Showing posts with label Pay-Off Debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pay-Off Debt. Show all posts

Friday, July 17, 2009

Balancing full time job with a full time degree

Last week I met a friend, Joe and we had a long discussion on how a student can balance both full time degree and full time job together. He himself is doing his PG Course in MBA and plus he is working full time in an MNC. He has shared his experiences with me which I will be sharing with my friends and readers.

All the students doesn't have the benefits of College Savings Account or balance funds which might help us for our higher studies. So what are the options we can apply in these type of cases.

I know the idea is not suitable for every student but for some it might just do the trick, i.e. to work full time.



There are many people who give us such advices everyday that is not to work when you have applied for a full time courses. But is this advice a good one or the bad one? Yes, only if, you devote your 100% for your studies and No if, you are realistic about your financial conditions. Lets face it now. Lets be practical. Do we really spend our whole day in studies??

People often discuss with me that why should I work full time when I have applied for a full time course in the University. Students have a habit of lying to themselves that they will focus on their curriculum 100%. But this is not at all true in the case of 99% students. They spend their whole day in doing irrelevant activities like spending their time either on Facebook or partying in lounges with no occasion. I would prefer working, making extra money and finishing the University with not a single debt in hand.

How to Work Full Time with a Full Time Course??

These advices are given by Joe on how he managed the full time course with his job.

1.) Optimizing your Time is very important

It is better to spend your time in making money rather sitting whole day on facebook and messengers. If you really want to get connected with your friends, then find a place to work where your friends are working. I am working in a MNC right now and when I joined there I din knew anyone there, but since some of my friends were working there, now I know everyone there.

2.) Apply for good work Opportunities

If you are giving this excuse that you are not working because you are not able to find the right job for yourself, then I guess you are looking for the wrong job opportunities. Let me discuss few ideas which might be suitable for working students.

  • Within the Campus : Receptionist, security in charge, Assistant to teachers, Administrators and every position that is within the campus.
  • off campus : you can do internship for couple of months with any media house or any shops in malls, private tutor, freelancing jobs, and any other job where you are capable of handling it.
3.) Prioritizing your work

Always keep in mind that activities of your university should be given the 1st preference. You should never spend working extra time if you have an exam. I only take off from work during my semester exams. At that period I provide my 100% to studies only. After my exams I focus 100% on my work.

4.) keep a balance between professional and personal life

You should try to take out time for everything. Everything here includes university, work, family, friends and many other important work. My girlfriend never forces me to come and party with her because she understands my values and my work. when I work I only work, but when I party, I forget everything else.



5.) Once in a blue moon is fine

Always reward yourself and plan an outing with friends or families once in two months. Go on a vacation at places where you can forget all your stress and enjoy your time with family and friends.

6.) Realize the Importance of balancing

Many times there will be nights when I will be missing loads of fun and parties, But I do not regret about it. Because I am happy that one day I will complete my PG Course with not a single Debt in my hand. I would be having enough of money to invest and save after I graduate and join my 1st professional job.

P.S. these advices are specially for those students who waste their time on Facebook, orkut and other social networking communities.

Concluding Thoughts

I am sure I haven't given any boring lectures. Its just that Saurabh is a good friend of mine and he requested my to provide advice from my real life experience. There are many students who wants to work really hard so that they can escape from the pressures of student loans, but they are not getting good jobs.

Students are facing a lot of problems as they are drowning in high debts. Often people in their 20s are making financial decisions which might not be correct and that is taking them into entirely wrong path.

I hope I was able to help at least some of these type of students in some way or the other.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Getting Out of Credit Card Debt is Important

Studies show that 75% of Americans failed to pay their utility bills on time; about 39% of people who have mounting debts or bills say that they had to deplete their savings in order to pay off bills; around 30 percent of them accumulated credit card debt. Debt is certainly not something that just happens as you go about your daily routine. Lack of knowledge on financial management in most cases leads to out-of-control debt. The partners in this financial demise are the financial giants making money out of the huge interests and fees they charge.



This is the worst possible situation anyone can get into – self-created, albeit unintentional. With the task of eliminating the mountain of debt staring on the face, most people wonder which outstanding bills to clear first. Setting up a debt plan works but it will work only if you discipline yourself to pay back the money within a specified length of time. When in debt, it has to be done immediately. Paying a little back is better than worrying and doing nothing about it. You will have to stick to the plan until the debt is completely paid.

Preparation of well debt payment plan is very important here. Being a financial advisor for so long now i have actually gained a lot of knowledge regarding the debt payment plans. You can actually follow some of my effective steps regarding this context:

Stop using extra credit: I will not say much regarding this but i just want to add here that is stop using your finances in the future and plus cut up your credit cards at any cost. Cutting up cards may seem extreme and tough to follow. Many financial consultants say that it is not required but if you are neck deep in debt, let me tell you, credit cards are nothing but a trap and throw you in deeper. Once you straighten out your finances, you can always get another credit card. Cancel all your accounts that you use a credit card for paying.

Immediately setup an Emergency Fund: Many people may ask why you need an emergency fund even before paying off the debts. The reason is that you are saving for unforeseen emergencies, so that you do not have to take another loan. Please do not say that you can use your credit card for emergencies; you are not going to. You are only going to save cash for any emergency. Try and keep aside at least $1000 for emergencies. Make sure not to use it for a drink or a new dress, this money is only to be used for emergency hospital visits or when your car dies or some such need.

Now that you have taken care of the emergency fund and stopped using credit, time to attack your debt with all the determination and will-power you can muster, and get rid of it. Sacrifices will have to be made to get out of a financial mess.

