Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life
With updated information that reflects the myriad changes in the student loan industry that affect students and their parents burdened with student loan debt, CliffsNotes Graduation Debt, Second Edition provides a step-by-step road map for effectively managing student loan debt and having a successful financial life.

Reyna Gobel has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, recovered from student loan default, and set herself on a mission to help others who face a seemingly insurmountable student loan burden, with a powerful message about taking a step-by-step approach and not being overwhelmed by the sheer weight of student loan debt.

Divided into small subsections geared toward those neck-deep in debt, this book is easily digestible to students who aren't inclined to focus on their finances. Readers are encouraged to take action steps, such as finding long-lost student loans that may have gone into default, discovering payment plans they can afford, consolidating loans when it makes sense to do so, saving money on eating out and groceries, improving credit scores, tweaking their debt-to-income ratios so they can buy a home, and discussing their student loan and non-student loan debt with their significant others.

By the end of the book, readers will be on the road to financial stability, with extra money for vacations and other fun stuff, too.

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Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life
With updated information that reflects the myriad changes in the student loan industry that affect students and their parents burdened with student loan debt, CliffsNotes Graduation Debt, Second Edition provides a step-by-step road map for effectively managing student loan debt and having a successful financial life.

Reyna Gobel has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, recovered from student loan default, and set herself on a mission to help others who face a seemingly insurmountable student loan burden, with a powerful message about taking a step-by-step approach and not being overwhelmed by the sheer weight of student loan debt.

Divided into small subsections geared toward those neck-deep in debt, this book is easily digestible to students who aren't inclined to focus on their finances. Readers are encouraged to take action steps, such as finding long-lost student loans that may have gone into default, discovering payment plans they can afford, consolidating loans when it makes sense to do so, saving money on eating out and groceries, improving credit scores, tweaking their debt-to-income ratios so they can buy a home, and discussing their student loan and non-student loan debt with their significant others.

By the end of the book, readers will be on the road to financial stability, with extra money for vacations and other fun stuff, too.

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Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life

Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life

by Reyna Gobel
Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life

Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life

by Reyna Gobel

Paperback(2nd ed.)

$16.99 
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Overview

With updated information that reflects the myriad changes in the student loan industry that affect students and their parents burdened with student loan debt, CliffsNotes Graduation Debt, Second Edition provides a step-by-step road map for effectively managing student loan debt and having a successful financial life.

Reyna Gobel has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, recovered from student loan default, and set herself on a mission to help others who face a seemingly insurmountable student loan burden, with a powerful message about taking a step-by-step approach and not being overwhelmed by the sheer weight of student loan debt.

Divided into small subsections geared toward those neck-deep in debt, this book is easily digestible to students who aren't inclined to focus on their finances. Readers are encouraged to take action steps, such as finding long-lost student loans that may have gone into default, discovering payment plans they can afford, consolidating loans when it makes sense to do so, saving money on eating out and groceries, improving credit scores, tweaking their debt-to-income ratios so they can buy a home, and discussing their student loan and non-student loan debt with their significant others.

By the end of the book, readers will be on the road to financial stability, with extra money for vacations and other fun stuff, too.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780544319097
Publisher: Course Hero, Inc.
Publication date: 04/22/2014
Series: CliffsNotes (Paperback)
Edition description: 2nd ed.
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

REYNA GOBEL, M.B.A., is a freelance journalist who specializes in financial fitness. Her expertise is in the student loan industry, in which she advises debt-burdened students (and their parents) how to successfully create and stick to a path that will make them debt-free.

