The question

So I’m about to be a sophomore this fall. I’m an independent student, and because of my family situation and financial situation, I received much financial aid last year. I got the max amount of grants and loans, and even work study.

So in January, I did the FAFSA for the 2012-2013. I applied much earlier this year than I did for the 2011-2012 school year. I received my financial aid package, and I got hardly anything but two loans and a grant. I need to find a way to pay $ 8,000 to cover the rest. I work an on-campus job, but it’s not nearly enough to pay for my own bills. It’s odd, because I am in the same situation now as I was last year. I know students who did the FAFSA in March and got work-study, and I did mine in January and I didn’t get anything.

I talked to my financial aid office at my university, and they simply said that I didn’t get much aid because of the state budget, but if students who applied in March got more financial aid than me, how is that right? I asked so many questions, and they just keep telling me “we are on a budget, we’re sorry, we can’t give you any more aid.”

What can I do to find more financial aid, besides scholarships? (I applied for as many scholarships as I could but have heard nothing back yet.) I feel like my university does not care enough about helping its students.
Oh, and before you tell me to get a job, I do have a job. About to start a second job, and it still doesn’t cut it. You think that minimum wage jobs can pay the high cost of tuition?

The question

Well, I have a few questions for all of you great people out there, but first I think I should provide some background info.

I am currently a 16 year old Pakistani who is living in the United States in the state of Texas. Although I was not born here I am a U.S citizen. I do turn 17 in June.

My first question is about emancipation. I understand that you can request to be emancipated and so that means you would be basically living on your own or supporting yourself or whatever. Assuming this happens, do your parents still legally own you? As in, could they possibly deport or send you wherever they please? Although I have no plans of doing so, I was just curious.

Next questions, I know that your parents have to help you fill out the FAFSA in order for you to get loan for college’s and what not. But my question is that if I plan on moving out as soon as I turn 18 (early June of 2013), how would I be able to get loans without having my parents help on the FAFSA?

Also, does turning 18 basically you untouchable by any laws that would parents could use against minors?

In case you are curious, I do plan on moving out as soon as I turn 18, I do not wish to live with my parents or any of my family members. I don’t dislike them, but I do not feel like I can live with them much longer due to personal reason.

So how do I apply for loans without the help of my parents?
I am a decent student in school and plan on working very hard during my senior year to try and get scholarships and other aids.

Thank you for your time.

The question

I’m 20 years old and I been out of an education since graduating high school on June 4th 2011. I’m trying to apply for college coming this fall. For the 2013 fall semester.
1st question: after an entire year out of high school, do I still need my high school transcript?

2nd question: do I have to take the ACT/SAT again?

3rd question: (and most important)
my parents do not claim me nor do they have any written documents
Proving that they don’t claim me. I lived with my granny for 4 years in Houston, and moved with my auntie her in new Orleans September 2011. I currently live with her now.
I applied to delgado community college and used my 2011-2012 fafsa. I had my dads w2 info on it. But they said I needed his 1040 tax forms. I contacted my father for it. But he said he doesn’t have it. Like wtf???
So now I’m screwed. I can’t get financial aid with out this form that pretty much don’t exist. I can’t contact my dad nor my mother because they no longer have a working number, and I talked to every counselor and financial aid rep I could find
Including the fafsa guys themselves. An unsubsidized loan is not in my plans nor will it ever be because first. My stupid job don’t pay me enough too pay it back.
Plus I need full financial aid in order for me to go to a state school such as lsu or Alabama or Kansa. And second. Im not going to a community college. So don’t consider it. I tried going but to no avail. 4 year schools only. So can anyone help me so that I can get everything straight before the end of summer???????

The question

I closed on my house 4/2/07. Have an 80/20 loan. First 80% is fixed for 5 years and can adjust April 2012. Rate really isn’t that good either, 7.25%. My question is before I look into refinancing in a few months, do you think my current lender would be interested in doing something for me. Do banks do that? I’ve been on time since I closed, no issues there. I thought this may be worth exploring so I dont have to entire into the fun process of applying for loans again. Any suggestions, ideas, thoughts? Thanks.

The question

1. The Robinson Company has the following current assets and
current liabilities for these two years:
2011 2012
Cash and marketable securities $ 50,000 $ 50,000
Accounts receivable 300,000 350,000
Inventories 350,000 500,000
Total current assets $ 700,000 $ 900,000
Accounts payable $ 200,000 $ 250,000
Bank loan 0 150,000
Accruals 150,000 200,000
Total current liabilities $ 350,000 $ 600,000
a. Compare the current ratios between the two years.
b. Compare the acid-test ratios between 2011 and 2012.
Comment on your findings.

