Helping Your Kids Pay for College: Finding Extra Financial Aid for Fall

 With gas at $4.00 a gallon, food prices up, and employment down, you may not have a lot of cash to go around right now, especially if you’ve got kids in college. But with the start of the fall semester only a couple months away and the first wave of tuition bills due, where do you go for money for college if the financial aid package your children received just isn’t enough this year?

Even though your kids’ need-based aid has already been awarded, here are three college loans you can look at for any extra financing you need. These loans are awarded without regard to financial need, so you and children can’t be turned down for making too much money or having too many financial assets.

Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Student Loans

Interest Rate: 6.8% fixed

Fees: 3% origination fee; 1% guarantee fee

Whereas subsidized federal Stafford loans — in which the government will cover the interest while your kids are in school at least half time — are need-based, unsubsidized Stafford loans are awarded without consideration of financial need.

No matter how much you make, your kids can request to borrow up to the max allowable Stafford loan amount, which ranges from $5,500 to $12,500 a year, depending on your kids’ year in school, whether they’re still your financial dependent, and on whether or not you qualify for a federal parent loan.

There’s no credit check required for Stafford student loans; in order to qualify, your kids just have to have filed their 2008–09 FAFSA and meet the general eligibility requirements for federal financial aid.

Although your kids will be responsible for all interest that accrues on these unsubsidized loans, they’ll be able to defer making any principal or interest payments as long as they’re enrolled at least half time.

Subsidized Stafford loans will be included in your kids’ financial aid package. Unsubsidized Staffords, on the other hand, may or may not be listed on the financial aid award letter. Check your award letter to see if you’ve already accepted any unsubsidized Stafford aid. If you haven’t, or if you have, but it’s not the max amount your kids are eligible for, call your kids’ financial aid office and put in a request for additional unsubsidized Stafford aid.

Federal PLUS Loans for Parents

Interest Rate: 8.5% fixed

Fees: 3% origination fee; 1% guarantee fee

Federal PLUS loans are loans you can take out in your own name to help pay your kids’ college expenses. Each year, you can borrow up to the max PLUS loan amount, which is 100 percent of your child’s cost of attendance, less any other financial aid you’ve received.

PLUS loans are credit-based loans, so you’ll have to undergo a credit check that looks at the last five years of your credit history. There’s no minimum credit-score requirement, though, and recently passed legislation, which went into effect on July 1, includes a special provision that allows you to still be considered for a PLUS loan even if you have some derogatory items on your credit report. Under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, lenders may still consider you for a PLUS loan even if you’re up to 180 days delinquent on your mortgage or medical bills, or up to 89 days delinquent on any other debt.

The new legislation also allows you to defer payments on your new PLUS loans while the child for whom you took out the loans is still enrolled in school at least half time. PLUS loans are unsubsidized loans, so keep in mind that even if you’re not required to make any payments, you’re accruing interest on your balance, and that interest will be capitalized and added to your loan principal for you to pay back once your repayment period begins.

To apply for a PLUS loan, contact your children’s financial aid office; they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Private Student Loans

Interest Rate: usually a variable rate, not fixed, that varies by lender and by borrower credit profile

Fees: fees vary by lender and by borrower credit profile

Private student loans are non-federal credit-based loans that can help your kids pay for school when grants, federal student loans, federal parent loans, and other financial aid aren’t enough to cover all their education-related expenses.

Private student loans are typically variable-rate loans that can be subject to higher interest rates and fees than federal student loans, and private loans may not offer the same income-sensitive repayment or hardship payment-deferment options that accompany federal loans. You and your kids should only turn to private loans once you’ve taken advantage of all your low-cost federal financing options.

Your kids will almost always have to apply for a private student loan in their own name, but unless they meet the lender’s income and credit requirements, your kids will need a creditworthy co-signer to qualify.

Even if your kids qualify for a private loan on their own without a co-signer, because borrowers with stronger credit profiles often qualify for lower interest rates and fees than those borrowers with weaker credit, if you have good credit and can co-sign on your kids’ loan, you may be able to help them qualify for a better rate and lower fees. (For more on what’s involved when you co-sign on your children’s student loans, check out our other article this month, “Co-Signing for Their Private Student Loans.”)

Many private loan programs will allow your kids to defer making payments while they’re enrolled in school at least half time, but interest will continue to accrue. Any accrued unpaid interest will be added to the loan balance and capitalized for your kids to pay back once they go into repayment.

Look for private loan lenders online. Shop around, ask questions, and compare interest rates and monthly payments on at least three private student loan programs before you commit to any lender.

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This article has written by Miss Money Belle

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Surviving the Economy: Summer Savings on 5 Big-City Staycation Ideas

Why overspend this year on a vacation that could cost you big in rising gas, airfare, and food prices?

