Proper credit card management is necessary for students to progress. By responsibly managing their credit card, students can begin fostering a good credit history, which will be of great aid in the not so distant future. If a student is desirous of purchasing a car or a house, a good credit history would be very helpful to them. Therefore a student should be guided by this when choosing a student’s credit card.

Having knowledge and understanding of how student credit cards work and of those which offer you the best services, will give the student tremendous power. As is so often said, education is the key. This article attempts to educate the student on the best credit cards around for the student and their offers.

• The Citi Mtvu Platinum visa for College Students- This card offers you the chance to earn 5% back (5 thank you points for every dollar spent) for purchases made at movie theaters, restaurants, stores, video rentals, bookstores, music stores. This card offers unique benefits such as up to 2000 reward points twice a year for having a good GPA. It also have a 10% discount on music and entertainment at shop.mtv.com. The card gives you access to exclusive M.T.V stuff like tickets to shows or V.I.P status. Also you can enjoy a six month 0% introductory period for all purchases and balance transfers.

• Citi Forward Student Card- This card also gives you the chance to earn 5% back on purchases made at movie theaters, restaurants, book stores, music stores etc. You also get 1 reward point for every $1 spent on everything else. You can reduce your Apr by 0.25% by staying under your credit limit for three months in a row and paying your bill on time. This card especially rewards good behavior. You get 6000 bonus points after 50 dollars in purchase is made within three months. This card also offers 5000 bonus points when you sign up for paperless statements within three months of account opening

• Discover Student Card-The card offers a 5% unlimited cash back in categories such as gas station, clothing stores and travel. Earn 1% for everything else. It also offers 6 month 0% introductory Apr on all purchases.

• Discover Open Road Card for Students- With this card you can earn 5% cash back on gas and auto repairs. The cash rebate never expires and there is n limit as to how much you can earn. There is also 0% Apr on purchase for the first 6 months.

• Capital One No hassle Cash Rewards for Students- Earn 1% cash back on purchases with no category restrictions. You can also earn a bonus of 25% on the cash back rewards you earn for the year. The cash rebates will never expire and there is no limit to how many rewards you can earn. This card is also offering a 0% A.P.R promotion.

• Those were a list of some of the best credit cards offered to students and their benefits. Remember, choosing a credit depends on how it bests suites you and how capable you are with managing it.

A student’s income will be a key factor in how the student budgets his money. Most college students are on fixed incomes with a set amount from loans and college savings through a college work study program. Working hours can be tedious because of the limited time available and not much money is saved or accumulated. A student may also be tempted to spend the loan money probably for groceries or other expenses than for the loan. Therefore students should keep tuition money separate from their disposable income so that they do not mistakenly spend it. They should also take out less of the student loans so that they can have less to pay off when they graduate.

Having an estimate of all the expenses that a student may possess while in college is another effective budgeting tool. If a student is not aware of all of his expenses, then he would not be able to manage his income wisely and that will result in him being in debt.

You might not have a clue what your expenses are or how to estimate them. You should not worry though; you can visit the students’ affairs office on your campus and they can give you an idea on what an average college expense is like. From there you can begin keeping up with your expenses.

Finally, we will take a look at a major cause of student expenses, “credit cards”. Student credit cards are so popular and accessible today. It is all over campuses with attractive offers but a student need to be aware of the risks involved with these credit cards. Having a credit card may do wonders for your credit history when handled correctly, but it runs the risk of you charging more than you can afford when making purchases. Therefore a student should be thoroughly aware of the interest rates and the repayment conditions before applying for a credit card.

It’s real simple; if a student budget wisely, he will be able to better manage his expenses. All it takes is some commitment and you can save some extra cash.

Any tax refund that may be coming your way can be intercepted by the I.R.S.  The I.R.S takes these tax refunds from your income tax if you fail to pay for your student loans. This is a favored method by the government in that it collects hundreds of millions of dollars annually.  Challenges can be made to tax refund offsets in which legal actions can be taken.

