Searching The National Student Loan Database

By William Blake

If you need to obtain a student loan to finance your college education, you should start searching for a company that provides a student loan that you are interested in. No doubt your ideal student loan has a low interest rate and will give you enough money to pay for all of your college expenses. To find a lending institution that offers a student loan that you would like to apply for, you can search using the national student loan database. This database is filled with all kinds of extremely useful information regarding student loans and the organizations and businesses which provide them to students. With the information they give you, you will be able to choose the student loan that best matches your wants and needs.

College Financial Aid Office: A Starting Point

Stop into your college's financial aid office and ask to use their computers to search the national student loan database. The financial aid office is where you can find all the information you seek. They'll have flyers and brochures on all kinds of student loan corporations but the national student loan database is much more thorough.

It is important, however, that you limit your investigation to companies who offer loans to your college. You will be best off if you utilize the computers in your school's financial aid office, since the national student loans database will give you information about loans that don't apply to your college.

Making Good Use of the Internet

Of course, if you haven't found a college yet and you want a student loan, search the national student loan database to find a loan offering the criteria you're looking for. It's not usual to choose a college based on the student loan you can qualify for but that can certain happen. Search the national student loan database from your personal computer and you'll undoubtedly find the loan that suits you so that you can attend the college of your choice.

There are many student loan companies out there that offer the criteria you're looking for. You can go to college even though you may not have the initial money in order to attend the classes you need.

All you have to do is search the national student loan database, find a student loan company, apply for a loan and then receive that check in the mail. Then, just focus on school so that you can get the job you need in order to succeed in life.

About the Author:

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Improve Your Credit Score

By John Cooper

To improve your credit score can seem like an impossible task. The scoring model seems to factor in tons of information and makes it seem as if you have no control over your score.

Well they are wrong. No matter how bad your credit score is you can take a couple easy steps and improve it.

1. Dispute and remove negative items on your credit report. This can be done yourself or you can hire a service to do it on your behalf.

2. If an item is verified then work out a way to pay them in exchange have the item removed from your your credit report.

3. Pay your bills on time. It is alleged that missing one monthly payment can cause your score to drop by up to 50 points.

4. Open a new credit line. This is best if it is a revolving line of credit, for example an unsecured credit card.

This will also help you build a positive payment history by paying your monthly bill. However if you can not qualify for an unsecured credit card then open a secured card, but make sure it reports to all 3 bureaus.

Your score will get a bump if you can keep your balance at approximately 10% of your credit limit. This shows that you do use your credit and that you use it responsibly.

5. Pay down you large debts. This will help your ratio of available credit to debt. The bureaus want to see that you are not in over your head and the best way to show this to them is by having available credit.

These are the only factors you should focus on when improving your credit score. There is one last tip that is surrounded in controversy.

6. Piggy back credit, this is when you are added as an authorized user on an account with a high credit limit and low balance. The benefit you get is the account is not reported on your credit history.

This tactic was widely abused and the scoring model has made some changes. It is said to have removed the benefit however it is debated as to if those changes have taken place yet.

In sum, focus on steps one through five and you are on your way to a 700 credit score. You don't have to live with bad credit you can increase your score and your quality of life.

About the Author:

To learn more about credit repair or to get a free credit repair letter visit us.

The Pros and Cons of Credit Cards

By Mike Carbeck

If you're looking to get a credit card, be sure to go over the terms with a fine-toothed comb. If you don't understand the financial details of the credit card offer, you are risking your credit rating, and are also in danger of falling into debt .You need to compare the companies and the credit card offers to find the one that will work best for your situation. Since you'll be paying the credit card company a lot in interest and other charges, pick the one that gives you the most for your money.

Many people fall into debt because they charge too many luxuries onto their credit card, over spending their limits and becoming unable to pay the bill in full each month. If you do not pay the full balance when it's due, then you'll end up paying interest on the amount you've charged. If you don't understand how credit cards work and how all of the interest adds up, you're in danger of falling deeper and deeper into debt.

On the other hand, it's important to build credit so that you can secure a loan later on. If you do not have a credit history, lenders will look at you as a high-risk applicant. If you have no credit history, consider applying for your first credit card, as long as you understand the financial risk involved. Be sure to pay it off every month, and don't overuse it.

