or private loans.

To use Credible, it takes less than 10 minutes and just follow these steps:

Fill out a quick simple form (2 mins) – It only takes one form to see the many different lender options.
Choose an option you like (2 mins) – On Credible, you can easily compare the different lenders all in one place.
Provide your loan details (3 mins) – After providing more information about yourself, it takes one business day to receive your finalized offer.

However, keep in mind that by refinancing your student loans, you may receive lower monthly payments, lower interest rates, and more. This may help you pay off your debt much faster. For me, I didn’t qualify for any loan forgiveness, so refinancing would have definitely helped me if I knew about it back then.

What you should think about before you refinance a student loan.

Before you decide to refinance a student loan, I wanted to talk about what choices you have with handling your student loans.

If you want to take advantage of deferment, loan forgiveness, or some other sort of federal student loan program, you may want to think twice before refinancing your federal student loans. For more information, I recommend reading USA Today’s article What careers can get you student loan forgiveness?
Be careful with variable interest rates. While they may seem appealing at times, remember that your interest rate may fluctuate. If you currently have a variable rate, you may want to refinance into a fixed-rate, which can make refinancing a great decision for you.
Refinancing your student loans may lead to increasing your loan term, which can lead to lower monthly payments. However, it can also lead to higher interest charges over the life of your loan.
If your credit is better than it was when you first took out your student loans, you may be able to qualify for better terms and a better interest rate by refinancing your student loans. I recommend shopping around to see what you can get. Start out by checking out Credible!

What to know about student loan debt? Do student loans affect your credit score?

Here are just a few more important things to know about how student loans work, specifically debt.

You cannot get rid of student loan debt through bankruptcy. But unlike other kinds of loans, federal student loans do not have to be paid back by your estate if you die before they are paid in full. That is not the case for private student loans — these must be handled the same way as your mortgage, car loan, etc.

Your student loan debt can affect your credit score, and here’s how:

On-time payments are good for your credit score, but late payments can have a negative impact.
Defaulting on your student loans looks very bad on your credit report and can stay there for 7 years.
Parent PLUS Loans show up on the parent’s credit report, not the students. Keep this in mind if you are taking loans out for your children.

How do student loans work? In summary

Understanding how student loans work is a very important part of borrowing money for school, and there is nothing wrong with borrowing money for school.

Most people simply don’t have enough cash saved to pay for school, and student loans make school more affordable. However, don’t forget that there are scholarships, less expensive schools, grants, and opportunities to make money to pay for school.

When you do need to borrow money from school, only take out what you actually need to borrow. Also, do your research to make sure you are borrowing money at the best rates — very important for private loans.

Your student loans will be with you for several years, so make sure you are making the smartest and most informed decision possible.

What else would you like to know about how student loans work?

*Statistics about student loan debt from Investopedia, Forbes, US Department of Education

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Source: makingsenseofcents.com

January 29, 2021

5 Crucial Questions To Ask Before You Renew Your Rental Lease Right Now

Is your lease almost up? Before you renew your rental contract for another year, there are numerous questions you should consider, particularly in the era of COVID-19.

While signing a new lease should never be done without pondering your current circumstances, the coronavirus pandemic has made it all the more crucial to weigh your options first. After all, COVID-19 may have changed many things about how you live and work—and how well your current space and location suit your needs.

So before you sign on that dotted line of a new lease, consider these questions first to make sure it’s the right decision for you.

1. Can I still afford this rental?

The first and most important question to ask relates to your current financial situation. Are you fearing a layoff or pay cut? Or worse, have you already experienced it? If so, it may be time to consider downsizing to a less expensive rental, or negotiate with your current landlord for a rent reduction. You might be surprised by how accommodating your landlord is right now.

“Landlords are in serious competition for quality renters now,” says Justin Pogue, a residential property manager for nearly 20 years. “With millions unemployed, the pool of qualified renters has shrunk, which may give you the ability to negotiate.”

If you like your apartment but can’t afford it anymore, take a price survey of other apartment communities that meet your livability criteria before your lease is up, says Pogue. “If you find a better deal, ask your landlord to match it.”

