Investing in your education is generally a positive action, but it can be stressful (and sometimes scary) to take on a large amount of student loan debt. What’s one way to relieve that anxiety? Gain a better understanding of how student loans work – starting by learning “the language of loans.”
Getting a grasp on certain loan concepts can benefit you in a few ways. For one thing, you’ll be able to better understand your student loan options, which means you can more easily compare features and fine print. That allows you to make confident decisions about your loans and, perhaps most importantly, save some money along the way.
So what are the loan terms every borrower should know? Here are a few of the big ones: (more…)
Want to know the secret to an effective job search? Here it is: There is no secret – at least not one that works for everybody.
Are there best practices? Absolutely, and you probably already know most of them. Are there wrong ways to go about it? Yes, and they’re pretty obvious, too. But if anyone tells you that the secret to getting a job is “doing X to your resume” or “doing Y with your LinkedIn account,” they’re missing a critical point – which is that every candidate is different and therefore needs to take a different approach.
After many years of coaching and placing clients, this idea of job search customization has become the cornerstone of my philosophy. I believe the most important thing a job seeker can do is play to his or her own strengths. The sooner they accept this, the faster they can get their job search on the right track – and the more likely they are to land that dream role.
While there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach, there are a number of key elements that I believe are critical to any effective job search. Here are my five big ones: (more…)
Spring has sprung – at least officially – and with it the urge to open all the windows, break out the broom and clean house. But why stop there? Your finances can also benefit from a little spring cleaning, and it’s something you can do even if it still feels like winter outside.
As a busy young professional, it can be tough to closely monitor your money situation on a daily basis. But if you’re willing to spend a few of these extra daylight hours getting organized, you can save yourself a lot of time, stress and even cold hard cash in the long run. Here are six essential and effective ways to do it:
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One of the scariest things about taking on a large student debt load is the fear of what might happen if you suddenly lose your job. Not only would you have to deal with the stress of finding another one, but you’d have to figure out how to pay that big loan bill each month with no income.
For borrowers facing temporary financial hardship, most federal and some private student loans offer some kind of deferment or forbearance feature. These programs, which generally allow you to suspend or decrease payments for a finite period of time, can provide much-needed relief in emergency situations. But there’s a financial benefit to getting off forbearance quickly because interest typically continues to accrue during the period of non-payment.
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“Diligence is the mother of good luck.” Benjamin Franklin
With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, a lot of people have luck on the brain. Well, luck and green beer, perhaps.
But if you’re one of the 37 million Americans with student loans, you know it’s going to take a lot more than a few four-leaf clovers to make your debt disappear. You wouldn’t rely on winning the lottery in order to pay your loans, would you? Unfortunately, neglecting to understand the various loan repayment options can be just as foolish, because you may be missing out on opportunities to reduce or even eliminate your debt burden. Essentially, leaving your loans to chance could mean leaving money on the table.
Rather than wait around for good fortune to find you, take a proactive approach by seeing if one of these three options apply to you:
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