How Personal Responsibility Will Increase Your Salary

By:Lindsey Collins-Thomson

Vivian Kleijnjans

Cost of CollegeFour year colleges cost between $80,000 and

$100,000Average Debt of college student is more than

$20,000 from credit cards and student loans

IS GOING TO COLLEGE REALLY WORTH IT?

Importance of Staying in SchoolThe farther people go in school, the higher

their lifetime incomes will beFor each dollar a high school graduate earns,

a high school dropout only earns 75 centsA bachelors degree can nearly double incomeAny advanced degree, person is likely to have

4 times the income of a high school dropoutA person with a higher education can see a

pay increase of anywhere from 10-300%.

Average Income Based on Education Level

Jobs that Require a College Degree2 Year Associates Degree

4 Year Bachelors Degree

Aircraft TechniciansComputer support

specialistsParalegalsPharmacy TechniciansPreschool TeachersLodging ManagersDental HygienistsRegistered NursesScience Technicians

AccountantsEngineersFederal AgentsGraphic DesignersInsurance AgentsPhysician AssistantsTeachersJournalistsConstruction Managers

Paying Off Student LoansIf you have finished school with some student

loans, you will need to pay them off. With increasingly rising cost of education, you may owe a formidable amount of money in student loans. You need to develop a good plan to pay them off. Here's how.

Steps To Paying Off Student LoansFigure out whom you owe and how much

you oweConsider loan forgiveness optionsLearn about various loan repayment

optionsMake a budgetFind a good paying job, and find ways to

increase incomeLearn about ways to defer your payment,

if needed.

Figure out whom you owe and how much you oweWhat type of loans have you taken outHow much do you owe in sumWho to make payments out to

Consider loan forgiveness options AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program on civic education,

education, and public service. If you are willing to commit a year volunteering for Americorps, you get $4,725 to pay off your college debts

Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government offering working for twenty-seven months period on work related to international development, such as education, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. If you travel with the Peace Corps, you will get to defer most of your student loans until after you leave the program, may get some of your loans reduced by as much as 70%

Military Service -If you join the Army Reserve or the National Guard after graduation, you can receive up to $20,000 to pay off your loans. If you are willing to accept additional risk, ask to be stationed in areas of hostility to get even more money.

Learn about various loan repayment optionsPay in full If you have the money, you can choose to pay

back all you owe at once, without owing any more interest.

Standard Payment You make monthly payments to pay back your loans with interest within 10 years.

Graduated Payment This is a viable option if you get out of college expecting to make a modest but steadily increasing wage.

Income-Based Payment You may choose to make your monthly payment bill proportional to the amount you currently make and get up to 15 years to pay it off.

Long-Term Payment You pay back your loans plus interest in 30 years with monthly payment.

Make a budgetTrack all of your income and spending for at

least one to two months. Look back at your past spending, and figure out ways to trim spending and save more money.

Find a good paying jobComputer Engineering

Average starting salary: $60,879Computer Science

Average starting salary: $61,205Mining & Mineral Engineering

Average starting salary: $64,552Chemical Engineering

Average starting salary: $65,142Petroleum Engineering

Average starting salary: $86,220

Learn about ways to defer your paymentThe longer you take to repay loans, the more interest

you have to payOptions:

Deferment -You can negotiate with your creditors to give you a period of time during which you do not have to pay, but will allow interest to continue to accrue, if your loan is unsubsidized. You can defer your loans automatically if you go back to graduate school.

Consolidation - can combine loans into one big loan, and take longer to pay it off, with more interest to pay, of course

Forbearance - negotiate with your creditor a three-month period during which you do not pay, provided you document a circumstance of hardship.

Tips For Acquiring College Loans When borrowing for college, opt for

government-guaranteed student loans before you turn to private loans. Because private loans aren't guaranteed by the government, interest rates and fees are usually higher than for federal Stafford loans.

A 2003 study by the Public Interest Research Group of students with private loans found that nearly 24% didn't take out any Stafford loans, and 26% borrowed less than the maximum allowed.

Conclusions About Higher EducationPaying for college is easier than it seems.

Can get government grants, scholarships, and loansLoans can be paid off relatively quickly with a

good paying job.With higher education income will increase 10-

300%.Loans can be paid off through volunteer services

Military, Teach in low income schools, Social work, Peace Corps, etc…

Nowadays many careers require at least an Associates degree.

