October 7, 2008
Tuition Costs
The price of a college education has risen dramatically in the last ten years. Prices of tuition, room and board and books have increased much faster than the rate of inflation, and students and their parents have struggled to find ways to pay for these increases.
A recent study by the Smith College Women and Financial Independence Program found that nearly one quarter of college students are using their credit cards to pay for some of their college expenses. This is a poor choice, as we shall soon see.
Unlike a generation ago, most students today have at least one major credit card. The lending industry has aggressively targeted college students and made it very easy for them to obtain cards. The problem is that most people of college age have relatively little money management experience and tend to use the cards rather foolishly.
About ten percent of college students have balances on their credit cards of at least $5000, and much of this debt is attributable to using the cards for college expenses.
The main problem is the interest rate on credit cards, which tends to be much higher than other borrowing choices for tuition. The Federal Stafford student loan program offers rates for tuition in the neighborhood of 5%, and that?s after an increase that recently went into effect. Five percent is a dramatic improvement over the 20% or so that one might pay using a credit card.
Other options are available. Some universities will allow payments; students should inquire to see if they can simply pay on installments. Even if interest is added, it undoubtedly will be a less expensive option than paying by credit card. There are student loan programs available for the parents of students at favorable rates that are only slightly higher than those for Federal student loans.
Students need to understand how to use credit cards responsibly. The best use for credit cards is for a purchase that can be afforded immediately, not a long term purchase. Buying textbooks with a credit card is OK as long as you can pay the bill when it comes at the end of the month. Putting a semester?s tuition on the card, with no idea as to how or when it might be repaid, is a poor choice.
Students who develop bad spending habits early are more likely to have problem debt down the road, and may be headed towards early bankruptcy as their spending hurts their credit report.
Anyone who has questions about how to effectively pay for education expenses should contact his or her school?s administration. They can point out which department or departments may be able to help assist with expenses in a way that won?t drive students straight into a life of problem debt.
About the Author: Talbert Williams offers debt consolidation, debt reduction, credit card debt referrals and advice. For more information, articles, news, tools and valuable resources on debt solutions, visit this site: http://www.1debtfreedom.com
Today I want to talk about how our feelings guide us toward creating the things in our life that we desire.
When in the creative process, particularly during the waiting phase, we need to know how the universe creates a response. Sometimes there is nothing we must do - it simply will come into being. Other times events will be set into motion to allow us to reach out and snatch our goal right out of the fabric of our daily lives.
When the latter is the case, the universe will produce in you an idea, and even more often, a feeling. A little nudge in your stomach. A little itch to do something or go somewhere that you may have no real reason to do or go. These are the moments when we either help the universe to bring our creation to life, or we drop the ball and perhaps cause our creation to take much longer.
For instance, if you are looking to meet someone special, and you have performed your inital part in this creation, one day you may feel like driving to the bookstore. There may not be a book you want - there may be no apparent reason to go at all. Maybe five minutes before you had decided to stay home all day!
So you stay home, and finish your day, and the universe finds another way to create your goal (which may take much longer), or you putter over to the bookstore and bump into your soulmate in the section you’re browsing.
Perhaps your goal is to make a sum of money. Especially if this is the case, you must listen to your intuition. The universe will give you an idea that will allow you to make this your reality. When you get this idea, don’t blow it off as one of your “dumb ideas”, or as impractical, or as undoable. Just get to work on making it so! If you insist, you will create.
The haziest part of the creation process for many is the waiting zone. You must learn that although the universe may produce your desires with no action on your part whatsoever, you may also be called to action in order to manifest that desire. When that time comes, act on your impulse! Act on your feeling. That is what intuition is - the nudge that the universe gives you when showing you how to manifest your desire.
For more information on your ability to create your own reality and take control of your life, see my new e-Book, The Secrets Of Manifesting Your Reality. It goes in depth to teach you how to use your powers as a creator and begin creating your reality moment by moment.
Thanks for joining me today - check back tomorrow!
Namaste!
About the Author
jonpeeoh (www.jonpeeoh.com) is a new website devoted to raising consciousness, magick, and teaching others to take control of their powers as creators of their own reality.
Tags: Tuition Research