However, do not apply for a credit card if you're trying to eliminate debt. Using a credit card while you're in debt is a bad idea, as it will likely only lower your credit rating, making it even harder to climb your way out of debt. Especially if you already have a lot of debt, you'll only be able to get a high-risk credit card. These come with higher interest rates, fees, and annual charges. Some even charge an upfront deposit, because your debts provide them no guarantee that you will pay your bill on time. Plus, the credit limit will be very low to start, sometimes even as low as $250.00. Charging items to a high-risk credit card is no way to get yourself out of debt; you will only end up adding to it.

If you have no credit, it is worthwhile to consider getting a credit card. However, it is not true that you must establish credit. You can use cash to pay for items, rent, or other necessities. But you should have some credit if you want to apply for a loan later on. If you have no credit and apply for a card in order to build credit, be sure that you do not fall into debt using the card. While they come in handy when used with self-control, you can let your debt get out of hand easily by overusing your credit card.

About the Author:

Join Mike Carbeck at http://www.debtmastering.com. The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of eliminate credit card debt.

How to snowball your debt

By JR Rooney

Debt elimination involves three steps:

1. Stop acquiring new debt.

2. Establish an emergency fund.

3. Implement a debt snowball.

Here's how to approach each step.

Stop acquiring new debt (This step can be accomplished in a minute.)

This may seem obvious, but the reason your debt is out of control is because you keep adding to it. Stop using credit. Don't finance anything. Cut up your credit cards.

That last one can be tough. Don't make excuses. I don't care that other personal finance sites say that you shouldn't cut them up. Destroy them. Stop rationalizing that you need them.

* You don't need credit cards for a safety net. * You don't need credit cards for convenience. * You don't need credit cards for cash-back bonuses.

You really don't need credit cards at all. Credit cards are like quick sand, the more your struggle, the deeper in debt you go. Later, when your debts are gone and your finances are under control, maybe then you can get a credit card. (I don't carry a personal credit card. I don't miss having one.)

After you destroy your cards, halt any recurring payments. If you have a gym membership, cancel it. If you automatically renew your World of Warcraft account, cancel it. Cancel anything that automatically charges your credit card. Stop using credit.

Once you've destroyed the cards, call the credit card companies that you just killed. Do not cancel your credit cards (except for those with a zero balance). Instead, ask for a better deal. Find an offer online and use it as a bargaining wedge. Your bank may not agree to match competing offers, but it probably will. It never hurts to ask.

Establish an emergency fund (This step will probably take several months.)

For most, this is counter-intuitive. Why save before paying off debt? Because if you don't save first, you're not going to be able to cope with unexpected expenses. Do not tell yourself that you can keep a credit card for emergencies. Destroy your credit cards; save cash for emergencies.

How much should you save? Ideally, you'd save $1,000 to start. (College students may be able to get by with $500.) This money is for emergencies only. It is not for beer. It is not for shoes. It is not for a Xbox 360. It is to be used when your car dies, or when you break your arm using RIPSTICK.

Keep this money liquid, but not immediately accessible. Don't tie your emergency fund to a debit card. Don't sabotage your efforts by making it easy to spend the money on non-essentials. Consider opening a savings account at an online bank like ING or e-trade. When an emergency arises, you can easily transfer the money to your regular checking account. It'll be there when you need it, but you won't be able to spend it spontaneously.

Implement a debt snowball (This step may require several years.)

After you've finally stopped using credit, and after you've saved an emergency fund, then attack your existing debt. Attack it hard. Throw everything you can at it.

Many people say to pay your high interest debts first. There's no question that this makes the most sense mathematically. But if money were all about math, you wouldn't have debt in the first place. Money is as much about emotion and psychology as it is about math.

There are at least two approaches to debt elimination. Psychologically, using a debt snowball offers big payoffs, payoffs that can spur you to further debt reduction. Here's the short version:

1. Order your debts from lowest balance to highest balance. 2. Designate a certain amount of money to pay toward debts each month. 3. Pay the minimum payment on all debts except for the one with the lowest balance. 4. Throw every other dime at the debt with the lowest balance. 5. When that debt is gone, do not alter the monthly amount used to pay debts, but throw all you can at the debt with the next-lowest balance.

I'm a huge fan of the debt snowball. It still takes time to pay off your debts, but you can see results almost immediately.

