A rising number of individuals are beginning to take their retirement funds in their own hands. If you’re thinking that the task is pretty simple, stop and think again.

While saving money for your retirement days isn’t a difficult job, it’s all a question of choice.

For example, if you’re making plans for your retirement but have a lot of debt, the obvious question would be – should you pay off all your debts, or totally disregard it while you save money for those golden days of your life?

Now, the answer will vary from person to person, since everyone has his or her individual debt circumstances.

For people crushed under an overwhelming amount of debt, there are various debt relief options available in the market. Based on an individual’s debt situation, one may opt to settle on debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt management, debt negotiation, or maybe even bankruptcy.

With the pressing need to save for your retirement days, comes another unavoidable fact: retirement plans are important for your future, but debt is always hovering over your head. Now, which one do you handle first?

Before coming to a decision, you need to consider both sides of the question.

Retirement Savings

One big advantage of supporting retirement investments early in life is that you’re able to maximize the long-term growth of your investments until retirement.

Remember that a person who started retirement savings at the age of 40 is making yearly retirement investments that are twice as hefty as the one who started at 25, and still he has significantly less savings by the time he is 65. This is the reason why retirement specialists and financial planners are in strong favor of starting retirement savings early.

So, can you just save for your retirement days and forget about your debt for the time being?

Investment Return

Investment return is that one crucial factor that can devastate the best designed retirement plan.

You can sketch out a plan that will be based on standard averages, but you can never be sure how that’s going to work out in reality and especially over shorter periods of time.

What if a 25 year old started saving 10% of his yearly earnings, but the stock market goes flat for the initial ten years?

This was the scenario in the 1970s and the first ten years of the 21st Century. Once the initial ten years of the retirement plan is over, the 25 year old would hold a little extra than the built up value of his investments.

Now, would that change the viewpoint? The answer would possibly be yes, if he had debt.

For instance, if the 25 year old had a sizeable amount of debt when he started saving for retirement, he would have shelled out far more in interest than he earned on his investments. Although there is no guarantee of future investment operation, repaying debt offers an assured rate of return—the exclusion of interest on the debt that was reimbursed.

Repaying Debt Opens Up More Funds for Retirement Investments Later

Saving early and regularly for your retirement plan is the favored method in most cases.

However, it’s also important to note that individuals who don’t have debt are typically the ones who are capable of saving huge amounts of cash.

When you pay off debt, you automatically cut your cost of living that leaves you with more funds to add to your retirement savings.

Once your debt is reimbursed, you can save a substantial amount of money just by transferring your debt payments into retirement savings. Although you may not always think this way, you’re actually liquidating debts that increase net value.

Debt Free Retirement

When it comes to retirement planning, one of the underestimated aspects is to plan to retire in a debt-free state. The less money you require to pay for debt in retirement, the fewer earnings you’ll want.

Repaying debt is an excellent means of lowering your cost of living to fit in with your retirement earnings and assets.

When you pay off debt early in life, you’re able to set a prototype that you’ll carry over into your retirement years. Conversely, if you don’t pay off debt early in life, chances are that it’ll follow you straight into your retirement days.

Which Path Should You Tread On?

Apart from anything else, the answer to this question depends on two vital issues: how much debt do you hold, and is your earnings sufficient enough to help you repay your debts and subsidize your retirement?

In case you have a massive amount of debt, you’ll obviously want to pay that off as soon as achievable. Nevertheless, if you have adequate income to accomplish both, then that’s the perfect way for you. As a matter of fact, the debate is only applicable when you don’t have sufficient income to perform both all together.

About the Author: Barbara Delinsky is a writer for various online financial publications, specifically focusing on household financial issues. She enjoys jotting down anything related to personal finance and micro-economy. Through her articles she guides people to get debt relief and helps them to achieve financial freedom.

Huge question: How do I get out of the massive credit card debt I’ve created? I need to do something about it, NOW.

I’ve been reading other blogs about debt reduction so I thought I’d write about mine and keep track of what I do as I go along.

My goal is to wipe out out all of my credit card debt or reduce it to an extremely low amount (to be determined later).

Bill Stevens the owner of this site is a distant relative and I asked him if I could write something for his blog and he said yes. So here I am.

Bill wanted this site to mostly be about saving and investing as you work your way through life but sometimes that doesn’t happen or gets put on pause. And while I’d certainly like to get back to that, I have to clean up my credit card debt first.

How It Happened

Well I feel like I don’t have too much of a different story than anyone else in massive debt.

I was younger, I didn’t have a budget, I had a pretty good job, I wanted stuff, I wanted to party, I wanted to travel. So I did.

I got married, I had kids, life happened.

Zero Percent Credit Cards are Great!!

