Two grants available for students

Loyola students are eligible for two new federal government student loan repayment programs — the Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs, both part of the College Cost Reduction Access Act passed by the Bush administration in 2007 and became effective on July 1, 2009.

All Loyola students with direct or guaranteed loans (Stafford, Grad Plus, federal Consolidation and certain Perkins loans) are automatically eligible for both programs.
The first program is designed to make it easier for students to pay back their federal student loans by adjusting monthly payments according to income and family size.
According to the federal Department of Education, monthly payments are now determined by a calculator that computes a number based on “15 percent of the difference between the borrower's Adjusted Gross Income and 150 percent of the Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines.”

Under the Income-Based Repayment program, if students are earning below 150 percent of the poverty level they will not have to make any monthly payments toward their loans. However, each year participants are required to submit current financial information which recalculates monthly payments. If participants continue to make monthly payments after 25 consecutive years in a timely manner, they are forgiven of any remaining debt.

One disadvantage is that students will make smaller payments on their loans, lengthening the period of time they spend paying them off and therefore increasing the amount of interest their loans gain. Despite debt inflation however, participants are not required to pay any remaining balances after 240 consecutive payments.

Giving back students who choose careers in public service after graduation may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. After working full-time for a qualifying public service organization for 10 consecutive years while making continual loan payments, participants are forgiven of any remaining federal student loan debt.
Jobs which qualify as public service are determined by the Federal Student Aid Department and may range from any federal, state or government jobs to privately employed educators and public health professionals. To qualify as a full-time employee, borrowers must work at least 30 hours a week for either a single public service job or part-time for multiple public service jobs totaling 30 hours per week.

According to the Federal Student Aid Department, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program “was created to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full-time in public service jobs.”

Other federal loans may be eligible under certain conditions. Students eager to determine if they qualify for these new programs should contact their loan provider or visit the Office of Financial Aid.

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School Loan Consolidation - Easiest Way To Get Federal College Student Loan Consolidation Rate

Many civilians are talking approximately college reader credit consolidation currently. What is it about? What does "consolidate" mean? It processes lump everything together. Student debt consolidation processes mix everybody your learn credit debts into ONE gross credit amount. Then you shall be making your repayment within ONE size every month based onto ONE interest rate within a fixed period of time. The most problematic labor here is how towards elicit the greatest rate for your reader credit consolidation. Here are a number of mere tips towards earn your procedure easier.

Step 1:

• Gather everybody the detailed information approximately everybody your different reader debts. If you possess both federal government credit and confidential credit, discern them former and put the priority onto federal reader loans. Write down the size of each of your reader loans together with the name of lenders and the latest credit fund numbers. Include the excellent balances as well. Then compose down each of the interest rates nearby the credit amount.

Step 2:

• Start evaluating the credit consolidation rate based onto the weighted medium of everybody interest rates. You may try towards calculate it onto your own. If you totally don't possess any suggestion approximately the formula, you can get the rates easily online. Many lenders bid online credit calculator for public. You can get an evaluate figure of your monthly fee, novel interest rate and the terms of your novel credit easily across internet.

Step 3:

• Where can you "place" everybody your loans? It is sensible for you towards activate with banks and a number of financial institutions you know. Call or trip the banks personally towards consult the credit officers within order towards get many items approximately the interest rates and repayment period.

Step 4:

• After doing your market innovation, activate comparing everybody the packages offered. The comparisons should be based onto the interest rates, repayment period, uses as well as additional terms onto the policies. Analyze everybody the related facts carefully. Interest rates shall be the key factor.

Step 5:

• Once you possess made up your mind, submit the application form towards the bank you prefer and wait for approval. The last pace shall be signing the terms and promissory note.

It is meaningful for you towards keep within mind that latest regulation specifies that you can alone consolidate your learn loans once. Make sure you are additions careful within selecting the consolidation rate so that you can retain the most within the long run.