The government can ‘garnish’ your paycheck. That is, government can acquire portions of your paycheck to resolve your loan I default. Government is allowed by law to take up to 15%. However it cannot take more than 30 times the current minimum wage. You can also legally object to your paycheck being garnished. You can contact a local law firm for more information. You can also avoid garnishment by contacting your creditor so you can organize a repayment of your loan.

Failing to pay for student loans can lead to some of your federal benefits being stripped from you. Government can take away some of your benefits such as social security, retirement and even disability benefits that you may possess to reimburse student loans.

Or government can do it the all-American way and sue you for the loan accrued. Private lenders as well can file for a lawsuit for default loans. There is no time limit for the collection of student loans therefore you can be sued indefinitely. This can be very stressful being taken to court by the government. You’ll have to pay for a lawyer which will be added cost if you lose the lawsuit. There is not much you can do to defer a lawsuit by the government, so this method can be very difficult for you when your student loan is default.

To conclude, those are the main tools used by the government to retrieve outstanding loans. It is wise if you are not in debt to consolidate your monthly payments so you can better manage it. Also setting a budget and having an estimate of the expenses accrued can also be helpful in managing your debts.

If your student loan has defaulted you should contact the Department Of Education’s Ombudsman. He may be able to guide you through the steps of resolving your debt.

You may be wondering from the great beyond that your family has expenses of their own, how can they possibly manage to pay off this huge debt and probably they might have to take the money from out of their own pockets. Usually that is not the case; creditors normally go after family assets such as estates and properties so they can retrieve the money owed to them legally. Basically they take away your family’s inheritance, so now they probably hate you more having nothing to inherit. However if there is no assets the family will not inherit the debts, but it will cancel out. The deceased must now have no money in a bank account, stocks, bonds or CDs. He must not have any large items in his possession such as a car or it will be sold to pay for the debt.

Spouses however are made liable in some cases to pay for their spouses debts. This occurs in community property states. Some community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Only debts occur during the marriage are held against the spouse. In that case, if you are living in community property state I think its best you move.

Joint accounts or joint debts will also fall on the spouse or another family member that is alive. Because of the legal ties the debt may have to be paid off in full even if the debt was caused by the deceased. This may especially tedious for loved ones who have to manage current expenses and now this debt .

You must be wondering is there anything that can be done and if so why hasn’t this writer tell me already. Like all good writers do, you usually save the best for last. It is impossible to prepare for an unexpected debt but they are a number of things a family can take into consideration. The debtor needs to bring his debt to his family’s attention. He needs to notify them of how much he’s accrued over the period in question and  who is the creditor. With this information the family can now strategically plan their future goals around your debt so in case you take the long sleep they will be financially secured.

• Subsidized loans- Under this loan scheme the government intervenes on the behalf of the student to pay for the interest while the student is enrolled in school. The student however, after the grace period is up, will need to repay the loan and the interest accrued over the period of time. This makes this loan scheme a very good one, in that the student does not have to pay interest during enrollment, but can use that time to accumulate cash and concentrate on studies as you should.
• Unsubsidized Loans- Unlike the subsidized loan with this loan the student has to take it upon himself for the interest that is accrued on the loan while they are in school. This is not a need base loan so students may be eligible for the loan even if they do not show a financial need for the loan. This makes this loan scheme a great one as well. Along with that it also offers lower interest rates than the subsidized loan scheme.
• Federal Perkin Loans- This is a type of student loan that s available to the graduate and the undergraduate student. Unlike the unsubsidized loan scheme the applicants must have some financial need in order to qualify for this sort of loan. It is a low interest loan for students that have special needs. The funds are disbursed from the school and must be paid o the school.
• Federal Plus Loans for Parents- This is a loan borrowed by a parent on the behalf of a child to help pay for tuition or other related expenses.  The student must be enrolled at least half time and the parent must pass credit test. Parent s may be eligible for this loan irrespective financial need and income
• The Federal Consolidation loan- This loan scheme gives the borrower the option to consolidate loans and pay lower monthly interest rates. This loan scheme is a great one because it removes the fatigue of paying to more than one creditor a month.
• The Federal nursing Loan- This loan scheme provides nurses with loans who wish to study at modest interest rates and flexible repayment options. In some cases the student can cancel loans giving plausible reasons.
• Private Student Loans- Borrowers will need good credit in order to be eligible for loans. This allows borrowers to borrow more than they could when using federal loans. This is therefore a great loan scheme given the access to money.

