finances and loan

A federal student loan can be a pain to pay off, but you'll find a fast way to do it below. And after the quick method, some good ideas in case you still need them.

Recently you have probably seen in the news how bailouts have saved banks and some other companies. You might even be asking when you get your student loan bailout.

As luck would have it, so far no one has created that bailout. You may find the idea below helpful in your quest for freedom from your past loans, and all those pizzas and lattes in college.

Have you looked at real estate?

Property values have really sunk, and people have defaulted in record numbers. If your neighborhood looks like mine, you have a few more vacant houses than you used to, and sales aren't going so fast.

That's where this idea shines. Now you can put those houses to work for you!

First, find a foreclosed property or a even a fixer upper house.

Make the best deal you can to get it for way below market, 50% or less if you can. Now apply for a HELOC (home equity line of credit). The HELOC should match or exceed the amount of federal student loans you have.

If not, don't worry, just do it twice.

Now, if you feel exceptionally unethical, you can use the money to pay off your student loan debt.

To finish up the concept, sell the house for more than you bought it, including the new loan. Or some people might default. You get the picture.

At about this time, you might think, "what a lousy idea! I'm not going to buy a house in this market and then hope to sell or lose my shirt!"

Okay, let's look at the more ethical options available to you.

Bonus Ideas

You aren't the first to worry about a big federal student loan looming over your future. With time and focus, you can pay it off.

- You can move in with your parents or grandparents for a couple of short years. Send your rent money to pay down that loan. That right there could be $12,000 per year.

- Go back to mowing lawns for extra money, and shoveling walks in the winter until you get your student loan paid off.

- Sell your RV and use the payment to get your debt paid off.

- Ditto the four wheelers, the boat, the jet skis, and any other toys.

Painful, I know. Paying off your federal student loans can take some time and diligence. If you'll make a few sacrifices and throw extra money at this problem, you can pay it off fast.

It might take extra effort, but once it's gone, you'll feel better, and you can move out of grandma's house, and buy back all those toys.

When it comes to Craigslist and safety, a lot of focus is placed on personal safety. An individual meeting a stranger to buy a used car is encouraged to gather information about the seller, as well as the date, time, and location of the exchange. They should give this information to someone they know. In the event something happens, friends and family know where to look. Of course, you want to be concerned about your personal safety, but don't forget about your financial safety too.

Wait, your financial safety? Yes. If you are new to using Craigslist.org you may be unaware that scammers target the website. There are scams that target buyers and sellers, as well as job seekers and apartment seekers. If you fall victim to one of these scams, the financial complications can be devastating.

As previously stated, job seekers and apartment seekers are targeted for some financial scams. This usually involves an individual claiming they have a work-at-home job opportunity or an apartment to rent. A "landlord," may claim they need your credit card or bank account information to process a background check. An individual hiring home based workers may need the same information for training fees. These are usually scams and once you handover the information, you may find your bank accounts drained.

As for frauds on Craigslist that target buyers and sellers, these scams can be more difficult to spot, but there are signs. As a seller, be cautious of a buyer who wants you to ship a product overseas or a buyer who sends you more money than needed. You are likely to receive a bad check. In these situations, you not only lose money, but the product you shipped too. Buyers, be cautious of a seller who does not give you the option to pickup a purchase or wants you to wire payment. This is a sure sign of a scam, as the "seller," likely doesn't even have an item to sell. You send money and get nothing in return.

As you can see, there are many ways that scammers target the Craigslist website. Luckily, most of these frauds and their scams are easy to spot. Use your best judgment when using Craigslist.org to buy, sell, rent an apartment, or find a job.

By actively managing your debt you will effectively become more aware of your choices in terms of your financing options, as well as the real cost of debt, which you will only notice when you analyze your accounts. Debt has changed our lives considerably by making practically any purchase possible, regardless of whether we actually need certain items. The fact that we may want to spoil ourselves every so often has become a little too easy with all the available credit cards and facilities that have become available. Only when we enter into a recession type environment, do we realize the full impact of our spending habits.

Debt management is not a difficult process or activity, but rather merely an awareness of these habits, as well as existing accounts and outstanding dues. This can be easily accomplished by setting up a filing and record system of all your accounts. Although this may sound elementary, many of us put it aside and do not make the effort to keep updated records our financial affairs, and this is where possible mistakes or oversights on our part may occur, which can have a direct bearing on our credit rating or credit score.

In addition to a well organized filing and records system, a simple spreadsheet calculating the true expense of your debt and spending habits will reveal exactly how much money is going towards your creditors. This part of debt management should in fact be an eye-opening experience for you, as a lot of these financing charges or interest amounts could be going towards a savings or investment account for yourself. By rushing out and buying whatever you want and whenever you want, is in fact costing you in the medium to long term, if you are purchasing on credit. Just think about the times that you have bought something and used it once or twice and the item has ended up in the closet, which raises the question of whether you actually needed to go out and purchase that item or not.

Obviously debt management requires an amount of self-discipline and commitment to being fully aware of your current situation, however the rewards can be revealed in the cost-saving in terms of not paying interest, or financing charges on purchases that you really didn't need. This commitment can be rewarded by saving money, and buying yourself something once you have displayed sufficient restraint in credit spending.

They are situations where people do not have the time to create and maintain a debt management plan, in which instance it is well worth the time and effort to consider an outside management company, that can help you with this process; it is however important that you do something in line with this subject in order to avoid any nasty surprises.