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Four big money mistakes to avoid

Who hasn't made a financial mistake or two in their life? For some of us it was more than an occasional late fee or random urge to overspend that brought us to our financial knees.

Whether you're recovering from a season of unemployment or from a financial mess you created on your own, avoid the goofs and get where you want to go much faster. Woman's Day offers some mistakes to avoid and solutions to the issues:

1. Not Saving – You've heard this plenty, and here it comes again: Jump to the front of the line – ahead of your creditors- when you divvy up your paycheck. Get over feeling guilty about keeping money for yourself. You need a fat emergency fund, and the only way to build it to pay yourself first. Stuff happens and if you're not financially prepared for those emergencies, you'll keep falling back into debt.

Solution - Put your saving on autopilot – you won't miss what you don't see. Commit to saving 10 percent of every paycheck. If you can't start there, start with 2 percent. Then in a few weeks, change it 5 percent, then 7 and so forth, until you reach at least 10 percent.

2. Paying for College - If you must make a choice between adequately funding your own retirement and paying for your kids' college education, put retirement first. Contributing to college funds, going into debt by cosigning for student loans or taking out a home equity loan to cover tuition before you've taken care of your own future are huge blunders. The best gift you can give your kids is to make sure you won't become a financial burden to them in your sunset years.

Solution - Kids have far more options for funding their college education than you have for your retirement. They've got scholarships, grants, financial aid, student loans, work-study programs and the not-to-be-forgotten method of working their way through college. Once your own future is secure and you're out of debt, that's when you're in a position to help pay for education. Use the free Retirement Calculator at moneycentral.msn.com/retire/planner.aspx to determine how much you need to be setting aside for retirement each month.

3. Refinancing a fixed-rate mortgage – With mortgage rates at a 50-year low, it's tempting to refinance to get a lower monthly payment. But before you do that, ask yourself this: Can you take the difference between the payment you have now and the lower payment and use it to repay all your financing costs within 24 months? The average closing cost is 2.5 to 5 percent on a $150,000 loan ($3,750) to $7,500), but the percentage usually goes down as the loan increases. Divide the amount you'll save each month in to the closing cost. If the result is more than 24, you'll be making a big mistake by refinancing. Even worse, refinancing with this lower monthly payment will reset the clock, putting you back on a 30 year payback schedule. Your goal should be to pay off the home so you own it free and clear before you retire. If you're 10 years from paying off your home and you refinance to get a lower monthly payment – but you end up with a 30 year term – you'll be making those new "lower" payments for an additional 20 years! If the payment is, say, $2000, you'll end up paying an additional $480,000 just because you refinanced and reset the clock.

Solution- If you do the math and it works out in your favor, go ahead and refinance – but keep making the original, larger mortgage payments you've been making all along. Now, that lower payment will make an authentic, financially wise difference. You've managed to outsmart that reset clock and the extra interest that comes with it.

4. Debt consolidation – Sounds great, but more often than not, that's a big faux pas. Low-rate consolidation loans are typically tied to something of value like your home's equity. Bad enough, but here's the real problem: the financially immature person gets the equity loan and then keeps using those credit cards. In no time, the balances creep back to the limit. And that means double trouble.

Solution – Forget about consolidating old debt into new debt. Instead, get serious about cutting your spending so you can pay off the debts you have as quickly as possible. If you have a good payment history, call the creditor and ask for a lower interest rate. You never know – you just might get it!


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Your Budget Solution? The Envelope Please . . .

What do you want to be when you grow up? A common response is, “I don’t want to grow up.” Well, Tinkerbell, it’s time to wake up. Peter Pan only lives in Disney movies and in the imagination of small children.

It’s time to grow up, whether you want to or not. You’re an adult. You now belong to the YOYO world – You’re On Your Own. Your mommy isn’t going to take care of you forever. The democrats aren’t going to take care of you – even though they’ll try because they think we’re all helpless idiots.