These are the best loans that are available today. It all depends on your financial position, goals and aspiration and last but not least, your credit to decide which one to choose.

Refinancing your loans is really simple. When you refinance your loans you are basically setting new terms for your loan payments. This also involves loan consolidation where payments are consolidated to one creditor usually at the end of the month. Refinancing your loan is basically doing one of two things. Either you are lowering the interest rates or you are seeking extension on loan terms.

Unlike the student loan consolidation your credit score plays a major part on how your loan is refinanced. If a student possesses a good credit history this will amplify his chances of having very low interest rates, while on the other hand having a poor credit history will make it very difficult in obtaining low interest rates. It will be les fatiguing and hassle free if the student possesses a strong credit history.

Refinancing is done at most lenders and credit unions; however, you must be assured of the legitimacy of the place of business to bar against any fraudulent activities. Therefore research should be done on the lenders and the term that they are offering so as to ensure that it coincides with regular terms. By doing this you will be able to select the best lender that fits your needs as well as being financially secured.

The best time to refinance your student loan is during the post graduation grace period. Why? During this period your interest rates will be.60% less if you refinance at this time. After graduation students are entitled to a six month grace period before they must begin repaying their loans. When you refinance during the grace period you will lock those rates for the entire repayment period.

In order to refinance loans cannot be in default. When you are refinancing student loans, the payments must be current and not in default. Loans that are current have no payments due and may include deferment or forbearance and the grace period if you are overdue on any payments try to make contact with your lender about securing a hardship deferment. Most lenders will make the adjustment to bring you loans current so you can begin to refinance.

These are just a few points on what refinancing is all about and some things you can take note of in order to best refinance your student loans

Private student loan consolidation should not be confused with federal loan consolidation. As the word private suggest, this loan scheme has no government backing and also excludes some of the benefits of the federal loan consolidation. This loan scheme is handled by a private company.

Some Benefits of the private student loan consolidation

• Lower Monthly Payments- under the private student loan consolidation borrowers can reduce their monthly payments by extending the repayment term of their private student loan debt. This will help a borrower save a few bucks.
• Reduced Interest Rates- Borrowers with improving credit may significantly reduce their interest rates. Private companies tend to be more lenient to borrowers with good credit scores lowering the interest rate. However existing loan holders will not reduce your interest rates even if your credit has improved. Therefore it pays to have a good credit
• Rate Reductions- Borrowers can choose to apply on their own or with a co-signer with a good credit.  Borrowers and co-signers will superior credit will receive lower Apr loans.
• Internship/Residency or Military deferment- Under the private student loan consolidation a 48 month deferment for dental/medical residents and a 36 month deferral for all active duty military personnel is available. Perfect time to join the army.
• Repayment Term- Undergraduate borrowers may receive up to 25 years repayment term which offers the lowest possible monthly payment and student borrowers may receive up to a 30 year payment term.
• No prepayment penalties- All payments in excess of scheduled payments go directly to principal

Getting an education can be very expensive but we must find ways to cut cost. The student loan consolidation helps the borrower to cut costs in so many different areas. It can lower the interest rates and it is also rewards good credit scores. These benefits are all great but the most obvious and beneficial is that the debtor will be accountable to one debtor at the end of the month. This will save the student some money.

Subsidized student loans are loans for which the borrower does not have to pay interest while student is enrolled in school. That period is referred to as the grace period, during which nothing will be required of the student, but the federal government pays the interest on the student’s behalf.  After this period has expired and the student has probably graduated the student will be required to pay for the loans and interests outstanding.  The borrower has a lofty ten (10) year period to repay the outstanding student loan. It would be wise however, to begin repaying as quickly as possible because we all know how time flies. The student therefore, if he manages his resources wisely should be more than capable of handling the debt  seeing that government will be handling interest cost for him. It would be wise to save money accumulated from part time jobs and sources of income during the time of enrollment. It would then put the student at a great advantage to begin repaying accrued arrears. This government intervention is the main reason for subsidized student loans being better than the unsubsidized student loans.

