To refinance a student loan or not really depends on what the benefit is for the graduating student in terms of interest and repayment schedules. Options included in an offer include low interest rates, longer repayment terms, and forbearance, or deferment options. Government backed student loans offer the best benefit to most students and usually the lowest interest rate. However, in order to receive these wonderful benefits some sort of consolidation must be done. In essence to refinance means to consolidate.
The old loans from individual lenders are paid in full, while a new combined loan is brought forth. These new loans can extend payments up to 25 years post graduation or withdrawal from school. If a student is planning to refinance a student loan, there are some issues that must be in order to qualify. The first issue begins in school attendance. If the student is still in school, they may have to wait until they graduate or withdrawal and their grace period ends. For those that have been out of school and have been making regular payments on one or more loans, this option may be a great benefit.
It is important to note that while financing is in process, it is necessary to continue to make payments on the old agreement. This will ensure no discrepancies and unintentional bad marks on a credit report. Graduating students are just beginning their independent lives. Starting out with bad credit makes life a lot harder than it has to be. Once the loan is processed and a new payment voucher book is issued, the student can begin making payments to the new loan. Typically when someone wants to refinance a student loan, a large benefit is that of new deferment periods. If a student has previously used up their deferment or forbearance options, a new loan can allow them those options again. It is important to have a budget and to understand personal spending limits even on debts owed. John 10:10 offers encouragement by saying "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Money and debt should not run anyone's life, God should. Make sure He is the base of any financial plan.
To refinance a student loan effectively, detailed information about each lender and the balances held need to be provided. If this information is not easily obtainable due to the fact that loan companies sell loans to other companies daily, there are some lenders that will do the research for you. The applicant is responsible for the outcome, and if any legitimate loans were not included in the new loan, they will have to be paid off separately. Accurate record keeping in the college years is of utmost importance later in life. Once a person has completed the process, they can sit back, relax, and enjoy the extra money they saved.
After spending exorbitant amounts of money on cable, one day I decided I would give it up and start looking for alternatives. I admit, I was seduced into getting cable by their low introductory price which was only $29 per month, including the premium channels.
Of course, this lasted only 3 months, after which I was expected to pay the full price of $89 per month. Like everyone else, I put up with this and quickly realized what I had gotten myself into. I knew that with my tight budget, this luxury couldn't last. I knew I would have to give up my HBO (I love HBO--"Sopranos" anyone?).
However, even after I got rid of the premium channels I was still paying $69 per month!
There had to be another way. Unfortunately, cable companies tend to monopolize whatever area they get their grubby hands on, and I knew it would be difficult to find an alternative. The only other option for me was whipping out that old TV antenna, and getting my wife to stand next to the TV while moving the antenna around until we got a good signal. I can tell you right now, my wife wasn't going to go for that one.
I knew that even joking about it would lead to the single life.
The alternative came to me when I heard from a friend who just happened to have satellite TV. He told me about how much he loved his Dish Network, and that the TV commercials where they show the people losing the signal all the time, and having to go to the roof to adjust the antenna was a bunch of "hog wash."
In the year that he had his Dish Network, he hadn't had one problem with it. He loved his Dish Network, and he was only paying $42.99 per month for it while getting over 100 channels, including HBO.
I wanted in. I inquired about how I could get my own Dish Network system, but was a bit hesitant. Although the monthly price was cheap, what about all the equipment I would have to buy?
My friend just laughed at me. He told me that all the equipment was free.
How could hundreds of dollars worth of equipment be free? That included a satellite antenna, receivers for up to 4 rooms, a Digital Video Recorder, and even a High Definition receiver. It couldn't all be free. There had to be some sort of catch.
I decided to investigate this a bit further. After all, I was about to give up a reliable, albeit expensive, source of entertainment--my cable.
I checked out the website my friend recommended, www.vmcDishNetwork.net, and it turns out that Dish Network was indeed offering free installation, free equipment, and to top it off, even the first month free. That's a lot of free stuff and I love free stuff.
I jumped on it. I cancelled my cable, and scheduled my install. I couldn't get the installer in here fast enough.
Out of all the programs offered by vmcDishNetwork, decided on the 120 channels, including HBO (YAY!) and Cinemax, plus local channels and even includes 65 channels of SIRIUS satellite radio (I just happen to have a SIRIUS radio receiver--go Howard Stern!).
If someone were to ask me whether or not switching to satellite TV was a good move on my part, I'd have to say, "Absolutely, YES!"
If they were to ask me if they should give up their cable for satellite TV, I would tell them, "Do it as soon as you can, and stop paying ungodly amounts of money per month when satellite TV offer so much more, for so much less."
http://www.christianet.com/refinancing/refinanceastudentloan.htm
