Wiszard
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 10,897
I have had 3 go through college...actually one graduated in 2019 from UCLA, another graduating this year from UCLA and a son in his 3rd year at Cal Poly, SLO. I wish I had known more about student loans, etc before I got them for my kids. Here's just a few helpful hints that you can use on my dime. LOL
- start your kids off getting them a credit card IN THEIR NAMES. Start building their credit while in high school if possible. This will pay dividends while they are in college.
- Don't put student loans in YOUR name....have your kids take on their own loans. They can do this if they have credit...see tip above.
- Call the financial aid office directly and ask for interest free loans. They are there and they can be deferred until they graduate. It's interest free money. I am paying $50 per month on a $5000 loan that cost me nothing to borrow.
- Do your research on Sofi, lendkey, SallieMae loans....they are not all the same. Some offer better rates if you pay a $25 per month payment. We had a couple $19K loans out along with 4-5 $5-$9K loans and it cost us $300 per month, even deferred, to borrow this money. Of course it is not a big deal when you are not paying it but that $300 was accrued interest being added to the loan amount.
It's all a scam y'all. They loan money at a ridiculous clip and we are paying for it because we need it. My wife and I buckled down the last year and a half and paid off 90% of our kids student debt. It was not easy but necessary. Our kids will have no debt when they enter the real world and that is the best gift we can give them. If you do things right and learn from others mistakes, you can be a lot better off. If you have helpful hints, post them here. I wish I would have had this info 5 years ago.
- start your kids off getting them a credit card IN THEIR NAMES. Start building their credit while in high school if possible. This will pay dividends while they are in college.
- Don't put student loans in YOUR name....have your kids take on their own loans. They can do this if they have credit...see tip above.
- Call the financial aid office directly and ask for interest free loans. They are there and they can be deferred until they graduate. It's interest free money. I am paying $50 per month on a $5000 loan that cost me nothing to borrow.
- Do your research on Sofi, lendkey, SallieMae loans....they are not all the same. Some offer better rates if you pay a $25 per month payment. We had a couple $19K loans out along with 4-5 $5-$9K loans and it cost us $300 per month, even deferred, to borrow this money. Of course it is not a big deal when you are not paying it but that $300 was accrued interest being added to the loan amount.
It's all a scam y'all. They loan money at a ridiculous clip and we are paying for it because we need it. My wife and I buckled down the last year and a half and paid off 90% of our kids student debt. It was not easy but necessary. Our kids will have no debt when they enter the real world and that is the best gift we can give them. If you do things right and learn from others mistakes, you can be a lot better off. If you have helpful hints, post them here. I wish I would have had this info 5 years ago.