College Loan Debt, To Save or Not to Save

College loan debt? How did you manage to have that? You should not even think about financing college if your finances are not in order. Why? Because the kids can apply for loans at so much lower interest than you can in using the credit cards.

I know it sounds offensive but you are not really abandoning them. You will help them through getting the best loans and/or applying for financial aid. So get cracking and surf the net for all those alternatives. Here are the things that you should consider before even thinking of financing college for the kids. Do not finance your kids' college if:

You have not finished building your retirement account.
You have large car loans
Your credit card debts are sky-high.
You have already used the equity in your home to pay for living costs.
Your life is not insured.
You do not have an emergency fund worth eight months to cover living costs.

That said and you find yourself not in that position, good for you. You are one of the few who have the financial smart to look after yourself. So if your kids are still at home and not off your payroll yet, you may have time to shop around for the best way to save for their education instead of getting into college loan debt.

Parents, you have not started saving for college yet? I know things are difficult these days. But whether you're late or not, the thing to do is to start. Take the time though to plan how to do it. It will not be good if you will rush into it. Rushing will just lead you to trouble.

This is where you can show your kids the right way to do things about money. You will be such a good role model for them if you do not put the money at risk. Thinking how intimidating university expenses are, could make one feel desperate. This will make you vulnerable in making the wrong moves. This will only lead to more college loan debt.

Actually, it takes only some simple steps. Consider how old the kids are. If they're still babies, then there's no problem. You can be a little assertive with the investment. But it is a different story if you only have five years to save. What should one do in that situation?

Well, one thing for sure is to be conservative. Invest in CD's, no not compact disks but certificate of deposits, treasury notes and bonds of the EE series. Shop around for the best rates of interest in town. You can do this by logging into www.ibcdata.com. Oh, and make sure they are FDIC insured because then if the institution goes belly up, you will get all your money back.

Here's something that can help you with making choices, but this is an inspirational book that could change your life. It could put you and your children on the right track. See You At The Top; 25th Anniversary Edition I know for sure that book will help you because I used it myself and opened my eyes to a lot of things.

Here's another place where you can buy books at a discount: www.BiggerBooks.com - A Bigger Selection at a Better Price!

The other place to put the money in is in money market funds that are high yield. It is easy to open these accounts. Any bank will help you do this. In fact, they will be glad to help you. You see how simple this is and you will not get into deep college loan debt.

Don't worry about any short fall. Your kids, with your help of course can apply for loans that they do not have to pay for until they are finished with their education and have joined the work force. Or there are college grants, scholarships and financial aid offered. There are also work-study programs. One college kid I know had for his work was to count insects! Now that's better than getting into college loan debt, isn't it?

What is this I hear? A sigh of relief! I don't blame you. Knowing you do not have to shoulder the responsibility alone makes you feel free. And the best thing is, you will show your children how you tackle your responsibility and they will be doing the same with their own kids on not to get deep into college loan debt.

Newsalert Check it out before the news provider deletes it. When they do, there's enough snippet of information to give you some sense on the help Uncle Sam is throwing at you.

Here's really some help for college students with their debts. The variable interest rate on student Stafford loans made before July 2006 will go down to a record low of 1.88%. Because some lenders have stopped their consolidation business that borrowers should use the government’s consolidation program at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov

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