Make a note of all the details pertaining to your debts:

• All the debts on hand
• The names of the creditors
• Interest rates
• Balance owed to each
• Number of payments remaining
• Monthly payments
• Payment due date
• Amount last paid
• Date last paid
• Their addresses and telephone numbers
• Legal action taken (if any)
• If collection agency or attorney is involved, their details

It is now clear what your debts are and how much you owe creditors. Now time to figure out how much you can pay back each creditor and how long it is going to take to clear each debt. It is advisable to limit the credit payments to not more than 25 percent of the monthly earnings. However, if the debts are many, then you can extend it to 30 to 35 percent, as most people generally need at least 65 percent for their living expenses. If more than that is needed, you must try to increase the income and reduce the expenses.

Once it is clear how much money you can keep aside to pay back creditors, it is time for you to decide how much you are going to pay back each creditor per month and how long it will be before all the creditors are paid off. Chart out a clear plan on how you wish to proceed.

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Chart out the debt repayment plan clearly on paper. You can write the creditor’s name in one column, total debt, original monthly payment and the amount you have decided to pay each month in columns. Do the same for all creditors. This takes away a lot of the confusion and makes it easier for you to understand what is happening. Once you have a plan in place, start being frugal in your expenses. You should not use your credit cards or take any more loans, unless in a life and death situation.

Another thing many people do is hide from creditors and avoid calls from them, which can lead to more trouble. Call each creditor and explain to them why you had fallen behind on your payments. Let them know your obligations and how you plan on making their payments and the amount you will pay each month. It is important to be honest. Creditors prefer receiving at least small amounts of money, and get wary when they receive nothing.

There are times when nothing seems to work out and it seems impossible to manage financial problems. If you are not able to solve your financial problems alone, take the help of financial counselors who can help you with budget planning, setting up a debt payment plan and money management. There are several non-profit counseling agencies that are inexpensive. You may want to check out your local churches and credit unions to see if they provide financial counseling. You will have to find a reputed and reliable counseling service and that can be done by checking with the Better Business Bureau to see if the counseling service has any complaints against them.

You must control your spending and stick to your debt payment plan until you have cleared all the debts. If your income increases or decreases, raise or lower the monthly debt payments based on that.

Check out the video our partner site has prepared specially for all of you:

The most important thing is to take action – start now. Your debt needs to be tackled right now.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Never Consider Bankruptcy as an Option


When debtors fail to pay their enormous debts, many of them turn to declaring bankruptcy. However, almost every financial adviser will most likely agree that bankruptcy should be the absolute last solution to resort to. The truth is bankruptcy rarely should be the last resort. Even when the sky is falling down with massive debts, you can still turn to debt consolidation services.

Although you still have to pay through all the monthly debt payments, consolidating your debts will drastically lower the monthly interest rate, where as declaring bankruptcy will leave you with a 10-year bad credit record. By lowering the interest rates per month, the rate you have to pay per month significantly reduces to as low as 57%. This is equivalent to half the financial burden off your shoulder. This is a clearly much more comfortable standpoint than declaring bankruptcy and enduring 10 years of being turned down by insurance, jobs, and bank loans.

Check out what Bankruptcy Attorney Jamie Ryke has to say about avoiding Bankruptcy:



Whether it is credit card debts, bill debts or student loans, non-profit debt consolidation services can help you lift a considerably large financial baggage off your shoulder. Lower interest rates equal lower monthly debt payments, which all leads to a better financial standing. With such a good offer, it is undoubtedly unwise to declare bankruptcy when you still have a promising option ahead of you.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Worried about your debt ! Want to get out of it? Read................

pay off debt,debt free,debt consolidation

In America, almost all house holders are under the debt trap, whether its small or big in size. And they find it difficult, when they have to pay off other expenses like mortgage, credit card, and car payment. And this would cause them to get pushed into the debt cycle and thus consume a fair share of their monthly income.
There are several debt consolidation companies available in the market, which assure you to get rid of your debt easily. But it would be good if you try it out yourself first.

1) Evaluate your debt:
First you have to find, how much debt you owe? The amount varies from person to person. If the finance onhousing debt is more than 20% on your total monthly income, then it is the case of over-extension. And if you are one of them then do not panic.

2) Set up a monthly budget:
Take a pen and paper, and note down your monthly incomes and household expenses every day. At the end of the month, sum-up the expenses, and divide them into 2 categories necessary espenses (e.g. food, utilities, rent) and unnecessary expenses (e.g. entertainment and meals out). Now you have the clear picture of your spendings. Try to cut unnecessary expenses as much as you can.

There are some more ways to reduce unnecessary expenses like bringing food from home instead of going out to the restaurant at the lunch time. Even you can reduce some transportation costs by leaving your personal car at home and opting for public transportation, which would save the car parking costs. This will certainly help you to find the way your money flows. You can save some bucks from your utility costs than before e.g. you may turn off the lights when not needed or try to make less long distance calls etc.

3) Pay-off your debt:
Now onwards every month, you can save some bucks, which you can use to pay-off your debt. But here you have to analyze whom to pay-off first.

* High interest rate debt - You should consider paying off high interest rate debt first. Assume you owe loans $1000 from two different lenders, which charge 20% and 8% respectively. Now, suppose you have decided to pay-off a total of 6% per month. If you have decided to pay-off 4% towards the higher interest rate and 2% towards the lower interest rate, then that would be saving some dollars in terms of interest.

** Transfer high interest rate debt to a lower interest rate - You can do this by consolidating your several debt into a single and lower interest rate. It will save some dollars in terms of paying the interest and also in the form of postage & paperworks costs.

*** Go for only long term - Homes, education, washing machine or computer will be there even if the debt is paid off, so it is better to borrow only for a long term and make the best use of debt, as this only gains in value. You should avoid using credit card for concerts, vacations or motels, lest you end up paying more in terms of cost of these items.