5. Following are selected financial data in thousands of dollars for
the Hunter Corporation.
2012 2011
Current assets $ 500 $ 400
Fixed assets, net 700 600
Total assets 1,200 1,000
Current liabilities 300 200
Long-term debt 200 200
Common equity 700 600
Total liabilities and equity $ 1,200 $ 1,000
Net sales $ 1,500 $ 1,200
Total expenses _1,390 _1,100
Net income 110 100.
a. Calculate Hunter’s rate of return on total assets in 2012 and
in 2011. Did the ratio improve or worsen?
b. Diagram the expanded Du Point system for Hunter for 2012.
Insert the appropriate dollar amounts wherever possible.
c. Use the Du Pont system to calculate the return on assets for
the two years, and determine why they changed.

The question

I filled out my FAFSA earlier this year in preparation of attending the University at Buffalo this fall. I am 18 and was accepted as a transfer student to transfer in at the beginning of my sophomore year (fall 2012). I received today my student aid report from the government and it said that I am eligible for around $ 5000.00 a year in direct unsubsidized stafford loans, but my yearly tuition cost is going to be more like $ 16000.00, (I’m living there). I was under the impression that the federal government allowed you to take out as much in loans as you needed, apparently not. My parents will not pay for any of my college, so what do I do? I’m thinking of looking at private student loan companies such as Sallie Mae, but I’m not sure if that’s the best course of action.

Also can I, say, accept the 5 grand from the federal government AND get a private loan for the difference or is it one or the other? Is there an even better answer? Any input would really help!
Lol at he answers I got. Let me elaborate here. SUNY (State University of New York) at Buffalo (UB) is NOT a private school…..der da der.

The the first answer guy here….are you dumb? I did my research alone because of the GREAT help I received here. If i get a private student loan I don’t have to start paying until after I graduate, as a matter of fact the ONLY difference is it may have a slightly higher interest rate. I can deal with that. As for the suggestion that I get a job, I have two and I’m still maintaining a perfect 4.0 average at my current institution. Suggesting that a full time student pays off an 18k tuition a year by himself is foolish to the point of stupidity. How are you a top contributor?

And to the third answerer I understand what you were trying to say, but UB is NOT a private school by any means, and my parents are more than willing to cosign a loan for me on their 150k a year salary. I said they wouldn’t pay for any of my college directly, not

The question

My mom agreed to pay for my college loans in 2007 when she worked for the small college where I attended. During the process of her divorce, she lost her job and I took over the payments until I was incarcerated in 2008. At which point, my mom told me she got the loans put into deferment. I applied for a home loan in 2011, and I found out that they were in default and it was ruining my credit.
I made an offer to the collection agency to pay the bill in full if they changed the status on how they were reporting it. They refused because according to the company they were never in deferment.
Now 2012, and they garnished my tax returns for the owed money ($ 2,000)
I called my mother to get any documents regarding this so I could contact a lawyer to state my case, but she said she didn’t keep any documents or paperwork. So obviously I don’t have any proof of the deferment and it would be pointless to contact a lawyer.

My mother offered to reimburse me for the $ 2,000, but I don’t know if I should accept it from her. I have prided myself on being independent. I have worked for everything I have ever needed since I was 16. If I accept this money, I feel like I would be a freeloader asking for help.

Normally I wouldn’t care about the money but the only reason it is an issue is I am getting married in February and I was really counting on the extra money. I budget money very well and it is just an unexpected circumstance.

Should I accept the money from my mother? (PS She is now remarried to a very wealthy man, with two children. She is a now full time house wife and college student.)

The question

-We don’t have any credit card debt
-We have a personal loan (current) with a balance of $ 3300
-We both have car loans. He’ll be done paying for his Dec. 2009. Me-June 2012
-We have no money for a down payment
-I make $ 45,000 and he makes $ 35,000
-He’s been at his job for a year and I’ve been at mine for 5 months
-I owe $ 75,000 in student loans. He owes $ 10,000. Neither one of us in default-they are in deferment/forebearance status
-I have a target store card (limit of $ 200-current), a line of credit for furniture for $ 1300 (current), a CareCredit line of credit for $ 1300 (current)
-We don’t have any other debt to speak of.
-We pay $ 879 a month for rent, about $ 200 for Electricity, $ 100 for cable, phone/internet, and cell phones each (so $ 300).
-My car insurance is $ 116, and his is $ 98. Plus $ 25 for renter’s insurance.

Can we buy a house? Should we?