It was a time of zero percent credit cards. It was so simple, you get one 0% credit card and use it. Another credit card comes along offering you a higher line of credit that’s also 0%. So why not. Sounds great.

I’d either get that card or transfer my balance from one card to another. I was paying off the credit cards or paying more than the minimum required. This pattern repeated itself for about 10 credit cards.

And then, the the bottom fell out of the economy.

No more zero percent credit cards. Ouch. I had multiple cards by now with balances and some with high or extremely high balances.

But it was okay, I just continued to pay the minimum or a bit more. No problem.

Well, it became a problem.

My husband quit working for about a year because of health problems that didn’t qualify for any kind of assistance.

Then I had heart surgery. I was able to take a month off of work but it really took me about a year to mentally get back into the swing of things.

Stress. Debt. Guilt. Anger. Ashamed. It all hurts.

Where We’re at Today

Today, I’m 48 years old. I have a good job in corporate IT and made it through the time where everyone was getting laid off.

I have two daughters who are out of college and starting out on their own.

I make $80,000.00+ a year. I’ve got, drum roll please, $80,000.00 in credit card debt.

I used to have $5,000.00 in an emergency savings account and now I have $0.00 in my emergency savings account.

I have a house worth approximately $170,000.00 but owe approximately $130,000.00. I plan to refine and report these numbers as I look at refinancing our house to lower the monthly payment as well as pay off credit card(s) with the refinance.

I started worrying about not making ends meet a few months back and I knew it was coming. Unfortunately I didn’t do a damn thing about it earlier.

Lying to Myself

I kept telling myself it will get better. Well with no plan, how could it.

Oh yea, I’ve got approximately $250,000.00 in my 401K but I can’t touch it without major penalties and I don’t want to anyway, but it’s crossed my mind. And that’s even if my employer would let me, which I’ve read you need to be in financial hardship to qualify.

To some, I might not be in financial hardship but it feels very much like financial hardship. Pretty soon, something’s NOT going to get paid on time if I don’t act.

Digging Out

So I’m going to dig myself out somehow.

I found a lot of the financial blogs recently where people have gotten out or getting out of debt, and it’s very inspirational.

So inspirational in fact that I’d like to create a web page just for inspirational sayings and stories about folks who have done it. I believe reading a page like that on a daily basis can help keep me going with my financial goals.

I’ve lost about 35 lbs. over the course of the last 8 months from eating healthy and exercising. One thing that really helped me during that time was all the inspirational sayings and images regarding eating healthy and exercising that kept me going on that path.

The Plan

Well, I don’t have a detailed plan right now, except some thoughts in my head, but I’m working on it today and will report on this blog with articles that talk about what I’m doing and how it’s working out.

I’ve got a spreadsheet of credit cards and related details about those cards, so I’m going to start by cleaning that up and create a budget spreadsheet.

I’m also going to look at consolidating those credit cards if I can and how I’m going to do it.

So that’s it for now, talk to you soon. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Obviously, I’ll consider every suggestion.

Believe it or not, even you can survive college on a budget. You just need to keep some important tips in mind to do so, including:

Make a Commitment

If you make a commitment to yourself that you will stick to your budget, you will be more likely to do so.

Get a Roommate

You can make following your budget easier if you live at home while in college or you get a roommate (or two). This will ease your financial burden, making your budget seem less restrictive.

Scrutinize Expenses

When you are on a budget, it is really important to ask yourself if you really need something. Is it a need or a want? For example, those $5 lattes may taste good, but if you get one or two per week, you will spend a lot of money each year on it. You may want to make such things an occasional treat in order to help stick to your budget.

Buy Used

When you buy things used, you will almost always save a great deal of money. Books, clothing, cars, and even apartment furnishings, can all be picked up used at the local bookstore, online, or at area thrift stores.

Think Positive

If you are familiar with the laws of attraction, you know that what we think about, we tend to bring to our life. So if you concentrate on the positives and the fact that you will be just fine sticking to your budget as you make your way through college, then you likely will.

There are many ways you can live frugally as a college student. Heck, being a college student is synonymous with living frugally! Whether you use coupons, share expenses with others, or focus on what you need to stay within budget, you can get it done. You just need to stay focused and keep track of your spending.

In order to answer the debate about whether or not college students should have credit cards, we need to look at the pros and cons associated with each position:

Pros

On the pros side, students are often strapped for money, and credit cards can be a legitimate way for them to help make ends meet. Having a credit card may give you assistance in getting by each month, or it may be there for those times that an emergency expense arises. Either way, it can make your college days easier to manage when it comes to your financial affairs. Having a credit card at this time can be a good way to start building your credit score, especially if you are responsible with them.