Here’s another question: What do you want to be when you grow old? If you don’t take care of your money, and plan for the future, your retirement years will be filled with countless hours on your feet saying, “Welcome to Walmart” about 1,000 times a day.

The first step to fiscal responsibility (there’s that “R” word again) is to make the most of the money you make. You likely have a pile of bills that need to be paid. It’s also likely that, from month to month, you’re not sure if there is enough to pay all those bills.

Prioritize Your Bills

The idea is to prioritize how you spend the money you have coming in. You’ll need to sit down with your better half and create a budget. What is most important? -- shelter, utilities, groceries and health. If there’s anything left after you’ve paid these bills, then perhaps you can take care of some other obligations.

A very effective method of creating, and sticking to, a budget is the “envelope” method. Take a handful of #10 business size envelopes and label each envelope for each priority. As the money comes in, put the exact amount of money going toward the mortgage in the envelope labeled “mortgage.” Do the same for utilities, groceries, transportation, etc. This isn’t rocket science.

What It Takes

With limited funds coming into the household, you have to cut back on spending to make ends meet. Sacrifices have to be made. It may be painful, but you don’t really have a choice. It will take commitment; a sense of awareness and a large dose of self-discipline. It will come from deep inside. You’re not going to develop these qualities from watching a few hours of Dr. Phil.

No cheating! There’s no stealing money from the “groceries” envelope to take the family to the Beavis and Butthead Theme Park. No stealing money from the “mortgage” envelope to buy that win ticket on Woe Is Me in the fourth race at Belmont.

You’ll need to say “NO” to eating out, “NO” to vacations, “NO” to watching QVC at 3 a.m., “NO” to those lap dances, and “NO” to everything else that doesn’t address your priorities.

If you have anything left, after taking care of the survival essentials, you’re doing pretty well. You can begin to deal with other financial clouds that may be hovering over your life. Your first objective should be to pay down the balance on your highest interest credit card. That’s costing you a fortune in interest every month. Hopefully, you’ve already explored the possibility of moving your credit card debt to one of those Zero or low-interest cards. I’ve seen people juggle their debt for a year or more by moving it around from company to company. Be careful, though. Always read the fine print on those offers. Also, be very wary of those hustling debt consolidation.

The “envelope” method is simple and straightforward. If you do have money left over, sock it away. You should be building up an emergency fund of three to six months of living expenses. In life, mierde happens. Count on it. And it will happen at the least convenient time. You have to be prepared to clean it up and paper towels won’t help. To use a football analogy, you can’t play offense without the ball. Until then, you need to play solid defense.

Obama just gave a speech acknowledging how we, as a country, have to cut back on Federal spending. He just projected a budget for 2010 of $3.55 trillion. That’s more zeroes than I can comprehend. He’s going to need more than envelopes to make this work. He’ll need a genie and all three wishes.

Obama went on to outline in how he plans to cut spending by a whopping $17 billion. Tons of cuts will have to be made. Sounds like a lot, right? It sure did to me. Then I got out my calculator. The $17 billion amounts to less than one half of one percent of the $3.55 trillion budget. It’s like a fly on an elephant’s butt. Who is he kidding?

About 100 days into his presidential term, Obama desperately wants to be a hero. He promised change. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who didn’t blink an eye at spending a reported $170 million for his inauguration. It seems like that might have been a good place to start, if he was serious.

Some hero. It’s pretty clear that our kids and our kid’s kids will be paying taxes to cover his spending programs for generations to come. I hope I’m wrong. Folks, it might be a very long four years.

However, you can be a hero in your own household. The changes don’t have to be as dramatic. Take a deep breath, buy a box of envelopes and give it a shot. You can do it.

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New Laws Went Into Effect this Week with Hopes of Warding Off More Credit Card Debt for Consumers

Significant pieces of the new credit card law went into effect this week with hopes of assisting consumers with their credit card debt. As more are sinking into debt, many are looking for a bankruptcy alternative or credit card debt consolidation options. The new laws may help some avoid these steps. CreditCardDebt.org offers a resource for consumers and updates on the latest news.

