| Academic Financial Solutions Advises Recent Graduates Not to Delay on College Loan Consolidation
Leading student loan debt consolidation company, Academic Financial Solutions, recommends college loan consolidation before the six month grace period expires in November. Tampa, FL (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 -- Academic Financial Solutions, a leading student loan debt consolidation company based in Tampa, Florida, alerts college graduates who graduated last May or June not to delay on college loan consolidation. �Waiting to consolidate will be costly,� says Michael Babb, President of Academic Financial Solutions. �Many student loan borrowers don�t realize that their six-month grace period is expiring until it�s too late and lenders begin demanding repayment. It�s really an unfortunate situation. Many borrowers get caught up in transitioning from college life to finding a job, a place to live and other immediate necessities and lose track of the timing of their repayment obligations.
Don't let overdraft fees drain your account
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)(MCT)It was late Friday afternoon. With a thin envelope from my bank in hand and a sick feeling in my stomach, I sped to the nearest branch to beg them to reverse about $100 worth of insufficient funds fees. Fresh out of college, I couldn't afford the charges and was frustrated and confused about how I had screwed up to begin with. Fortunately, the banker took pity on me and reversed three of the four fees.Flash forward to today. I recently wrote a story about a Center for Responsible Lending report that found that 18- to 24-year-olds pay about $1 billion per year in overdraft fees. I was relieved to find that many of the students I spoke with about the findings had never overdrawn their accounts. Some others, such as 21-year-old Nadia Labyad, a senior at Hamline University, have tried to no avail to get their banks to reverse some fees.
Debt management programs help consumers get out from under bills; more struggle with debt
Credit counselors report a sharp rise in the number of families seeking help, many of whom end up on belt-tightening budgets and debt management programs to pay down their balances. "People are using their credit cards because they don't have enough money to make it day-to-day," said Howard Dvorkin, president of the nonprofit Consolidated Credit Counseling Service in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "It's driving the American consumer deeper and deeper into debt." What happens, he says, is that "eventually they hit a wall - and then they call me." And they're calling in increasing numbers. Susan C. Keating, president and chief executive of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, said the nonprofit counseling agencies in her organization dealt with a million consumers in 2005, 2.2 million in 2006 and are on their way toward seeing a record 2.8 million this year.
Nigeria: Ageing And Its Discomforts
Sincere apologies for missing a couple of columns in the past month. I've been suffering from a prolonged bout of flu that is totally exhausting me and preventing me from efficiently coping with various professional duties. Until recently, flu barely affected me and I regarded it as a minor ailment that wasn't worth mentioning because the symptoms - sneezing, coughing, shivering, fever, catarrh, watering eyes - only lasted 3 or 4 days. .
Shopping on a fixed budget for the holidays
Believe it or not, it�s that time again. The holidays are knocking on the door, along with throngs of relatives, friends and co-workers. Gift giving can take its toll on your peace of mind, as well as your budget, unless you nip overspending in the bud.
�Determine in advance what your needs are,� offered James Watson, 21-year financial planner with Maplewood Investment Advisers, 512 Third St. in Marietta.
The best way to come up with a holiday spending budget is to determine how many people you have to buy for and how much money you have available to spend on presents. Knowing how much you can afford before you get started will help keep you in line when it comes time to pick out presents for the people on your list.
Coming up with a budget now can save a lot of headaches after the new year.
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