Cut your costs and the hassle by staying close to home and playing tourist. Take a staycation, and you can plan an affordable summer getaway right there in your hometown or nearby. Break out of your household routine, check into a reasonably priced local hotel or resort, and make a point of seeking out all the sights and attractions you’d typically explore if you were an out-of-towner just visiting for the week.

Recommended by Fodor’s, here are staycation ideas and hotel packages for five major U.S. cities.

1) New York City

Where to stay: Jumeirah Essex House

What to do: Take advantage of the hotel’s Weekend Escape on the Park package, and stay at this recently renovated Art-Deco–style hotel located across from Central Park. Go window-shopping on Fifth Avenue, take in a Broadway show, and check out a concert during SummerStage ’08, a free performing arts festival held in the park each summer.

What you’ll spend: Room rates are $309 and up.

2) Scottsdale, Ariz.

Where to stay: Camelback Inn

What to do: Get a vacation package the whole family can enjoy. The resort’s Escape! Family Slumber Party, which runs through December, includes a casita room or a two-bedroom suite, pizza delivered to your room daily, one in-room movie a day, and unlimited soda and juice for the kids. Lounge in your room or by the pool while the kids take a cooking class, then spend some time together at family events like one of the city’s free ArtWalks held throughout the year.

What you’ll spend: Room rates start at $149.

3) Seattle

Where to stay: The Fairmont Olympic Hotel

hat to do: Start off your mornings with a cup of the city’s famous java, then try some of the local wines at night, paired with a four-course meal as part of the hotel’s Savor Seattle Package. This food-and-wine package includes a copy of the Savor Seattle cookbook, autographed by the hotel’s executive chef, Gavin Stephenson, and featuring his recipes, alongside those of other well-known chefs in the Northwest. You can also explore the Seattle Aquarium, or walk to Pike Place Market for some fresh seafood.

What you’ll spend: Package rates start at $499.

4) Dallas

Where to stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas

What to do: Forget about exploring, and just relax. Book the Signature Spa package, available through December 27, and get pampered. Perfect for couples who need an escape from work or their college kids who are home for the summer, the package includes a 50-minute Signature Massage for two guests (tip included), deluxe accommodations and valet parking for one night, and breakfast for two in your room or the hotel restaurant.

What you’ll spend: Package rates start at $539.

5) San Francisco

Where to stay: The Orchard Hotel

What to do: Go green, and book the Eco-Getaway at this boutique hotel just 100 feet from the Powell Street Cable Car line and two blocks from Union Square. Hit the ground running with your Greenopia Guide, the urban dweller’s guide to green living in San Francisco, and get a hotel discount on tickets for Mr. Toad’s “Postcard San Francisco” three-hour tour. You’ll see San Francisco in a pre-1930s vintage car that runs on propane, and get to stop for photo ops at picture-postcard places like Alamo Square, Golden Gate Park, and Ocean Beach.

What you’ll spend: Book Mr. Toad’s tour for $38 ($48 without the hotel discount). Room rates vary and are subject to a 14-percent occupancy tax.

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Surviving the Economy: 5 Tips for Taking a Summer Staycation

You and your kids have been looking forward to summer, and you want to get away. But with the cost of gas and plane so high, and the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, any kind of travel may be just not in the cards this year.

But while you may have to cancel your plans that would’ve taken you across the country, across the border, or across the ocean, before you skip a summer break altogether, consider taking a “staycation,” where you can still enjoy an affordable summer vacation at home.

The idea behind a staycation is to look at your city through the eyes of a tourist. Discover those great hidden places, attractions, and small restaurants you never knew about, and take in the local sights you’ve always wanted to see but keep putting off as “things to do” with your out-of-town guests.

Playing the Tourist: Downtime in Your Hometown

1) Stay in a nearby hotel or resort. Tell the hotel you’re a local, and they might give you a break on a room rate to encourage you to recommend them to visiting friends and family. Hotels and resorts can be pricey, though, so look for summer deals and discount packages.

2) Rediscover the outdoors. Go hiking, biking, boating, camping. If a hotel is too expensive or seems to risky, pack up your car and some camping gear, and get away from it all with a couple nights’ sleep under the stars. Rent a boat, and spend a day out on the lake. Or keep it closer to home, and have a midday picnic in the park. Look up nearby nature trails online, and set out on a daylong hike, or take it a little more easy and just make it a leisurely morning or evening walk; buy a birdwatching book or field guide, and try to pick out the different birds, trees, flowers, and other plant and animal life along the way.

3) Check out local guidebooks. For ideas of places to visit, browse online guidebook sites like Frommer’s, Fodor’s, and Lonely Planet check out the hard-copy versions from your local library.

4) Find hole-in-the-wall restaurants. If you’re going to sightsee like a tourist, you should be eating like one. Steer away from your usual takeout and dine-in standbys, and find out what affordable restaurants food lovers recommend in your area that you’ve never been to. See if Epicurious offers an essential guide for places to eat in your hometown, or check out other foodie websites like Chowhound and Roadfood.com.