The two largest changes are the billing notice and the new terms on fees. Credit card companies must now mail cardholders’ bills at least 21 days before a payment is due. The previous law was 14 days. In addition, cardholders will receive 45 days notice on changes in rates or fees occurring rather than the previous 15 days. Many credit card companies have already begun the process of notification.

A second major change is that cardholders do not need to accept the new terms issued by credit card companies. When a cardholder receives notice about increased rates or fees, they can reject them. However, this comes with stipulations. The cardholder must no longer use the card and the balance must be paid back at the old rates with in five years.

If the balance is not paid back in the given time frame, many additional fees may be added to the card. Before deciding to reject the fees or rates, a cardholder should fully understand the specific terms. By rejecting the changes and setting up a feasible repayment plan, possibly through a credit card debt consolidation plan, this can be a viable option as a bankruptcy alternative.

About CreditCardDebt.org:
CreditCardDebt.org is a resource center dedicated to helping people with their credit card debt. The site offers debt information, a glossary of terms, a credit card debt calculator, information on latest news and reforms, an advocacy center and additional resources to help consumers find their way out of debt. CreditCardDebt.org is committed to helping people regain control of their financial life.


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Acronis Deduplication Calculator Measures Storage Savings

Driven by overwhelming customer acceptance of the data deduplication capabilities in the newly-launched Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, Acronis has unveiled an online calculator to quickly estimate the storage savings an organisation can achieve using the deduplication technology to cut storage requirements.

The deduplication calculator prompts the user for the number of servers and workstations being backed up, the data change rate, and the cost of data storage. Based on the information, the user can get estimates of the storage space savings, the storage cost savings and the percentage of savings through deduplication.

As an example of the benefits of deduplication, a customer with 10 servers and 2TB of data that changes 5 percent per day and is kept for four weeks, will save about $25,000 in storage costs annually. Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 software licences with premium support would only cost $21,250 for this particular IT environment.

“Data deduplication is one of the hottest technologies in IT because it can save an organisation hundreds of thousands of dollars. This online calculator is designed to provide businesses with an effective tool to get an understanding of their storage costs and measure the potential savings with deduplication,” said Bill Taylor-Mountford, General Manager of Acronis Australia and New Zealand. “By introducing an affordable software-based deduplication solution, we expect that businesses of all sizes in ANZ will be able to benefit from this technology.”

In announcing Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, Acronis expanded its award-winning, patented disk imaging and bare-metal restore technology to meet the needs of both small and large organisations through a new user interface, improved virtualisation support, enhanced operation manageability and increased scalability.

“Acronis Backup & Recovery 10’s new integrated data deduplication and impressive group policy management capabilities make this product unique. The software deduplication offers similar compression rates to appliance-based deduplication solutions and has vastly decreased the volume of backups, in turn reducing storage space requirements,” said Marko Tarvainen, a global telecom specialist Finn Telecom, a beta tester of the product. “In addition, the new central management console and intuitive interface makes it much easier to oversee tasks.”

Acronis has also announced a limited-time competitive upgrade program of as much as 50 percent off for customers who move to Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 from other backup solutions. Please contact Acronis or its partners for eligibility.

Further Information about Acronis Backup & Recovery 10

Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 deduplication technology is software based and does not require the need to purchase additional hardware. It includes deduplication at the source or target level, and is priced by machine not by CPU or storage capacity.

Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 offers both file level and block level deduplication. File level deduplication eliminates redundant files on machines and block level deduplication which eliminates redundant data patterns at the sector level.

Recommended prices range from $129 for the stand-alone workstation edition up to $1,649 for the advanced server version, including centralised management capabilities. Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 with Deduplication and Universal Restore, prices range from $179 per workstation up to $2,199 per server. Acronis corporate products include one year of Acronis Advantage Premier, 24x7x365 priority support.