Cons

When it comes to the cons of having credit cards while you are in college, there are plenty. For starters, you may end up racking up debt that you are not prepared to pay off once you graduate. Plus, you will be compounding a great deal of interest along the way. Having a lot of credit at this time, especially when your income is lower, may also have a negative impact on your credit score. Not having the credit card will do more to help you learn to live within your means.

Some college students do great with having a credit card, while others may find it a hurdle they must clear later. If you do get a credit card while in college, you will want to limit it to only one or two, so you don’t put too much financial obligation on yourself before finishing college.

So whether or not you should get a credit card in college really comes down to a personal decision. There is no right or wrong answer, as many people do well with them, and many don’t. You have to ask yourself if you are responsible enough to not abuse it and to make sure you make the payments that come along with it.

Here are several places you can look in order to find scholarships:

Online Searches

Just doing an online search for scholarships will provide many resources. There are plenty of sites that have databases of scholarship information. Just stick with those that are free to use.

Ask Friends

If you ask around, you will find that many people will point you in the direction of scholarships they know about. Pose the question on Facebook, and you will likely get plenty of good leads to follow.

Check Colleges

Most high school counselors and college financial aid offices can provide a lot of assistance in locating scholarship information. Check with them in order to find those tools and resources that they have made available to their students.

Interest Inquiries

Everyone has certain things like they like to do or get involved in. It may be religious or ethnic based or it may be based on sports or a hobby. There are likely scholarships available in each of these categories, so check with their respective groups, organizations, and trade associations.

Look Locally

There are plenty of local scholarship opportunities available. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, and religious institutions to see if they are offering scholarships or know of others in the area that are.

Finding scholarships that you will qualify for may seem like a daunting task. But for most people, they turn out to be well worth the time and effort. Just take the time to research and find them, apply correctly, and wait to see if you get chosen. Apply for as many as you feel you meet the criteria for. You are bound to get approved for some of them, making your college tuition a lot easier to handle.

Until next time, keep looking for those scholarships!

The good news for those who want to avoid school loans all together is that there are options available. Here are eight ways you can pay for college without taking out student loans:

1. Grants

Depending on your financial situation and that of your family, you may be able to qualify for grants. You should always start out by applying for student grants, which do not have to be repaid.

2. Scholarships

Today there are scholarships available for everything you can think of. You can get a scholarship for being a particular ethnicity, knowing how to knit well, or because you are a vegetarian. You name it, the scholarships are there, just waiting for people to apply for them. And no, you don’t always need to have great grades to get them!

3. Work Study

Many college campuses offer a work study program, where the student will put in time doing work and in exchange get a grant for their tuition, either in full or in part.

4. Campus Jobs

If you are going off to college and will be staying on campus, there are usually plenty of jobs available. This will give you some extra money to pay for the semester tuition bill.

5. Go Community

Rather than doing your first couple of years at the university, go to the community college. The tuition rates are much lower, usually making it within reach to pay cash each semester.

6. Think Military

Many people enter the military, at least for a few years, in order to earn assistance in getting a college education.

7. Inquire at Work

If you currently have a job, inquire with the human resources department to see if they offer tuition assistance. Many employers do, which would help you pay for classes either in part or in full.

8. Live Frugally

Rather than rush out and get your own pad and start living it up, stay living at home with your parents or live with roommates, so you can spend less and use your earnings to pay your way through college.

If you want to get through college without having loans, you can make it happen. You will need to consider your options and choose the route that makes the most sense for your situation. Being debt free after college is within reach!

Many lending institutions require those with poor credit or no credit history to have a cosigner in order to get a student loan. But for many people, that can pose a problem. Some people may not have someone that is willing to cosign or that can even qualify to be a cosigner. Still some people may not want to involve others in their financial affairs. All of these are legitimate reasons for wanting to avoid getting a cosigner involved in your loan process.

Here are a few ways you might be able to get a student loan without a cosigner:

Federal Loans

When you apply for government student loans, they usually don’t check your credit, so there is a good chance that it will not be an issue. Even those without a credit history can usually get a federal student loan.

Private Loans

There are many banks that will require a cosigner in order to get a student loan. But there are also some that work with people who don’t have, or can’t get, cosigners.

Other Options

Outside of loans, you still have other options that you can consider in order to get assistance paying for college. These include grants, scholarships, and work study programs. You will want to consider all of these options, especially if you are having difficulty getting approved for a student loan without having a cosigner.

In order to get a student loan without a cosigner, you should contact several lenders and explain your situation to them. You should also apply anyway, to see what happens. Also, as you go along, work on improving your credit score because the sooner you do, the better your loan approval chances will be.

What happens with many people who apply for a student loan and are told they need a cosigner is that they get discouraged and give up. Don’t let this happen to you! If you continue to work at it, you will end up finding the loan you need, even without a cosigner. It’s all a matter of making the contacts and getting everything in order.