5) Look for online events calendars. Many newspapers and alternative weeklies have already done the footwork for you, so take advantage — some of their listings will usually be free. Plan to attend at least one event or activity every couple days or so during your staycation — it’ll help you avoid the temptation to spend your time in front of the TV and slipping back into your usual day-to-day routine or checking your e-mail and getting sucked back into work.

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The Workaholic’s 4-Step Guide to a Balanced Life

“There is nothing more tragic than a person who achieves wealth, fame, power or prestige only to find he’s lost the love of his family and friends, the respect of his colleagues, and above all has lost the ability to appreciate life for its own sake.”

~ Roger Dawson

The truth is, most companies reward workaholics — promotions, raises, additional responsibility — which can lead to a self-perpetuating cycle: The more success you have, the more you’re drawn to focusing on your career.

You may be your company’s star employee, but as a workaholic, you’ll have little time for family, friends, exercise, or even just small leisurely distractions. The big paychecks, professional prestige, and recognition may make you feel like those long hours, weekends, and holidays spent working are worth it, but do you ever imagine your last words on your deathbed being, “I wish I had spent more time at the office”?

Ten, 15, or 20 years from now, when you’re looking back and taking an inventory of how you spent your waking hours on this earth, don’t let one of your regrets be that you wish you had spent more time living and less time working.

Is there more to my life than work, really?

Not convinced that any of this applies to you? Start with these five sure signs you are a workaholic.

The good news is, even the most hardcore workaholics can start reclaiming their lives just by making small changes that will go a long way toward breaking the compulsive career cycle.

Here are four steps you can take to help you redefine your life as one that belongs to you, not the company you work for.

1. Establish boundaries, shift your priorities, and delegate.

Your first and most important goal: To re-assert your personal life.

This means learning to leave your work at the office, delegating what’s not of the highest importance, and cutting back the time you spend working to 40 hours a week.

It won’t be easy. You’ll feel like you’re slacking at first, like you have to be doing more. So take it slow, and cut back gradually:

If you’re working seven days and 70 hours a week, start by scaling back by one hour a weekday to 65 hours a week. Then work your way down to 60 hours. Then try taking Sundays off completely, and so on, until you’re at 40 hours and you’ve made your weekends your own.

As with any addiction, breaking your dependency on work will go easier if you can distract yourself from thinking about it. So as you cut down on your work hours, reward yourself by spending that extra time doing things you really enjoy.

2. Pay attention to your body.

Workaholism doesn’t just cost you a personal life, it can take a physical toll as well. Stress, fatigue, headaches, and insomnia can be just the beginning.

If you ignore what your body’s telling you as you work yourself into the ground, your symptoms may get worse and could lead to depression, high blood pressure, even a heart attack or stroke. Your work, when you let it run rampant enough, could literally kill you — the Japanese actually have a word for it: kroshi, “death by overwork.”

Make a commitment to stop prioritizing work over your health and well-being: When you’re tired, go to sleep. When you’re run down, take a break. When you get to the point where you’re feeling wrung out, go on vacation.

3. Find balance in your life.

Your mission here is to move from a life that’s work-centric to balanced living, where you allocate time for yourself — social outings, long-forgotten hobbies, even just time to relax — and for those things that matter most, your friends and family.

Start by scheduling your personal time, just as you would work. When you’re completely absorbed by your job, the only way you’re going to be able to kickstart your personal life is by managing it, at first, the same way you manage your work life.

Set aside appointment times in your calendar for movies, dinners, workouts, etc. No matter how small a thing it is, write it in. If one of your goals is to read more, schedule reading time. If you want to sleep an hour more a night, schedule your bedtime, and stick to it.

Eventually, as you force yourself to balance work with a personal life, you’ll be able to find time naturally for your non-work activities without needing to lay them out, hour by hour, in your calendar.

4. Get help if you need it.

Some mental health professionals believe workaholism is an addictive behavior, like compulsive gambling or alcoholism, that requires formal treatment for those who can’t conquer it on their own.

If your addiction to work has spiraled out of the range of your ability to rein it in, your first step is to admit that you have a problem. Your next step is to take action and get the support you need to overcome it.

The Workaholics International Network and Workaholics Anonymous are two good places to start if you need help. Both websites offer extensive resources, articles, and advice. Workaholics Anonymous has a 12-step recovery program and lists W.A. meetings by city and state.

Additional Resources

For more information and guidance on overcoming workaholism, try these books:

The Man Who Mistook His Job for a Life: A Chronic Overachiever Finds the Way Home by Jonathon Lazear (Crown, 2001)

Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them by Bryan Robinson (New York University Press, 2007)

Working Ourselves to Death: The High Cost of Workaholism and the Rewards of Recovery, second edition, by Diane Fassel (Backinprint.com, 2000)

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