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Debt Consolidation: What Advantages Do Debt Consolidation Loans Offer?

Using debt consolidation loans, as I am sure you are aware, is the technique of combining many smaller loans, or any other line of credit, and using a single loan often from a different lender, to pay them all off.

You will be able to find debt consolidation loans to apply for online or from any local lenders that provide debt consolidation loans. Though, having said that, the advantages of using an online lender do seem to be more beneficial than those gained by using a high street lender as online debt consolidation loans do provide benefits that you may well not be able to find with other forms of debt consolidations.

These are the benefits that an online debt consolidation loan offers:

• When applying to lenders online you will find that the interest rates applied to debt consolidation loans are usually lower.

• The borrower's information often remains confidential which can help those borrowers with a bad credit history a great deal.

• Whilst working with an online loan provider you have the use of features like debt calculators, loan calculators and expert advice is often available 24/7 on any matter of concern to the borrower.

• Using online debt consolidation options provide the borrower with many more options than they would otherwise have, not forgetting that all this can be done from the comfort of your own home. No trudging through inclement weather from one lender to the next as all your comparison work can be done whilst you sit at your computer with a cup of coffee.

There are a few things you should have prepared if you intend to apply for a debt consolidation loan online and these are:

• Proof of income

• Proof of residence

• Proof of age

• If applying for a secured loan a document that relates to the ownership of the collateral being offered against the loan.

Debt consolidation loans are by far the best form of debt consolidation to use; but before looking at any method of debt consolidation it is always wise to work out an actual personal budget listing your current expenditure against income.

By using a properly laid out budget sheet to assess your household finances you will be able to see if there is any area where you could eliminate spending or cut right back on that would mean being able to avoid having to consolidate.


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New student loan repayment plan is based on borrower’s income

New student loan repayment options came just in time for Jeff Zollinger.
Zollinger, 32, of Savannah, Ga., a father of two, just graduated from architecture school with $125,000 in debt. He and his wife, an audiologist, expect to make good money someday — more than enough to pay the loans. But between the rotten economy and a new baby, they have been able to find only part-time work. They’re struggling to make ends meet, so the $1,200 a month that Jeff’s lenders want on his loans doesn’t seem feasible.
Fortunately for the Zollingers, a new federal student loan repayment plan takes effect this month that could dramatically reduce payments for highly indebted borrowers. Income-based repayment limits the monthly payments to a percentage of the borrower’s monthly income.
The program is complex and won’t apply to every borrower. But those who have federal student loan balances that exceed their annual income almost certainly qualify, said Edie Irons, communications director for the Institute for College Access and Success in Berkeley, Calif. In many cases, loan payments could be halved.
What’s income-based repayment?
It’s the newest of six repayment options for federal student loans. Income-based repayment doesn’t base payments on a set payoff date. Instead, the payments are based on the borrower’s discretionary income. That’s calculated by determining by how much the borrower’s income exceeds federal poverty guidelines for family size and location. The less you earn, the less you pay.
If you pay less each month, doesn’t that mean you’ll pay for more years and end up paying more interest, too?
Yes. Interest accrues on student loan balances each month, and if you’re paying less than the interest that’s accruing, the balance of your loan could rise. For that reason, anyone who could afford to pay more would be advised to, Irons said. But if the loan payments are making it impossible to pay other bills, this program gives you the flexibility to help your cash flow without hurting your credit.
Will I be paying off my student loans forever?
No. Under the plan, borrowers who faithfully make payments for 25 years can have their remaining loan balance forgiven or wiped away.
In addition, if you work for the government or nonprofit and repay your debts under the direct loan program for 10 years, you could have your loan balance wiped out faster under another federal program, Public Service Debt Forgiveness.
How much would I have to pay each month?
That depends on your income, your debt and the number of people in your household. However, the Education Department says that if you are single, you would have to pay no more than $47 a month if earning $20,000 a year, $109 a month if earning $25,000 and $234 if earning $35,000.
Under the standard repayment plan, if you had $50,000 in student debt at 6.8 percent, you’d have to pay $575.40 no matter how much you earned.
Will I be locked out of the program if I earn more?
No. The formula determining whether you qualify takes into account your loan payments versus your discretionary income. Payments are adjusted annually for changes in income and family size.
Can I use the program with all my loans?
The program is available only for federal student loans under the Stafford, Grad Plus and federal consolidation loan programs. It does not apply to parents’ loans for students (called Plus Loans) and applies to Perkins Loans only if they’re consolidated into the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan programs. The program also does not apply to private loans, state loans or loans that are not backed by the federal government.