Most people who have bad credit feel they are out of luck when it comes to getting a student loan. But that is just not true. There are options out there, and nearly everyone can find a loan to meet their situation. But there are some steps you can take to help you navigate your way through this process.

Here are the steps you will want to keep in mind in order to obtain a student loan with bad credit:

Check Credit

Without knowing what is on your credit report and what your credit score is, you are kind of in the dark. Get the info you need by requesting your credit report. Once you get it, review it closely, and be sure to file a dispute if anything is incorrect. Credit scores range from 300-850. The higher the score, the better. Those with a score lower than around 600 are seen as bigger risks to lenders and will often pay higher interest rates.

Get Quotes

When applying for a loan, especially when you have bad credit, it is important to get multiple loan quotes. Gather information from several sources who lend to those with poor credit.

Compare Everything

Once you have the information from all the lending institutions, compare each one. Look at the interest rates, loan process, their reputation, etc. Once you have done your homework and compared everything, decide which will be the best option for you.

Work to improve credit

It is a good idea to start making plans to try and improve your credit score. You would be surprised at some of the small things you can do that will end up having a big impact.

Re-evaluate Loans

If you are successful in improving your credit score, be sure to try and negotiate a better interest rate the next semester or year. You may even need to apply with another lender, but if you qualify for a lower interest rate, it will be well worth the extra work.

Following these steps, you will be able to find a loan that meets your needs and puts you on the college path you desire. Be sure to watch for our next newsletter, which will look at a variety of ways you can improve your credit score.

In this article, we are going to take a look at bad credit student loans. There are millions of people each year who want to go to college, need a student loan, but find out that they have a poor credit score. Having a poor credit score does not mean that you can’t get financial assistance or a student loan to go to college.

When it comes obtaining a student loan when you have bad credit, there are some things you will want to keep in mind, such as:

Private Loans

This is the largest area in terms of growth when it comes to student loans. Millions of people have private student loans. For those with bad credit, private loans are often one of the best options for still being able to obtain financial help. Private loans are those that are not given by the government or Department of Education. They may be given through banks, lending centers, or a variety of other establishments.

Interest rates

Having bad credit means that higher interest rates usually come along with it. No matter what type of loan you get, or what it is for, those with poor credit usually pay higher interest rates because they are seen as bigger risks. But this should not deter you from getting a loan or going to college. Obtaining a college education will enable you to improve your credit score, which will give you better interest rates on all future loans, and it will help you earn a higher annual salary.

Improve credit

Even if you start out getting your student loan for your first semester or year from a private lender and pay a higher interest rate, it doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way. You can do things to improve your credit score as time goes on, and once it improves, you can negotiate a better interest rate or apply with another company.

If you have poor credit, whatever you do, don’t give up on your dreams of going to college. There are student loan options for those with bad credit. All you need to do is check with a variety of lenders to inquire about your options, compare them, and move forward with your selection.

Many people believe that if they have a low credit score they are doomed. They think there isn’t much they can do in order to raise that score. But that is simply not true! There are actually quite a few things you can do in order to start raising that score.

The good news is that you don’t have to do all of them either. You can do a couple of these actions, and it will still help to raise your credit score.

Here are five effective ways to raise your credit score:

1. Verify and Dispute

Each year millions of people find that there are errors on their credit report. Problem is, these errors will most likely lower your credit score. This makes it important that you verify your credit report and dispute anything that is not accurate. To dispute information, you simply need to write the reporting agency a letter with your personal information, stating what you believe is an error. They will investigate and take action accordingly.

2. Get Serious About Paying Bills

One of the biggest reasons people end up with a poor credit score is because they don’t get their bills paid on time. Each time you are late making a payment it counts against you. Therefore, it is important to get on a monthly budget and pay all bills on time.

3. Apply for Credit Cards Sparingly

Applying for too much credit can bring your credit score down, so you want to avoid making a habit of applying for it. Also, having too much or too little credit can hurt. If you have credit cards, hold off on trying to get more. If you don’t, apply for one. If you can’t get an unsecured one, get a secured one in order to start building credit.

4. Consider Debt Consolidation

Many people find that it is easier to pay on one bill each month, rather than trying to make multiple payments. If this fits your style better, you may want to consider debt consolidation, which would give you one monthly bill to pay, making it easier to get payments in on time.

5. Get Credit Counseling

Credit counseling can help you get things into perspective and get a handle on your debt. From there, you should be able to get on the right track and ultimately raise your credit score.  Not all counseling is equal and some could be scams.  The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is a good place to start.

Each of these offers an easy step to raising your credit score. Get started with one of them today, and within months your score will begin to head in the right direction.