What Is Better, Education Loans or Student Credit Cards?

College Student Loans
Generally, long lasting financing is supported by student education loans provided by the us government or extracted from commercial lenders. A College Student Loans may be used to pay tuition fees, boarding school costs, food and lodging allowance, college books, school projects as well as other school expenses. It's a known fact that many families cannot afford an excellent education independently and school loans give that much-needed financial support for many teenagers.

Financial Health: Smart chips in credit cards

VISA spent much of 2011 attempting to convince merchants to accept an alternative to the magnetic stripe on credit cards to achieve maximum protection against fraudulent transactions. The company contends that embedding a computer chip in the card would provide consumers with significantly more protection from having card numbers pilfered. Merchants counter that the new smart chip technology needlessly requires that new and expensive card reading machines be available in several locations in order to maximize the anti-fraud capability of the cards.

As supporting evidence ,VISA points to a recent high-end restaurant scam operation where waiters took a patron’s credit card and departed ostensibly to complete the transaction at the cash register. What the patron did not realize was that a criminal ring had provided the waiters with credit card readers they could attach to an Android smart phone or an iPhone. Waiters would disappear and before legitimately running the card to create a billing statement for signature, they would slip it through the phone card reader. In a matter of minutes, other members of the ring duplicated the card and either used it to make fraudulent charges or sold it to others. Read Full Story Here



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SPOTLIGHT: College grad leaves nest, steps out

When Cortney Auter graduated from college and landed a job in her field of choice, she thought her "adult" life was starting off pretty good. 

She never thought she'd have to move back in with her parents because of student loans and other bills. But that's what happened to the struggling-to-be-independent woman. 

Auter, however, is not alone; and she's now a success story. 

According to the U.S. Census, more young adults are living in their parents' homes. Between 2005 and 2011, the percentage of men age 25 to 34 living in their parents' home rose from 14 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2011 and from 8 percent to 10 percent during the same period for women.  Read Full Story

6 Credit Commandments for Students

If you’re still in college, keeping a credit card in your wallet can offer important advantages.


It’s not only a fast and convenient way to pay. It will also help you build your credit history and develop a great credit score for the long-term.
Even better, it’s not that hard to develop great credit; it just takes time and discipline. If you start using credit early, pay all your bills on time and don’t max out your credit cards, you will build a solid credit foundation within just a few short years.
That said, there are all sorts of credit bloopers people make on the path to building perfect credit. 


Here are six tips to avoid the most common missteps:


1. Spend for today, not tomorrow.
2. Use your card, but use it well. 
3. Expand slowly. 4. Never forget: Relationships matter most.5. Get help early.
6. Continue to learn. 

Read Full Story: 6 Credit Commandments for Students 


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What college students should know about credit cards

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 placed limits on the ability of those under 21 to get a credit card. It also set strict limits on card companies' ability to market to college students. However, whether they get a credit card now or later, it's a good idea for young adults to learn good credit habits early. The Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants recommends these tips for avoiding credit pitfalls.

Think twice before signing.

When students spend a little more money than they have, they end up carrying an outstanding balance. And the credit card companies charge interest on that balance, over and over again, every month. In fact, they even charge interest on the outstanding interest payments students haven't paid off yet. That means that the pizza a student charged sophomore year could cost a couple of hundred dollars in interest over time if it wasn't paid off along with the rest of the full balance each month. At most schools, students or their parents can deposit money in a spending account and the student can then use the school spending card at a wide variety of stores or restaurants. It's an easy option that does not involve spending money they don't have or incurring interest charges, and probably a better choice than a credit card for most college students. Read More

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How To Cancel Your Student Credit Card

Many students fall into the trap of credit card debt. As soon as they enter college, these students apply for multiple student credit cards and get approved right away. The problem comes with how students handle their student credit cards. Unfortunately, overspending is too easy when you have all those credit cards in your wallet.

But worse than using all these credit cards, students often fail to make payments on time. They either forget or neglect their due date payments or they choose to submit only the minimum payment and carry their balances from one month to the next. The result? They incur high interest rates, late penalty fees, transaction fees, and other additional costs in their account until debts go out of hand.

For this reason, financial consultants advise students not to get too many college credit cards in their account. One or two student credit cards should be sufficient to be used for your student expenses and the other for emergency purposes. But what if you already have multiple credit cards in your name? What can you do about them? Is it possible to cancel these unnecessary credit cards?

How to Cancel Unwanted Student Credit Cards

Canceling a student credit card carelessly can bring damage to your credit history. That’s why very important to consider each step before making your final decision and cancel a credit card. First of all, never cancel a student credit card if you still have an unpaid balance with it. If you really want to cancel your card, you need to completely pay all your charges first before canceling.

Don’t just cancel any of your student credit cards, especially the old ones. If you’ve had that student credit card for a long time, you’ve already build an important part of your credit history with it. Therefore, canceling that student credit card would be like deleting the oldest part of your credit history. If you need to cancel a student credit card, choose the ones that you’ve acquired more recently.

But what if your old student credit cards come with very high interest rates? You still want to keep those student credit cards to protect your credit history. Remember, if a card has a high interest, you don’t have to use it frequently. You may use it once in awhile for small purchases just to keep that credit card from automatically closing. To avoid the high interest fees, pay off your entire balance before your due date ends.

Once you’ve examined the student credit cards you want to cancel, the first thing to do is call your credit card issuer. The representative you’ll speak may try to convince you to keep the credit card, but if you’ve already made your decision, don’t let a credit card representative change your mind. Be sure to note the name of the representative you spoke with. Next, send your letter of request to your credit card company as a follow-up. Remember, you should make it very clear that you are personally requesting the cancellation, not your credit card issuer.

After receiving notice that your account has already been closed, check your credit report immediately. Make sure that it does not say that your account was closed by your credit card company. This can happen sometimes, and if it does, call your credit card company to clarify the issue. You may need to wait up 30 days before the matter is corrected. Re-check your credit report and if the issue still hasn’t been resolved, send a dispute letter to the credit bureau.