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Credit Card Debt: Calculator Card Consolidation Credit Debt

While researching calculator card consolidation credit debt, you will undoubtedly encounter a wide variety of resources geared at credit card debt. This comes as no surprise given the average credit card debt and the impact this debt has on your life. So whether you are interested in calculating how long it’ll take to pay off credit card debt or how you can consolidate your debt, then read on.
Many people will use a credit card debt consolidation loan to reduce the number of monthly payments they need to make on their credit card debt. This option can be appealing for some but it does have it’s drawbacks. The most important drawback is that while it may make paying your debt down easier, it doesn’t address the fundamental habits that put you into debt to begin with.

A calculator card consolidation credit debt can be addressed in a variety of ways. If you are looking for a tool to calculate what your credit card payments will be, there are no shortage of websites out there providing this type of service. Hopefully you are not trying to figure out how much debt you can put yourself into, unless it is “good” debt such as a home or auto loan. Assuming it is not that type of loan, you should never intentionally place yourself into credit card debt. Treat credit cards as though they are debit cash cards. If you do not have money in an account to back your purchase, don’t make that purchase. Whether it is a mileage credit card or other type of card, it should not be treated as a payday advance.

Issues related to credit card debt including consolidation loans, debt attorneys, and other topics should not be taken lightly. Be sure to thoroughly research any topic before making a decision that may affect your financial well being. We hope that you’ve found this brief discussion related to calculator card consolidation credit debt helpful.

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Debt Consolidation Loans: Why are Online Debt consolidation Loans Better?

Using debt consolidation loans, as I am sure you are aware, is the technique of combining many smaller loans, or any other line of credit, and using a single loan often from a different lender, to pay them all off.
You will be able to find debt consolidation loans to apply for online or from any local lenders that provide debt consolidation loans. Though, having said that, the advantages of using an online lender do seem to be more beneficial than those gained by using a high street lender as online debt consolidation loans do provide benefits that you may well not be able to find with other forms of debt consolidations.
These are the benefits that an online debt consolidation loan offers:

• When applying to lenders online you will find that the interest rates applied to debt consolidation loans are usually lower.
• The borrower’s information often remains confidential which can help those borrowers with a bad credit history a great deal.
• Whilst working with an online loan provider you have the use of features like debt calculators, loan calculators and expert advice is often available 24/7 on any matter of concern to the borrower.
• Using online debt consolidation options provide the borrower with many more options than they would otherwise have, not forgetting that all this can be done from the comfort of your own home. No trudging through inclement weather from one lender to the next as all your comparison work can be done whilst you sit at your computer with a cup of coffee.

There are a few things you should have prepared if you intend to apply for a debt consolidation loan online and these are:

• Proof of income
• Proof of residence
• Proof of age
• If applying for a secured loan a document that relates to the ownership of the collateral being offered against the loan.

Debt consolidation loans are by far the best form of debt consolidation to use; but before looking at any method of debt consolidation it is always wise to work out an actual personal budget listing your current expenditure against income.
By using a properly laid out budget sheet to assess your household finances you will be able to see if there is any area where you could eliminate spending or cut right back on that would mean being able to avoid having to consolidate.


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