Table of Contents

About the Author ix

Introduction x

1 Evaluating Your Student Debt Situation 1

Facing Your Student Debt Demons 1

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) 2

Making Sense of Your Individual Charts 9

Constructing Your Personal Student Loan Chart 14

Double Listings, Inaccurate Listings, and No Listings 16

Chapter Wrap-Up 19

2 Organizing Your Student Debt Payments 21

Default Rehab 21

Affording Your Payments 26

Deferments and Forbearance 27

Implications of Missing a Student Loan Payment 30

Loan Forgiveness 31

Adjusting Withholding 36

Income-Based Repayment Plans 39

Pay as You Earn: Income-Based Repayment 2.0 40

Returning to School 43

Chapter Wrap-Up 45

3 Consolidating Your Federal Loans 47

What Is Consolidation? 48

Should You Consolidate Your Loans? 48

The Coveted Fixed Interest Rate 49

More Benefits to Consolidating 53

How to Consolidate Your Loans 54

Benefits Before October 2007 56

Deferment and Forbearance Options with Consolidation 58

What if Your Loan Is Sold to Another Bank? 60

Stray Loans After Consolidation 61

Reconsolidating 62

Chapter Wrap-Up 64

4 Managing Your Private Loans and Payoff Strategies 65

Federal Loans vs. Private Loans 65

Gathering Information on Your Private Loans 66

Private Loans Chart 67

Interest Rate Terms 68

Length of Repayment 75

Financial Hardship 76

Options for Paying Off or Transferring Private Loan Debt 77

Case Study: Repaying $300,000 in Student Loan Debt 82

The Debt-to-income Ratio for Private Loan Debt 83

Should You Choose Fixed-Rate Private Loans if Returning to School? 86

Chapter Wrap-Up 87

5 Budgeting for Your Lifestyle and Your Loans 89

Budgeting Starts Today 89

Create a Financial Diary 91

Getting the Best Rate 95

Saving on Groceries 96

Prioritizing and Choosing Budgetary Cutbacks 102

Negotiating Interest Rates on Debt 104

Checking Account Safety Nets 105

Budgeting for Your Personal Must-Haves 107

Chapter Wrap-Up 108

6 Paying Off Your Non-Student-Loan Debt 109

Ordering Free Credit Reports 109

Reviewing Your Entire Debt Portfolio 110

Larger Education Equals Smaller Car 112

Your First College Credit Cards 114

Chapter Wrap-Up 119

7 Understanding How Your Debt Looks to Lenders 121

FICO Credit Scores 121

What Different Scores Mean 128

Disputing Mistakes on Your Credit Reports 128

Bad Credit Cards Build Good Credit 130

Debt-to-Income Ratio 131

Chapter Wrap-Up 133

8 Surviving Debt and Relationships 135

Debt Meets Relationship 135

Combining Credit 137

The One-Income Household 142

Case Study: A Life in Student Loans 144

Chapter Wrap-Up 145

9 Budgeting During Inflation 147

Saving on Your Electricity Bill 147

Energy Audits 151

Fuel-Saving Tips 152

Car Maintenance Schedules 153

Saving Money on Commuting 155

Moving Closer to Work 156

Chapter Wrap-Up 158

10 Budgeting Through Layoffs, Pay Cuts, and Career Changes 159

Jolt Your Savings 159

Preventing Long-Term Damage from a Layoff 162

The Bare-Bones Budget 164

Use Loan Forbearance Sparingly 165

Paying Down Credit Card and Loan Balances 166

Involuntary Unemployment Credit Card Insurance 168

Chapter Wrap-Up 170

11 Paying Off Your Student Loans Early 173

Adding Money to Your Loan Payments 173

Biweekly Loan Payments 175

Direct Debit Interest Rate Deductions 176

Student Loan Interest Tax Deduction 178

Workplace Bonuses and Salary Increases 182

Free Cash Rebate Programs 183

Credit Card Rewards 184

Government Programs 185

Using Online Calculators 186

Chapter Wrap-Up 187

12 Reaping the Rewards of a Frugal Lifestyle 189

How to Budget for Fun Extras 189

Fun-Account Strategies 190

Stretching Your Fun Account Further 192

Eating Out 193

Saving on Vacations 196

You've Earned a New Car 200

Moving into a Nicer Place 201

Feeling Financially Secure 202

Chapter Wrap-Up 203

Index 205

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