Holy moly, this thing is incredible. I was searching through resources online to help us better understand loans and budgeting and came across this complete pot of gold. This is a packet that perfectly explains so many things: how to set a budget, how to set financial goals, strategies for saving money, tips for managing credit cards, how to handle identity theft, student loan repayment plans and so much more. It's about 38 pages but every single page has important facts and terms you need to know. This thing is so wonderful, I thought it deserved it's own post.
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College is ridiculously expensive. Want to see some scary numbers? It is estimated that you will spend about $38,600 as an in-state student at a four year university. If you plan on going to an out-of-state university, it is estimated that you'll be spending about $99,720. Let's take it up one more notch. If you plan on attending a private university, you'll be dropping a whopping $133,920. Let's crunch some more numbers. I went to IUS and graduated in four years with a B.S. in education. The yearly tuition as an in-state student rang up to $7,072. I also lived in the dorms, which cost $6,775 a year. Books and supplies cost about $1,300 a year. (Keep in mind this number can skyrocket depending on your major. For example, nursing text books are crazy expensive.) After running some estimations, it's fair to say that I spent about $3,200 on personal things such as gas, food and clothing per year. Oh, I also took summer classes twice, which totaled about $3,324. So, after doing way too much addition, I figured the grand total of my college tuition: $76,712. This is where I need to give my parents major credit. They are the reason I know the meaning of hard work and relentless work ethic. Thanks to them, I managed to graduate debt free. However, this is not common. In 2012, 71% of college graduates walked across the stage with student debt. Keep this in mind as you apply for student loans. You are certainly not alone. Student loans are there for a reason. It is a known fact that college is expensive and near impossible to afford on your own as an 18-22 year old. Applying for and using student loans is alright. The key is knowing how to work the system. Hopefully these links will help you figure out what works best for you. FASFA is where it all begins. FASFA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is a form you will need to fill out annually in order to determine whether or not you are eligible for financial student aid. I'm going to be honest with you: this thing is a huge pain. It's tediously detailed and wants to know every single detail of your financial life. Some of you may be thinking that this won't affect you since you haven't had a real job and haven't made much money. You wish. In that case, they want to know everything about your parent's financial status. This being said, this is a form you and your parents will need to work through together. The link below will take you to a fact sheet about FASFA along with the actual form. Go ahead and look through this so you can get an idea about what information you'll need to have come senior year. Figuring out where to begin with student loans can be very intimidating. This document breaks down all the basic information you'll need to start off on the right foot. This is such an awesome resource. It's a document with hyperlinks to tons of awesome fact sheets, infographics, presentations, publications and forms, all designed to help you navigate your way through federal student aid resources. This is definitely something worth reviewing. I found this really simple fact sheet about student loans. It breaks down some important facts in ways that are very easy to understand. If you're like me in the sense that any talk about money sounds like a completely different language, you'll like this. The same website also published a budgeting worksheet that's really easy to work with. Tip: budgeting worksheets are a lifesaver. So are budgeting apps. There are a ton of really wonderful apps out there, most of which are free. Go ahead and start exploring! Student loans may not be the only loans you'll need as your work your way through college. Needing a car loan is a very real possibility. This is a fact sheet about car loans designed to break down some basic facts and help you figure out what exactly you need.
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AuthorHello! Ms. Waiz here. I'm so glad you decided to visit this page! I want to do everything I can to help you succeed in whatever you may choose to do in life. Hopefully this site will help! Archives
April 2017
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