Just make sure you’ve done your research first.

“Tenants should only renegotiate their rates after finding another comparable, but cheaper unit,” says Berk Cagatay, an apartment rental manager in Los Angeles. “It’s a good strategy for the renters who want to lock in a low rate before the economy picks back up.”

And if your landlord won’t budge, you may just want to move to less expensive digs.

2. Should I look for a roommate?

If you’re dogged by financial concerns, one of the easiest ways to control monthly expenses is by splitting them. Unless there’s a significant other in the picture, you may want to consider finding a trustworthy roommate or two. They can help you make ends meet, and provide some company in these isolating times.

“You may have dismissed the possibility before, but after living in the solitary confinement of lockdown, having the right roommate just might be more appealing now,” points out Pogue.

Just make sure to clear such a change in your living arrangements with your landlord so this can be reflected in your new lease.

3. Should I negotiate for lower rent where I am, even if I can afford it?

Even if your finances aren’t in jeopardy, negotiating for lower rent is still a smart option if you feel there are better deals to be had out there—or if you’re no longer able to use many of the amenities you once enjoyed, like the building gym or community swimming pool.

“Reach out, and ask for what you want. The worst they can say is no. And in that case, you’re no worse off than when you started,” says Seth Rouch, a landlord in Aurora, CO. In fact, he’d just offered one tenant a monthly discount of $300, totaling $3,600 for the year.

“I did this because they are great tenants,” he explains. “Landlords often confuse themselves, thinking their building is the asset. However, the truth is the tenant is the asset. Without a tenant, I just have an extra house payment.”

4. Does my rental still meet my space needs?

Though cities across the U.S. have slowly opened up, many people are still cooped up at home, either working virtually or home-schooling children. With that in mind, rental units have transformed from places to eat, sleep, and relax to doubling as offices, classrooms, and entertainment areas.

“One of the first questions I would ask is, ‘If I’m working or home-schooling kids from home now, does this rental meet those needs and space requirements?'” says Rob Carrillo, a property manager with Century 21 Haggerty in El Paso, TX.

It’s also worth pondering whether your apartment is conducive to being in quarantine. By that, think about your comfort level inside the space itself for long periods of time and in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Are you in an area where you want to live if you encounter a serious health issue or other crisis?” asks Chris Gold, CEO of Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis. “This virus may stick around for a while, and people should plan for it. Maybe you’d like to be closer to family or emergency services? Or maybe you’d like to get out of the city to live in a place where you are not directly in contact with people on a regular basis?”

5. Should I buy a home instead of renting?

There are numerous reasons why someone may choose to rent instead of buy. However, with interest rates hovering at all-time lows, renters may be surprised to find out they can often save money in the long run if they buy instead of rent.

“I understand down payments may be difficult for some people to come up with,” says Mike Zschunke, a real estate agent in Arizona. “However, it doesn’t hurt to call a mortgage broker to review your current situation. You may realize your situation is different than you initially thought.”

“Always evaluate the opportunity cost of renting versus buying,” adds Michael Chadwick, a licensed real estate salesperson with the Corcoran Group in New York City. “If you are at least four to six months from when your lease expires, and you have the means to buy, consider if you want to continue to dump thousands of dollars into rent when you could be investing in yourself. Despite every crisis in the past 30 or 40 years, home prices on average always rise. You have to play the long game.”

Not sure whether renting or buying is right for you? Use an online rent vs. buy calculator to see what’s cheaper in your area, or check out a home affordability calculator, which helps estimate how much you can afford to spend on a home and monthly mortgage payments.

Source: realtor.com

Category: College

Investing in a College Town Rental Market: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Affordability is Under Fire

The Ann Arbor Rental Market is Vast and Profitable

COVID-19 and Ann Arbor, Michigan

How to Pay Off $130,000 in Parent PLUS Loans for Just $33,000

Nate, the high school math teacher

Double Consolidation

Reducing Nate’s monthly payments

How Parent PLUS borrowers can qualify for forgiveness

Summarizing Nate’s options in dollars and cents

MintFamily with Beth Kobliner: 3 Ways Your Kids Will Redefine the American Dream

1. They’ll rethink what college means—and how to pay for it.

2. They’ll understand that owning your own “home sweet home” is only sweet when you can afford it.

3. They’ll value happiness and independence over a huge paycheck.

How To Save Money On Textbooks + Campus Book Rentals Review

Rent your college textbooks through cheap textbook rental websites such as Campus Book Rentals.

