Just in time to dull the sting of news of this falls hike in college tuition, President Obama announced yesterday his administrations plans to help ease the burden of student loan debt. Though these changes will not affect current college students, many of those out of school saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt could start to feel some relief real soon.

According to a new report released by the College Board, state tuition and fees at 4-year colleges rose an average of $631 in the fall of 2011 an increase of 8.3 percent. This doesnt bode well for the future of student loan debt, as U.S. graduates already owe $1 trillion in student loan debt. Thats more than the entire nation owes on our credit cards!

Keep in mind that student loan debt has ballooned to this mammoth proportion despite the federal grants and tax credits that help students cover the cost of tuition, room and board.

Read full post…

Silver is a naturally occurring element that can be found in your jewelry, at the dinner table, in your digital camera, in your car and in your pocket. It is a monetary metal with roots that run parallel to gold. It is also an essential ingredient in many products that we take for granted in modern life. Silver is often misunderstood due to its multiple uses and critical nature.

Most metals are obtained through direct mining. Target areas are determined, geology is mapped and exploration begins. The entire excavation process is designed to retrieve one element be it gold, copper or iron ore. Due to historically low prices, silver is often only a mining byproduct. The element is considered a bonus for miners and until recently was rarely the target or direct exploration.

Read full post…

Ask Money Girl: When To Shop for a New Credit Card

I received this e-mail question from Stephanie C. about her credit card interest rate: Q. My credit card, which I’ve had for nine years, has an interest rate of 23.9%. I have perfect credit; my credit score is 800. The bank tells me that I’m paying for other borrowers’ who are delinquent with their payments. It doesn’t seem fair. Should I shop for another card? A. Yes, you should absolutely shop for a new card. Having a credit score that’s higher than 760 puts you in the “excellent credit” category and qualifies you for a much better deal than you’re getting. One of the benefits of having great credit is being able to enjoy low interest rates! Let your card issuer know that you’re shopping around for a much lower rate and ask them for their best offer before you make a change.   Search for low interest rate credit cards at creditcards.com and lowcards.com. Right now, Read full post…

For a lot of people, especially for those who belong to the salaried class, it is indeed quite a tough task to come up with a down payment for your mortgage, so that you get to enjoy full ownership of your house. There are so many ways you can arrange that kind of money, and one such way is to use your Roth Ira funds to help you claim back your ownership as the rightful owner of your house. Roth Ira is a retirement account that is one of a kind! Read full post…

I am currently researching and am likely to purchase an indexed universal life insurance product.  This first-hand research and learning process has been interesting and is worth sharing.

In a nutshell, some of the key characteristics of indexed universal life insurance include:

• This is a life insurance policy, but a good portion of the funds contributed to the policy can be invested and represent a “cash value” that builds over time.
• The invested funds have some upside or growth potential as they are pegged to a handful of equity indexes (e.g.

Read full post…

Will the government’s agreement on the debt ceiling result in more people struggling with student loan debt? While the deal keeps the Pell Grant program intact, loans subsidized by the government will take a hit in July 2012. That could result in students struggling to keep up with interest, ratcheting up their total debt.

Currently, subsidized loans don’t require payments on interest until after students leave school. But the government’s debt ceiling deal would require graduate students to begin paying interest on student loans while they are still in school. If they don’t make payments on interest it would accumulate, which could lead to more people struggling to afford student loan payments after graduating.

Get help with debt

There are some options for dealing with mounting student loan debt. Student loan debt consolidation could allow you to combine several loans into one monthly payment and interest rate. Federal

Read full post…

With the current state of the economy, Americans are cutting back on basic necessities. Healthy nutrition and medical practices are declining; stress and anxiety are on the rise. See how the economy is really affecting our quality of life with this somber look at our mental, physical and financial health:

In the last year, there’s been a .6% increase in Americans who smoke. This is accompanied by a 2% decrease in Americans who say they eat healthfully all day, a 1.9% decrease in those who eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 4 days a week, and a .7% decrease in those who exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days a week.

Women have decreased their fruit and vegetable intake by 2.2%–men only 1.6%. Peo

Read full post…