Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Spend Too Much Money On....

I was supposed to have this post done earlier this week, but the pressures of work, life, and laziness were overwhelming. Sorry.

Explanation of Findings


The loan repayment programs that I found were mostly for government workers, non-profit organizations, and educators. Although the majority of the programs are workers within these fields (mainly due to the lower salaries paid within these areas), make sure that your current employer doesn't offer education assistance or loan repayment programs. Contact your HR or benefits representative for that information.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

This program is available to anyone who works in a "public service" job. This could be a government agency (including local, state, and federal govt, military, public schools, etc), a 501(c)(3) non profit organization (501(c)(3) identifies tax exempt non-profit org), Peace Corps, and Ameri Corps. You must be employed full-time (average of 30 hours per week), regardless of your position within these organizations.


  • Qualifying Loans and Repayment Conditions 
You must have Federal Direct Loans to qualify for this program. These loans include Federal Stafford, GRAD Plus, etc. FFEL and Perkins Loans are not eligible UNLESS you consolidate them in Direct Consolidation Loans. If you are unsure about the types of loans that you have, contact your loan servicer. In order for your loans to be forgiven, you have to make 120, on-time monthly payments. That's 10 years. The payments are counted from October 1, 2007. You must maintain employment in these areas during that time. At the present time, the Department of Education is developing an application to the program, but in the meantime, keep accurate records of your employment dates and payments so that you can received proper credit. I have personally called and verified all of the information I have provided, but please research for yourself. I have provided links below.

There are also two conditions in which the Department of Education will allow you to participate if you do not meet this criteria (I copied this directly from the Department of Education's website):

1) your employer is not "a business organized for profit, a labor union, a partisan political organization, or a non-profit organization engaged in religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing;"


2) your employer provides any of the following public services: emergency management; military service; public safety; law enforcement; public interest law services; early childhood education; public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly; public health; public education; public library services; and school library or other school-based services.


Helpful Hints



  • If you qualify for this program and would like to take advantage, but can't afford the monthly payments, consider Income-Based Repayment (IBR). This has been around since 2009, and bases your payments from your monthly income. It can be used with pretty much any type of loan EXCEPT Parent Plus loans. Payments are usually less than 10% of your income. 
  • Consolidation Consolidation combines several loans that you may have with different services into one payment, but BE CAREFUL!!!! I was looking to consolidate my undergrad and graduate school loans, but learned that my undergrad loans had a lower interest rate, and if I consolidated, it would go up by 4%! I'm in the process of learning how I can keep my low interest rate, not sure if I will be able to, but I will pass along any info that I find. 
  • Of course this program is for those who would normally have loans that require repayment past 10 years. If your debt is not that much, just work out a plan with your servicer. I have learned that as long as you make some type of repayment attempts, they are more likely to work with you. Imagine the people who have made up their minds that they WILL NOT EVER pay back their loans. lol I'm sure its refreshing to them when people actually make the effort. 
  • Being debt free is one of my goals in life. If I can rid of them by the time I'm 38, I think that's great! Although, my debt is not as great as a lot of folk's, I still would like to pay them off. By using this information I have provided to you, I took my 50,000 debt and squeezed it into $178 a month. 
There are even more programs available to teachers, but since I'm not an educator, I didn't spend any time researching it. But make sure that you do if you are in that field.


Hope this information helps! If not.......*insert rude comment*

Thursday, March 15, 2012

That girl LOVE saving money!

I have a reputation amongst my family and close friends as being a very "frugal" person. They call me cheap, but they don't know very much. LMAO jkjkjkjk But I thought I would share some of my money saving tips with everyone. Some are pretty common, but I added them nonetheless. Enjoy!

1. Budget For me, I add up all of my bills and subtract the total from my monthly income. Starting with income, I take a certain amount from each check and have it deposited into my savings account. The longer it sits, the more interest it earns. Then I have a certain amount taken out for 401k. These are also ways to save....but for the future! After those two are subtracted, I use the new total as my income amount.
      Bills. I add the cost of gas and I budget for groceries to be deducted as "bills". Add everything that you buy frequently. So here's a sample list.

mortgage/rent
lights
water
phone
internet
insurance
gas
credit card
student loans
groceries
toiletries
pampers
day care
car note, etc.

As a rule of thumb, try to have enough money in your account to cover at least 3 full months of expenses in case of hard times. If you subtract your expenses and you are in the negative or close to 0, you may be living above your means. Get it together please.

2. Coupons and Apps This one is pretty common. But did you know that your favorite store may offer special coupons and savings through mobile apps? I frequent Kroger and their app is awesome! You can download coupons right onto your Plus card and just swipe it during checkout to apply the savings. Also, make sure your address is current on your Kroger plus and other rewards cards. I get coupons in the mail all the time for free merchandise. Good stuff too. Like Free gallons of Tropicana orange juice, free Ben and Jerry's, free eggs,etc. Yeah, I know! LOL

3. Receipts Read those receipts! Not only to ensure that you didn't get got, but also to see if you can take a survey for free food/merchandise. Look at the back of your receipts as well. There could be coupons for other stores. For example, Buffalo Wild Wings offers 6 free wings after taking a short survey. Burger Kings offers a free Whopper or Chicken Sandwich with the purchase of small fries and a drink for taking their survey. These savings can come in handy when on the go as a lot of us are.

4. Scissors OK, this one is kinda sad and I wouldn't let anyone see me do this that I wasn't REAL cool with, lol, but when you get to the last bit of toothpaste, cut the tube open and dig the rest of it out. Use this method with any tubed products. Also, set lotion bottles upside down to make sure you get all of it out. You may not be "frugal" enough to do this step, but whatever, do you boo boo. lmao

5. Use Less! Instead of wrapping a whole roll of tissue around your hand, just pull off what you need. Be conscious of how much you use! Pull off one paper towel at a time. You can always go back to get another one. Don't fill up your cereal bowl with milk, just add enough to cover the cereal. Start being conscious of how much of a product you are using, versus what you really need.

6. Groupon This is like one of my favorite apps on my phone. Not only does it save you money, it gives you a chance to try out new places that you may not know about otherwise. A lot of small business owners use Groupon to get their business' name out there. They offer food, spa, fitness, and any other kind of service you can think of. Deals change daily so check them out!

7. Freeze It! Often times when I make a special recipe, I use ingredients that I don't cook with often. I've learned to chop up those ingredients and freeze them for future use. I cook with onions and bell peppers a lot so whenever I buy them, I automatically chop them up and put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. It not only cuts down on prep time, but it also keep me from throwing out so much food. I also like to look for new and different recipes using those "occasional" ingredients to expand my recipe repertoire, and ensure that those items will be used. Some people also freeze milk and other items that perish quickly. I've never tried it, but I'm sure it works fine. Examples of some of my usual occasional ingredients are green onions, basil, mint, and other fresh herbs to name a few. Some people buy powered herbs, but fresh is sooooo much better! Try it!

This is a short list, and I will add to it as things come to my head. What are some money saving tips that you use?