It's not unheard of, surely. But let's get to the basics. There are two student loan types that are made available to financially struggling students. The federal student loan is a loan given by the government, particularly the country's Department of Education's Federal Student Aid program. If you have a federal student loan, this is easier to get debt consolidation for. The second type would be a private student loan. You get this loan from non-government lending institutions. Usually, they charge higher rates compared to those with the federal student loan type so it's harder for debt consolidation specialists to take care of. In this article, we won't bother discussing about how to get a student loan because that's another topic entirely.
So anyway, now you've got your student loan, as well as other bills and you lack enough money to pay things off. Again, that's where debt consolidation comes in. Debt consolidation is also known as bill consolidation, debt negotiation and debt settlement. Usually, the two latter terms somehow end up being connected with illegal means so it's best to stick with debt consolidation for the moment. Debt consolidation is the process of totaling the amount of all your loans and bills put together and asking the help of a debt consolidation specialist to negotiate with your creditors in your behalf.
If you're worried then about paying off your student loan, you now have an alternative. Usually, the school you attended or still attending can give you suggestions on which debt consolidation companies to approach. Failing that, if you've got a federal student loan, you can easily go to the nearest government branch and they can hook you up with a recommended debt consolidation specialist. Since the rates of a federal student loan differs from that of a private one, it is better that you don't refinance the two together.
Now, you can only have your federal student loan consolidated if you're no longer in school, you're not behind payment and minimal amount of loan that you took is $10,000. So if you don't meet one of those three requirements, your student loan can't be part of your debt consolidation program.
When it comes to private student loan types however, it's much more lenient when it comes to requirements but it costs a bit more. If you don't prefer any debt consolidation in particular, Citibank can offer you a program that would benefit you. You can check out StudentLoan.com for more details.
Statistics show that most student loans cost more than your income so this
is at odds with the expectations of private lending institutions who give out
student loans because they believe that your income will go higher as you complete
a higher degree of educational level. Nonetheless, since you already took a
loan and there's no going back, it's entirely understandable that
you see debt consolidation as a solution, even though a lot of debt consolidation
companies nowadays are being sued for fraud and malpractice. The importance
is learning from your mistake. You took a student loan because you believe
it was worth it. So now, you learn if it's worth the financial worry.
And later on, you'll also learn if debt consolidation is worth the risk.
All in a student's day's work.
The Fed Proposes a Rules to Limit Credit Card Fees
The Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that would limit penalty credit card fees - those fees that are imposed when you default on your credit card, e.g. miss a payment. Right now, credit card companies are charging the maximum penalty fee to the majority of their customers. If it's passed by Congress, the new rule could end that practice.
The rule would stop credit card companies from charing fees that are more than the violation. For example, if you go over your limit by $5, your maximum over-the-limit fee would be $5. The rule would stop inactivity fees and prevent cardholders from being charged multiple times for one violation.
You can let the Federal Reserve know what you think about the proposed rule by commenting at their website. Make sure you leave a comment for R-1584.
The Fed Proposes a Rules to Limit Credit Card Fees originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 02:10:52.
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...(more)Watch Out for Unauthorized Charges From iTunes
Note: This news story came out last year, but many readers are still facing problems with fraudulent charges from iTunes.
A MyFox New York story warns about fraudulent credit card and check card charges that appear to be from iTunes. The first signs of the fraud include charges or pending authorizations from a APL*ITUNES business for $1.00 which might seem to be accurate or an email for gift card receipts that were purchased with your account. The fraud is happening to a wide-variety of people who may or may not have an iTunes account. From the news story:
The high-tech scam has claimed victims from New York to California. At the heart of it all is Apple's wildly popular iTunes. Victims say it starts with an unexpected e-mail for purchases they never made. That's how Rachel Katz from Manhattan found out, "I got two emails thanking me for my purchase."
But by the time victims get the e-mail receipt it's usually too late. The receipts appear to be legitimate, and come from Apple, generated by the user's iTunes account. The receipts show purchases for iTunes electronic gift certificates and charges that hit checking accounts, credit cards or PayPal depending on what the user has linked to his or her iTunes account.
Some of the thieves wait for the $1.00 charge to complete before hitting the account with even higher charges. Sending an initial small charge through first allows the thief to determine whether the account is legitimate.
Many victims of the fraud are having trouble fixing the situation. Neither the banks nor Paypal nor Apple accept ownership. Meanwhile, victims are left without hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
Brett Larson with MyFox recommends deleting your credit card information from iTunes. Instead, he suggests you fund your account with an iTunes gift card. The cards can be purchased from many retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. Or, you can make iTunes purchases with single-use credit card number available from your credit card company.
I just deleted my credit card information from iTunes by going to Store --> View My Account. I clicked on Edit Payment information and next to "Credit Card" I selected the radio button next to "None."
If you notice an authorization or charges from Apl*itunes, contact your bank immediately. Here are some Tips to Avoid Credit Card Scams and information about disputing inaccurate credit card charges.
via Consumerist
Watch Out for Unauthorized Charges From iTunes originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 02:05:33.
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...(more)Are Some Creditors Trying to Hide the True Cost of Credit?
Credit card issuers are now required to include credit card repayment time and cost on the front of your billing statement, but they may be trying to skirt that new requirement.
Credit card issuers are now required to give a minimum payment warning letting you know just how much you'll end up paying in interest if you make the minimum payment on your credit card. They also have to clearly state late payment penalties including late fees and penalty rates. Both these disclosures are supposed to be printed on the front of your billing statement.
The rule applies to printed statements and if you check your billing statement online, you might not see the warnings unless you download the PDF version of your statement. Could this be the real reason why some private-label credit card issuers started charging consumers a dollar to receive paper statements?
CreditCards.com reports that back in December of 2009, retailers who issue through Alliance Data Systems gave cardholders the option to get their statements online or pay $1 for paper statements. Of course, there'll be some customers to pay the fee because they can't or won't check their accounts online. The ones who opt for online statements could miss out on vital information about how much they're paying for credit.
Are Some Creditors Trying to Hide the True Cost of Credit? originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 02:42:48.
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...(more)Credit card skimming is a type of credit card theft that allows thieves to steal your credit card information without stealing your credit card. After being hidden in ATMs and other credit card machines, credit card skimmers collect your data in what would have been a legitimate transaction. Waiters, retail clerks, and other customer service representatives can hold skimmers in their hands and swipe when you're not paying attention. Learn more about credit card skimming, how to recognize a skimmer, and how to avoid the theft.
Related Posts:
Beware Credit Card Skimming originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 00:18:06.
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...(more)5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund
It's tax season and for many taxpayers that means a tax refund is due. If you know you're getting a refund, you've probably already started thinking about how you're going to spend it. Buying consumer goods would stimulate the economy, but paying off some credit card debt would stimulate your get-out-of-debt plan. See 5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund for some ideas on what you can do with this year's income tax refund.
5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 00:18:53.
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