Supplementary solutions

You can do other things to improve your money situation while you're working on these three steps.

First, focus on the fundamental personal finance equation: to pay off debt, or to save money, or to accumulate wealth, you must spend less than you earn.

Curb your spending. Re-learn frugal habits. (Frugality is something with which most college students are all too familiar.) You can find some great ideas on the internet. Also check Frugal for Life.

While you work to spend less, do what you can to increase your income. If possible, sell some of the stuff you bought when you got into debt. Get an extra job. (But don't neglect your studies for the sake of earning more. Your studies are most important.)

Finally, go to your local public library and borrow Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover. Don't be put off by the title - this is a fantastic guide to getting out of debt and developing good money habits. I rave about it often, but that's because it has done so much to help my own personal finances. After you've finished, return it and borrow another book about money.

The most important thing is to start now. Don't start tomorrow. Don't start next week. Start tackling your debt now. Your older self will thank you.

About the Author:

JR Rooney is an expert on debt andCollection Company. JR works for this Collection Agency

After the Chaos - What Types of Mortgages Remain

By Brian Anderson

The mortgage market and subsequently the entire US economy had a major meltdown in 2008. This originally stemmed from the subprime meltdown, and then the Alt-A lending collapse. As a result, the world financial markets have experienced a major credit crunch and this has resulted in a completely transformed US mortgage industry.

The past ten years have become a memory, with virtually every aggressive financing option no longer available. The only viable mortgage products remaining require full documentation of income, good credit, and stable employment. Wow....finally some common-sense in a mortgage world gone mad.

After the Subprime Disaster:

Before the financial crisis that destroyed the mortgage market, 100% financing loan programs were availalable to all. The only real requirement that existing in those days, were that you prove you were a US citizen. (non-citizens could only get 90% financing!). With credit scores in the high 500's, you could still obtain 100% loan financing. In November 2008, only USDA and VA loans offer 100% financing. FHA loans have removed their option to allow the seller to gift 3% to the buyer, so they are now capped at 97%. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offer 97% options, but no 100% programs at all. If anyone tells you differently, they are giving you bad information.

Alt-A loans, which used to offer aggressive loan financing products catering to borrowers with credit scores from 660 and up are also gone. While these lenders offered programs to borrowers with scores down to 620, the aggressive programs were typically not available to borrowers below a 660 middle score. Alt-A banks have driven the creation of innovative loan products over the last five years. Today, even these seemingly viable products have dried up. They were a victim of the mortgage chaos that ensued during the subprime meltdown. Anderson Lending Group does not offer these loans any longer. Alt-A lenders had relaxed debt-to-income ratios, reduced income documentations (stated income, no income / no asset, and no doc), and the ability to add interest-only to most products. Alt-A lenders were the ones that popularized the use of 80-10 and 80-15 loans for investors to avoid PMI.

Aurora, GreenPoint, SunTrust, First Horizon, and IndyMac were leading Alt-A lenders during the mortgage boom of the last decade. Besides these, there were literally hundreds of banks and lenders that delivered niche products to strong borrowers. Unfortunately, many of these lenders are now out of the mortgage business completely.

Where are we now? Or...after the 2008 collapse of the US mortgage market:

As 2008 ends, hundred and hundreds of banks are closed operations. The aggressive loan options that arose over the past decade are now gone, and more than likely will never return. The credit crunch is making it even tougher for average customers seeking home loans to get a loan. FHA is king again, as the only program that lenders are comfortably loaning money towards is the hallmark of the mortgage business -- the FHA loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Credit score requirements are now in the low 700's, where before a 680 was sufficient. Cash-out refinance mortgages on single family homes are very hard to get, and for many people, impossible. HELOC's are being reduced for millions of customers. Additionally, investor loan financing is extremely hard to obtain, no matter how strong the client.

As we begin to plan for 2009, Freddie Mac and Fannie have created new strict rules and guidelines for lenders effective December 1st, 2008. These will continue to reduce options for customers seeking financing on purchase or refinance loans. Additional restrictions for borrowers who have had a past BK or foreclosure now push the dream of home ownership from 2 years after these blemishes to 4+ years.

About the Author:

Learn more about Peachtree City Mortgage mortgage and Atlanta mortgage from Brian and the team at Anderson Lending Group