Skip the college bookstore for cheap textbook rentals or buy textbooks used.

Sell your college textbooks.

How do you save money on your college textbooks?

Campus Book Rentals coupon code for the best textbook rental company!

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How To Sign a Lease on an Apartment You’ve Never Set Foot In

By email

Rental property website

Digital signature software

5 Crucial Questions To Ask Before You Renew Your Rental Lease Right Now

1. Can I still afford this rental?

2. Should I look for a roommate?

3. Should I negotiate for lower rent where I am, even if I can afford it?

4. Does my rental still meet my space needs?

5. Should I buy a home instead of renting?

Affordability is Under Fire

The Ann Arbor Rental Market is Vast and Profitable

COVID-19 and Ann Arbor, Michigan

Nate, the high school math teacher

Double Consolidation

Reducing Nate’s monthly payments

How Parent PLUS borrowers can qualify for forgiveness

Summarizing Nate’s options in dollars and cents

1. They’ll rethink what college means—and how to pay for it.

2. They’ll understand that owning your own “home sweet home” is only sweet when you can afford it.

3. They’ll value happiness and independence over a huge paycheck.

4 Issues to Consider Before Using a Credit Card to Pay for College

1. Sky-High Interest Rates

2. Fees Might Negate the Rewards

3. Fewer Repayment Options

4. Effect on Your Credit Score

Be Smart About Paying for School

1. Take classes at a community college to cut college costs.

2. Take advantage of high school classes to lower your college budget.

3. Take all the credits you can to stay within your college budget.

4. Apply for scholarships to lower your college costs.

5. Search for cheaper textbooks to lower your college budget.

6. Skip the high price of living on campus to cut your college budget.

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How I paid off my student loans.

1. Understanding my student loans

2. I added up my total student loan debt

3. I received an easy interest rate deduction

4. I found ways to make extra money

5. I sought out ways to reduce my expenses

6. I created a plan to pay off my student loans

7. I stayed motivated with my student loan payment plan

8. I paid more than the minimum student loan payment

Common questions about the best way to pay off student loans

Is it smart to pay off student loans quickly? What is the smartest way to pay student loans?

How does paying back student loans work?

Is it better to save or pay off student loans? Should I pay off my student loans?

What other ways can you pay off student loan debt?

See if your employer will reimburse your student loan debt.

Should you refinance your student loans?

How does student loan forgiveness work?

Are there grants to pay off student loans?

How long will it take to pay off student loans?

What do I do when my student loan is paid off?

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Rent your college textbooks through cheap textbook rental websites such as Campus Book Rentals.

Skip the college bookstore for cheap textbook rentals or buy textbooks used.

Sell your college textbooks.

How do you save money on your college textbooks?

Campus Book Rentals coupon code for the best textbook rental company!

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Related Articles

By email

Rental property website

Digital signature software

How do student loans work?

What is a student loan?

How do you get a student loan? How much do student loans give you?

What is FAFSA?

What should I know about student loans?

How do federal student loans work?

How do private student loans work?

How does student loan interest work?

How does paying back student loans work?

How does student loan forgiveness work?

Should parents pay for college?

Should parents cosign on student loans? How do student loans work for parents?

How else can parents help their children?

Should you refinance your student loans?

What you should think about before you refinance a student loan.

What to know about student loan debt? Do student loans affect your credit score?

How do student loans work? In summary

Related Posts

Related Articles

1. Can I still afford this rental?

2. Should I look for a roommate?

3. Should I negotiate for lower rent where I am, even if I can afford it?

4. Does my rental still meet my space needs?

5. Should I buy a home instead of renting?