Money ManagementThey say if a 25 year old puts in $2.00 a day into a

savings account ($60.00 a month), buy the time he reaches 65 he’ll have a million dollars.

Most college students have credit cardsMost college students carry a job and

earn a paycheckMost college students have a checkbook

Most don’t know how to manage any of it

College Students and Credit CardsCredit card applications appear everywhereMore than half of freshman entering college

have a credit cardBy sophomore year 92% will have a credit

card40% of students who use credit cards to

finance college have debts of over $5,000

Advanced Degrees and Credit CardsTypical graduate student will owe $32,500Professional student will owe $42,00040% of these students will owe over $6,000 in

credit card balances

Minimum PaymentsBalance of $2,500It will take 20 years to pay off making

minimum paymentAdditional $3,365 in interest charges

Why pay more than double of what you originally paid?

Managing Credit Card DebtConsider using a debit card instead of a credit card. Money

is deducted directly from your checking account, so you can't spend more than you actually have.

Read all application materials carefully — especially the fine print. What happens after the "teaser rate" expires? What happens to your interest rate if you're late with a payment or fail to make a payment? What's the interest rate for a cash advance?

Pay bills promptly to keep finance and other charges to a minimum; pay the balance off if you can.

Use credit only if you're certain you are able to repay the debt.

Avoid impulse shopping on your credit card.Save your credit card for a money emergency.

Getting Out of Debt Spend less than you earn. When debt is closed out, put 60% in savings and enjoy the remain 40%. Take stock of all your liabilities, so you know exactly how much you owe to the

world. Put them in a spreadsheet, with monthly payments, interest amounts, balances, and a running grand total of all your balances. Update it monthly as you pay off debt, and watch the overall amount go down slowly. It’s very motivational.

Have only one credit card with a low limit, and only one loan with monthly payment not exceeding 25% of income.

Build up an emergency fund first. If you come into extra money (tax returns, etc.), use it to build an emergency fund and pay off debt after that.

Cut up your credit cards. Stop using credit cards to make it to the next paycheck. Stop getting further

into debt. Don’t overpay your debts — leave enough so you have enough for regular expenses

too. Avoid eating out. Cook your own meals, except on very special occasions Look for expenses coming up in the future and plan for them, so you don’t have to

go into debt when they come up. Make a budget – Purpose every dollar

Tips on Money ManagementTrack your spending. Keep weekly and monthly totals to prevent

overspending. Develop a realistic budget and stick to it! Instead of

buying an item, think of alternate ways of getting it, like borrowing or sharing.

If necessary, go on a spending or credit "diet." Have a "spend nothing week."

Shop with a list. It will help you avoid impulse spending.Think twice before buying. Ask yourself, "Do I really

need this?" Pay more than the minimum on credit-card payments.

You'll pay off the balance faster and save more by paying less in interest.

Pay bills on time to avoid late charges and a negative credit report.

Plan to save. You should have at least three months of your living expenses in reserve.

Balancing a Checkbook Divide your paperwork proof into deposit piles and withdrawal piles. Write your bank balance on line 1. Compare all of your deposits against the bank statement. Record any

deposits that are still in transit and have not yet been processed. Write this on line 2.

Compare the total withdrawals against the bank statement. Record any "outstanding" unprocessed checks that are still in transit and have not yet cleared with the bank. Write this on line 3.

Add lines 1-3 to find out your total checking account balance. It may be different from the bank statement because the bank might not have processed all transactions. The final number will be your adjusted bank balance. Write this on line 4.

Check to see if you were charged any bank fees, and subtract this from the bank balance. Add any incurred interest to the balance. Finally, check to see if all transfers that you made have been processed. Add or subtract this amount from the adjusted balance, and you will have your ending bank balance on line 5.

Conclusions On Debt, Money, and SavingMost college students have some sort of debtPersonal Responsibility is key in staying out

of debt and saving moneyLearn to manage money appropriatelyHave only one credit cardManage checkbook regularlyMake more than minimum payment on credit

cardBudget yourself when needed

Referenceshttp://www.managingmymoney.comhttp://www.creditcarddebt.org/http://financialplan.about.com/od/banking/ht/

BalCheckbook.htmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/av

erage-student-debt-2525_n_1073335.htmlhttp://www.boston.com/business/personalfina

nce/gallery/highpayingpostgradjobs082010/http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch

/majors_careers/232.html