The question

I am 28, have worked since I was 16 and have had my 401k for almost 4 years. My company matches up to 6% and I currently have 6% of my pay going towards my 401k. My balance in my 401k is a little over $ 20k and it isn’t going up much since the economy took a dive… in fact it’s moving down if anything………………………

My biggest problem financially however is my $ 40,000 in student loans………. they are KILLING me. Even though they are still on deferment since I have not graduated yet I can’t stand watching that balance grow. (I am currently working full time AND going to school full time) So I make about $ 35k-$ 40k (sales with commission so pay is never totally certain). I have not paid anything towards these student loans because i don’t know what to do………

I have pondered bringing my 401k contributions down to 2% to help increase my take home pay which I can use to pay off student loans? My student loans are at about 6.8% interest at the highest and 2% at the lowest. SO i need financial advice/help!

I don’t know what I should be doing to clear up this debt and/or save!

(I asked this question before and didn’t mention when I will be done with school. I am studying Communications and will hopefully have my degree by summer or fall of 2012 (so about one year)…. I don’t know if it will help my job situation right away, but I am in a wireless company where they pay for my school (most of it anyways, I have to pay for any fees, etc) and I had to pick a degree that could be applied to this company in some form, which is why I picked Communications. I am hoping to one day make it up into the corporate part of the company, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication on my part since communication is kind of a broad subject. I am doing everything i can professionally NOW to improve my chances of moving up. Moving up before my degree is proving VERY hard, plus there really aren’t any corporate positions opening up while the economy is bad)

I am leaning towards cutting back my 401k and paying the debt off faster even though that 6% match is free money and it’s better to buy when the market is down…….. I just need advice from people who have better experience with finances then I do.

The question

I’m having a hard time trying to figure out the math of this.

I have 2 loans. One loan is a state loan made up of 2 loans which one is subsidized at an amount of 14,820 with a 4.250% interest and the unsubsidized is 5,496 with 6.550% interest.

My other loan is made up of 3 loans which $ 6,863 at 6.550%, $ 6,313 at 7.9200%, and $ 5,081 at 7.9200%.

I have enough money to pay off one loan fully. My NJClass requires a minimum payment of $ 172/month and my State is $ 233/month.

Which would save me more money: paying $ 1000/month ($ 500 each on the 2 loans) or deferring the State loan in January for about 10 months and paying off the full amount of the NJClass loan this January 2012?

The question

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/the-debate-over-student-loan-interest-is-nothing-but-a-sideshow/256414/

Here, in a nutshell, are the reasons why the cost of public higher education is rising.* It begins with state funding, which, on an inflation adjusted, per-student basis, has been eroding for twenty-five years. The trend is captured in this graph below from the college board, which shows state and local spending in blue, tuition in green, and enrollment as the pink line. Notice: the green bars grow as the blue bars shrink.
unions=middle class
no problem, drty.
should we go back to before 1958 when the govt student loan program began?
ok, perhaps one reason tuitions are rising so fast are cuts in state funding.

The question

I have $ 16,764.00 in credit card debt with interest rates in the 20%-30% range. I am looking into either a debt management program or a debt settlement program. For the debt management program they estimate that I will pay $ 22,410 total including their fees and be debt free in 3 years 9 months (April 2013). For the debt settle program they estimate that I will pay $ 10,058 total including their fees and be debt free in 2-3 years (July 2011-July 2012) depending on how much I decide I can afford per month. I see that the settlement program is a lot cheaper in the long run ($ 12,352), does not take as long to complete (24-36 months instead of 45) and is at least $ 100 cheaper a month if I choose the 2 year program and $ 220 cheaper if I choose the 3 year program. My current credit score is about 645 and I don’t want to destroy it, but I can not keep paying the minimum payments for the rest of my life and never be debt free. Has anyone used either of these programs? What was the difference in your credit score when you finished the program? Did you have any problems? The name of the company is Coastal Credit Solutions out of San Diego, CA. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

The question

I’m terrible at this kind of stuff, need to journalize these entries for a project. Please help! The name of our company is Tootie Frootie.

