There are many ways to reduce to your debt load, and the most common way to do this is through (drum roll please) consolidation. The idea of student loan consolidation, as the name suggests, is to combine all of your students loans into one giant super loan. It sounds bad but it’s really an ideal situation, trust me. Here are 6 important points you should know when consolidating your student loans.

By consolidating you will reduce your monthly payments; maybe by as much as 50%. But your payment is heavily dependent on what financial organization you select and your individual financial and credit situation at graduation time. Did you remember to pay off your credit cards every month? Well, here’s where that will help you. Read more…

According to credit industry statistics, there were 1.3 billion (yes, billion) credit cards in circulation in the United States in 2004. That’s an average of 4.3 credit cards per person. With those credit cards people have racked up more than $2.2 trillion in purchases and cash advances on in just this last year.

For Americans it has become a habit to spend money that they just don’t have. This problem is made worse by the fact that fewer cardholders are paying their credit cards bills on time. The percentage of people delinquent on their credit cards is the highest it’s been in three years and that statistic shows no sigh of stopping.

A 2004 statistic shows that 39% of Americans, on average, pay their cards off in full each month, which is a great strategy to avoid accruing interest. But this also means that the remainder of the population, roughly 60%, is carrying a credit card balance.

Another interesting statistic is that the average American has access to approximately $19,000 across all credit cards combine. From that stat its easy to see why credit card debt overall has grown by 315 percent from 1989 to 2006. Read more…

According to FinAid, the leading guide to financial aid, students relying on college loans will soon feel the negative effect from the subprime mortgage crisis.

Subprime borrowers will not only have more trouble securing a student loan, but all student borrowers will be subject to stricter lending practices such as higher credit scores needed to secure student loans. Those loans will also be tied to higher interest rates. Read more…