On the other hand with the unsubsidized student loans the borrower pays the interest on the loan as soon as the money is received. Student does not have the option for government intervention but has to cover cost alone. You are allowed to accumulate the interest and it will be added to your principal student loan.  Sometimes the student is offered the option of paying interest only, during their time in school. Under the unsubsidized loan scheme the borrower has up to ten (10) years to repay their unsubsidized loans. The borrower is now burdened with the task of paying the loan borrowed and the interest accumulated. The upside to borrowing from unsubsidized loans is that the interest rates are much lower than the subsidized loans. It is also easy for students to take out these loans because it is not based on any financial needs. That is government does not require perfect credit scores for students to take out these loans. This can be a disadvantage however, because this encourages students to defer arrear payments. The student will have added debt and may find himself with bad credit and other agencies refusing to give loans. Another disadvantage is students are faced with constant payments of the interest accrued making it difficult to accumulate money to pay for the loan. While the subsidized student has government intervention to help him out, the unsubsidized student has to find other means in which to pay for the loan.

Thirdly, a major deciding factor on the loan scheme a student chooses will be that of death and disability. Under the Grad plus loan scheme students are sometimes discharged of the debt given a fatality occurrence or if the borrower becomes totally disabled. This is not a go throw your self off a bridge so you’ll be discharged from your debt moment however. The disability must be credible and the debt will only be discharged under the consent or approval of the lender. Let’s see how this stacks up to private student loans. Private loans are not insured against death or disability; however it may be available at an extra cost to the borrower. Just think, fluctuating interests rate plus added cost for a sustained injury and on top of all that a broken leg!

Finally, an examination of the repayment options factor. This under the Grad plus loans is effective when borrowers cease to be enrolled. Borrowers are offered up to 25 years to repay due to flexible repayment schemes. A repayment option with the student loan schemes often begins within 45 days of disimbursement. Most lenders offer interest only repayment options and some offer full deferment of interests during enrollment.

To conclude, the loan schemes have contrasting differences. One is straight forward in what it offers, with a more take it or leave it kind of setting and the other seems to be more deceptive hiding hidden costs and its intent to make a profit. The choice comes down to you and what factors motivates you in taking the right scheme.

Firstly, the federal Grad plus offers you fixed interest rates to pay for your loans, which is currently 8.5%. Having the rates fixed will allow students to better forecast their financial future in terms of paying the loan back and it will allow students to also plan relative means as to ascertain the money needed to reimburse the loan. The interest rate will be the determining factor for the student deciding upon a loan. Without knowing what the interest rate is students will be unable to project future costs and will be unable to properly combat those costs unless perhaps you’re rich! Private student loans provide a student with variable interest rates which could exceed 8.5%.

Now the reverse could also occur, a student may be required to pay less in interest but the system leaves a student in the dark. That’s actually the point of the interest rate being a variable. It is to lure students by the prospects of paying a low interest rate. If you are the kind that likes to take chances with your financial future by every means go right ahead with the private loans, but if you like stability and knowing exactly what you’re bargaining for then the Grad plus loans are for you!

Eligibility is another major factor in determining the loan scheme a student desires. You’ll find the Grad plus loan scheme being more up front in exactly what their looking for in a student. A student must meet eligibility for federal loans. A student must not possess any adverse credit which is arrears outstanding for a period of 90 days or more. Also, having a credit report that shows foreclosure, repossession, tax lien or any other outstanding debts will not be helpful. Surely you would not lend to a guy who borrowed twenty dollars from you, took five years to pay it back and now wants to borrow five hundred dollars! We all know you’re not getting that back. Thus your background has to be of good report to be eligible for a grad plus loan…to be continued