Financial Advice for Life After College
For many college graduates, it’s time for the real financial world.
Are they ready?
If you’re a graduate, are you ready?
In a post for the Motley Fool, Nicole Seghetti provides five pieces of advice to help graduates start off on the right financial foot.
Here’s one of her tips: Don’t try to compete.
“Out-of-control spending on ‘must-have’ designer shoes and expensive nights out at trendy restaurants can rack up credit card debt that takes years to pay off,” she writes. “If your friends decide to go this route, so be it. You don’t have to follow them down the same slippery financial slope.”
Teresa Mears, writing for U.S. News and World Report, offers 13 money tips for graduates, including this bit of advice that I often tell graduates. Mears suggests that people weigh the costs compared with the financial benefit of going to graduate school.
“In some fields, such as education, a master’s degree is a necessity,” writes Mears. “In others, having a master’s degree grants few career benefits beyond what you learn. You don’t want to accrue additional debt to get a degree that won’t increase your salary. After you’ve been in the workplace several years, you may decide to change direction, or your employer may pay your way.”
Color of Money question of the week
What one piece of financial advice would you give to a college graduate? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please include your name, city and state.
Troops battle unfair student loan charges
Sallie Mae and its former subsidiary Navient Solutions were slammed with $97 million in fines for unlawfully charging active-duty service members high interest rates and late fees on student loans, reports The Washington Post’s Danielle Douglas.
“Company staff denied some borrowers’ benefit requests and stuck others with more than $500 in excess interest,” reports Douglas. “And when soldiers fell behind on payments, Sallie Mae took legal action against them without documenting their military service, in violation of the law, according to the complaint.”
About 60,000 service members were affected by the practices, which date to 2005. Douglas says that the case against Sallie Mae marks the first time the government has sued a student lender for violating the rights of military personnel.
Neither Navient nor Sallie Mae admitted or denied wrongdoing.
At a news conference, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the fines were intended to send a message to lenders. “This type of conduct is more than just inappropriate, it is inexcusable. And it will not be tolerated,” Holder said.
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Source: Washington Post