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Guess How Much: Average College Grad's Student Loan Debt
Recent grads have been having a rough go of the recession-ridden real world. They're competing in a reduced job market and facing increased expenses as student loan repayment rears its head, plus interest. Can you guess how much the average college graduate has to pay back in student loans?
Your Student Debt Load Could Soon Be Lighter
Student loan repayment can be burdensome on tight budgets constricted by modest incomes. The government has developed a program that it hopes will put graduates more at ease about the issue. The Income Based Repayment plan will take effect July 1, and the federal program aims to cap monthly payments at an affordable amount based on income, family size and state of residence.
Guess How Much: Student Loan Debt For New Grads
Higher education comes with a higher cost, year after year. Student loan debt is particularly problematic for new graduates because it's more difficult for them to find employment after graduation. While some can turn to their parents for help in making loan payments, it's not feasible for many families who have been affected by the recession.
Credit Scores by the Numbers: The Good and the Bad
It's simple: the higher your credit score, the lower the interest rates accessible to you. Now that lenders have started being more attentive to the credit histories of potential borrowers, there's one more reason for you to pay more attention, too. Once you know your credit score, you should do everything you can to raise your number so that you save as much money as possible on interest rates.
20 Percent of Homeowners Owe More Than Their Homes' Value
Chances are, if you know several homeowners, at least one of them owes more on her home than it's actually worth. This situation is commonly described as being underwater, because the home cannot be sold to pay off the mortgage. New results from a study composed by First American CoreLogic show that one in five homeowners were in this awful situation as of the end of 2008.
Credit Scores Are Important, but They're Not Everything
When it comes to our financial resumes, consensus is that credit scores are the number one factor that lenders rely on to determine the credit-worthiness of a borrower. After a year of one home foreclosure after another, some mortgage lenders have begun investigating financial habits that tell a bigger story than what the credit score can offer. Find out what has changed in the lending world when you read more
Most Shocking Headline: Graduates Flee US to Escape Student Loans
Graduating with debt isn't the best way to start out in the real world, but it's a reality that many college graduates face. Most grads set up a plan to pay off their student loans within a certain time period, but some of the educated and in-debt have become too overwhelmed by their loans to repay them.
Instead of facing debt collectors, some students with massive debt are choosing to flee the country after they've defaulted on their loans.
Graduates Flee US to Escape Student Loans
Student loans are increasingly necessary for many students to pay for college, but these massive debts are causing some graduates to flee the country. It may seem dramatic, but leaving the country sometimes seems like the only option for grads that have defaulted on their student loans and can't find another way to escape the debt collectors.
CNN Money profiled a student loan fugitive named Chris who got a foreign address to escape his $160,000 student debt from getting a master's degree in music.
Would You Ask Your Family For Down Payment Help?
Many young couples are betting that it's an ideal time to buy their first homes because there's better value on the real estate market, but barriers from banks' stricter requirements have caused them to turn to another lending source. These want-to-be homeowners, many who never asked for financial assistance in their adult lives, are turning to family members for help with down payments and related buying expenses like closing costs and co-op fees. Arguing that the properties will likely appreciate, some of these relatives are obliging with hope of participating in the eventual gain.
Cash Is King When It Comes to Cars
TeamSugar member RosaDilia just financed a new ride and put 20 percent down to secure her loan, and her comment about it not being easy (despite having a good credit score) coincided with a New York Times piece about the issue.
Since July, the average down payment has gone up by about $1,000 for non-luxury vehicles, from $4,946 in the first seven months of the year to $5,915 by the end of September. With credit scarce, many car buyers are foregoing a down payment altogether and simply paying cash for their vehicles.
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