A student’s guide to money

College is an exciting time, but suddenly becoming responsible for their own finances can be daunting for students. Here are 10 tips from Worcester-area financial advisers that can help students make smart money decisions in college — and beyond.

• Budget. Look at your monthly income, whether it comes from a part-time job or parents, and subtract your expenses, rent and bills, not just personal items.

“Budgeting helps keep you disciplined,” said JoAnn G. Morency, senior vice president of retail banking at Commerce Bank in Worcester. Read more...

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The Student’s Checklist to buying by using a Credit Card Correctly

All students get their own credit cards that they use primarily for building credit. Before using your student credit card to shop for coming from a shop or perhaps an web shop, exactly what things if you ever consider? Listed below is a checklist for students on how to buy with a credit card properly:

1. Check your provider and also the merchant’s policy. You ought to comprehend the merchant’s policy on reimbursement and earnings before acquiring, particularly when internet shopping. As a student credit cardholder, you need to also be aware about the order safety services provided by your issuer. While most shops offer a 30-day return, you could be qualified to return an item even after the merchant’s return assure has expired when you used a credit card to generate buying.

2. Purchase only from trustworthy retailers. When buying on the internet, it can be tempting the buy via an unknown merchant because of the cheaper offer. Guaranteed, you would like to save money but be careful that you don’t get ripped-off in return. It’s best to buy only from reputable merchants with a strong track record of history. Having said that, you may also think about buying from a new shop if there are convincing proofs that the supplier can be trusted. Read Full Story

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Your Student’s Checklist to purchasing by using a Credit Card Correctly

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Tips to get a Bad Credit College Student Car Loan

If you're a college student looking for an auto loan, do you know the things you should think about to make certain that you could get the best offer? What if you might have bad credit? Are you able to still qualify for a car loan? If so, what else could you do to avoid being ripped-off through bad credit loan loan companies who might attempt to make the most of you? In this particular article, allow us to answer these questions one at a time.

Do You Require a car loan?

Are you wanting to drive your personal car at the moment? Before you apply for an car loan, think about your situation carefully. Could it be much better should you move to a boarding school to help you be nearby the campus? . Don’t forget which aside from your car loan repayments, sustaining a car isn't low as well. Gasoline expenses and repair charges may be expensive too. For this reason you ought to evaluate the expense involved before you take out a loan. Read More

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8 Expensive Things College Students Should Try to Avoid

If you’re in college then you’re all too aware how little money you have left after paying for tuition and fees. The last thing you need to do is spend what little you have left on pricey stuff you can live without. Here’s a list of 8 expensive things you should try to avoid spending your money on, or, worse, go into more debt for.

1. Cable TV
Times, they are a changing. What used to be considered a necessity is almost not even necessary anymore. Cable TV is expensive — anywhere from $50 to $100 a month or more — but with all the TV shows and movies that you can stream from the Internet to your computer game console, what’s the point? There are plenty of free streaming services (XfinityTV.com and Hulu.com) and paid streaming services (Hulu Plus and Netflix for about $8 a month) that offer a whole lot more content and most of it comes on-demand.

2. Campus Health Insurance
This one’s easy. If your folks have health insurance, then you’re probably covered under the plan while you’re in college. Even if you’re on your own, be wary of campus health insurance plans, some of which can have low coverage maximums that can leave you with thousands of dollars in uncovered expenses. Read Full Story

Credit cards and Halloween. What could possibly go wrong?

Ah, Halloween. Which is your favorite bit? Is it the excitement of planning your little goblin's trick-or-treat route, and the frequent references to your local sex offender database that such an operation nowadays requires? Or is it the reattachment of your finger tip, necessitated by the excavation of a particularly paunchy pumpkin?

Or perhaps it's the goodnight kiss in your kid's bedroom when it's all over, made only slightly less sweet by the knowledge that a candy-induced sugar rush on top of a monster-induced adrenaline rush is likely to mean that it will be some time before the sandman can get to work


Time to resurrect your credit cards?
The sandman might also take his sweet time when your own head hits the pillow. You may not be disturbed by the ghouls, ghosts and impossibly gorgeous vampires that occupy kids' imaginations. But the horrors you face are just as terrifying.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, immediately followed by Black Friday. And, from that moment on, your chances of finding the time and the money needed to get through the holiday season without racking up more credit card debt may be scaring the daylights out of you. Read Full Story