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How To Get A Degree Without Going Into Debt

Staff Writer — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:30:21 +0000

Many people want to go to college but they cannot afford it. The longer they wait after high school, the more other expenses take priority, and college becomes a long-lost dream. Going to college does not require building up a huge pile of debt. There are ways to attend college that are affordable, no matter what the budget.

Doing well in high school and getting high SAT scores are two ways to get some money for college. There are local, regional, and national scholarship opportunities based on academic achievement. Some states even allow their top students to attend community colleges or state schools for little or no tuition. Participating in sports and extracurricular activities opens up other areas of scholarship opportunities.

These days, the cost of a four-year college is exorbitant, with some schools charging almost $1,000 per credit. Students may want to consider attending a community college for the first two years and then transferring to a four-year school to complete their education. These schools can provide a high-quality learning experience at a much more reasonable cost. They also usually offer scholarship opportunities so students should visit the school’s financial aid office for more information.

Students should apply to several colleges, including one that is inexpensive and will most likely grant admission. Each school will offer a different financial aid package so students should compare these and see which school is most affordable. Students should explore work study, paid internship, and local job opportunities near the school. This income will help with the cost of books and living expenses.

Another alternative is to extend the college years to accommodate the budget. Non-traditional students are becoming the norm at many schools. There are night and weekend programs suitable for these individuals. The student can hold down a full-time job and still attend school.

How to Save Money for Debt Repayments

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:07:34 +0000

When looking at improving your personal finances you should always look to plan ahead. Planning successfully comes from good preparation, being dedicated and having an achievable target.

Set your target

When identifying your target you could follow one of my favorite methods and have a SMART objective. SMART objectives should be:

S – Specific – you should know exactly what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it
M – Measurable – you should be able to measure whether or not you’re hitting your objective
A – Achievable – Can you definitely achieve the results you’re looking for?
R – Realistic – Are the targets you set for yourself realistic?
T – Time bound – Set yourself a time limit for when you want to achieve your target

An example of a SMART target that you could set yourself could be:

“I wish to have $1000 worth of savings in your savings account in six months time”

Start your plan

When you have decided upon your realistic aim, the next question is, how do you intend to get there? Here I would suggest firstly starting with a sort of brainstorm. Get a sheet of paper and write down your aim in the middle, and then identify all the possible things you could do to help achieve your target. For example, if your aim is to have $1000 worth of savings, note down all the possible ways in which you could look to save money. Here are a few of my money saving favourites:

Budget – Set yourself a budget and identify your monthly income and expenditure. By doing this you can identify how much you intend to realistically save in a certain time frame. Try and set your budget for the year then divide by 12 to give you your monthly budget.
Price Comparison Sites – These are fantastic if you are looking to save money. You can check your monthly outgoing bills using the sites to identify if you are paying too much money, this helps you see how much you could be saving. They can be used to check a number of different essentials, from utilities to mobile phones.
Use a shopping list – When you are out shopping you should try and stick to a shopping list you have prepared before hand, it will help you only buy what you need to, doing this you avoid any unnecessary impulse purchases.
Sell unwanted items – Sell unwanted items from around your home. Everyone has items lying around that they don’t use, selling these items can result in some quick fire cash to help you along your way.
Savings accounts – If you haven’t got a savings account you should open one. If you are UK based like me then a cash ISA is the best way to save, your capital is totally safe and all interest is tax free. If you are US based then the Lifetime Savings Account or LSA may be the perfect option for you. What you put in the account is not tax-deductible, but whatever returns you earn from your LSA are tax-free.

Monitor your progress

Once you have your plan and you have set the ball rolling, my advice here would be to try and stick to your plan as often as possible. While trying to stick to your plan it’s always important to monitor how well you are doing. If you have set a yearly measurable target, check monthly where you are as a percentage of the whole target.

If by doing this you notice you are falling behind slightly, identify why this is. Has something happened that you didn’t expect to happen? Have you forgotten to address something on your plan? Once you have identified why you are not where you want to be, you can then target the problem.

If you realise that you are ahead of your target and therefore ahead of schedule, then that’s great! Keep at it and you will soon be where you want to be.

Bio:

This article was written by Andreas Nicolaides, a financial management writer for MoneySupermarket.com.

Top Tips for Saving Some Money

Shaun Connell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:30:15 +0000

Money always seems to the topic of a lot of discussions lately. How can I make some money, what is the fastest way to make money, and how can save the money that I do have. It seems like it is incredibly easy to spend money no matter how much we didn’t want to. Money really does seem to be like one of the hardest things to earn and then burnt through like it was nothing.

When it comes to saving money, we all think that if we spend a little less here and not go an a vacation this year we are going to save a lot, but in reality we probably are not. There are more things that people can do to help them save money, you just have to know how and where to look.

The first thing that a person may want to do is take the time to look over their finances and see where there money is going. You may be able to cut back on things such as your utilities. Gas, electricity, phones(s) and other things that really can take quite a chunk of your paycheck. By taking the time to look over them and eliminate things that you really do not need like the extra HBO channels then you can save quite a pretty penny on the monthly expenses.

When it comes to shopping for groceries and other personal items, take the time and shop around and compare what stores are offering. One store may be offering an item way cheaper than another. You may even want to try clipping coupons as they can save a person on the average up to $50 off their weekly grocery shopping bill. You may want to consider buying some items in bulk.

Stores such as Sam’s offer many items that can be bought for great prices in bundles of two or more. You can store the items until you get ready to use them and many vegetables keep pretty well for a couple of months along with freezer items. Make sure that when you go to a grocery store, you only buy what you wrote down you needed. You may realize you are buying way to much of certain items and that you can cut back on them.

There are many ways for people to save money. By sitting down and exploring all possibilities you never know what you can achieve. Saving money should be easy, not hard. Looking at every possible solution to saving money could help you save up to hundreds of dollars each month.