a. On August 1, 2011 a 12-month insurance policy was purchased for $ 11,200.
b. On Jan, 1, 2011, Tootie Frootie paid Gretsky Advertising $ 50,000 for two years of advertising services. Equal services are provided in year 1 and year 2.
c. $ 4250 of store supplies were purchased during the year and the asset store supplies increased. $ 1300 of these supplies were on hand at year end.
d. $ 7500 of office supplies were purchased during the year and were immediately expensed. $ 2500 of these supplies remained at the end of 2011.
e. On Oct. 1, 2011, Tootie Frootie received a $ 25,000 9-month note receivable from Shanahan & Co. at an annual interest rate of 6%. Principle and interest will be paid to us on July 1, 2011 at the end of the 9-months.
f. Depreciation for the year is as follows: Store equipment – $ 15,000; Office equipment – $ 5,000.
g. Sales salaries of $ 6,000 and office salaries of $ 3,000 need to be accrued at 12/31/11.
h. On October 1, 2011, Tootie Frootie rented out a portion of one of its stores to Twist & Chase Co. The contract was for 10 months and Tootie Frootie required the 10 months of cash upfront on October 1. The rent is being earned equally over those 10 months.
i. The long-term note payable was outstanding the entire year. The note pays interest at 6%. Interest was paid through October 1 of the current year. The next interest payment is due January 1, 2012.
j. At 12/31/2011, based on the aging method, Tootie Frootie estimates that $ 4500 of accounts receivable will be uncollectible.
FOR (i) : The note payable is for $ 140,000.

The question

I know it sounds silly, but I want to pay off the entire student loan in 2 months from now. It’s a $ 2500 loan. I can’t find anything about repaying it early, only that I must start paying it 6 months after graduation in 2012. I want ot pay it off immediately (in 2 months) is this permitted? I really want ot keep my student loan debt down, but am in a financial crunch right now till Feb. so I took out the loan.

The question

i have over 14,000 worth of debt on my credit mostly student loans(good standings) and two credit cards(charge-offs), and a few other old debt thats delinquent. My question is my husband and i are trying to get our credit together because we have kids now and they deserve a home. We are giving ourselves 3 years to get our credit together to look for a home(starting this january 2012). If we pay off ALL our debt(even the ones from 2006), in 3 years when we go to apply for a loan, if we bring our receipts to the lender will they give us a loan? I know they may run it and deny us, so i want to know even if the creditors and collection companies dont “take” the debt completely off will our receipts help us out as proof we’ve paid it and its just not taken off yet?

As of right now my score is 548 and my husbands is 544(he doesnt have anything on his credit other than our utility bills in which we’re paying already). How can we get his up? No one will give him a credit card because his score so low and he has no credit. Thanks for your help and thanks for reading.

The question

My husband’s brother is 27 years old. His fiancee is 25. He lives at home, rent-free, with his parents. She lives at home, rent-free with hers. They’re both ridiculously spoiled, which I think may have something to do with this situation. I mean, she is “Daddy’s Girl” to the core. She owns her own business, but lives at home, and her dad buys her a new car every 3 years and pays her student loan bills and when by BIL proposed, she said she “needed to talk it over with her mom first,” before telling him yes or no.

Their wedding date is TBD, but they keep asking all of us (family, friends, co-workers, distant relatives) to RSVP now. None of the plans are set in stone. They want it to be in the city where they live, but they don’t have a venue or date selected. And they want people to RSVP *now*. They’re saying “sometime in 2012″. But I feel that we should not all have to plan our lives around this wedding nonsense. I mean, my husband’s company just demoted hundreds of employees (including him) to part-time status. He’s looking for jobs out of state, which means we might have to sell our house and move once he’s done with graduate school this summer. After that, once our financial situation settles down, we’re planning to start the adoption process.

Why do the two of them think that their wedding day is more important than the lives of everyone around them? (We certainly weren’t that way!) Is there any way to talk to one or both of them without making them run back to their parents?

The question

My wife and i are having a lot of issues in our marriage. we’ve been married for over a year now and alot of it has to do with her sordid messed up past that she can’t let go. She has been to counseling but there just is so much she can’t let go. she even quit going. its causing a lot of pain and heartache and she is blaming me the way she acts cause ive been changing my atittude alot cause of the pain she is causeing. she can’t and wont listen to reasoning. im currently on deployment coming back soon and she has put me through hell a lot this year. im willing to dedicate all of next year to get our marriage on tract with counseling and such. i decided if by the end of next year to the middle of 2013 if it doesnt work then im done. im going to take preventive measures but if she does end up pregnant does that mean if we divorce she is qaulify for the car and such? the car is something i got a loan out in my name before marrying her in 2010. ive had it for over a year now. we live on post so no property togther, except for two dogs and such. i make all the payments to this car as well. now my wife doesnt work and doesnt go to school and she refuses too. ive brought in all the dough and pay all the bills and put food on the table. she just wants to be a stay at home mom that cooks and cleans, and do nothing and have me do everything. any ideas, suggestions, or information would be great. i refuse to be married if things dont work out cause of a kid either. i be miserable. oh we got married in tennessee and stationed at fort campbell.