The question

I have bad credit and I have maxed out on financial aid. I have only 2 semesters left in school and I can’t find any money to complete my final classes. I do not have a credit-worthy cosigner willing to help. I need assistance ASAP to start back school in the Spring of 2012.

The question

I have been a college student since Summer semester of 2011. Summer and fall I took two classes at a time (so half-time student, 6 credits) and this semester right now I am taking a full semester (12 credits). I safely estimate that I did not make more than $ 11,000 for 2011. I also did not take out any loans for my college, it was all paid out of pocket. For Fall semester of 2012 and Spring of 2013 I plan to file for financial aid (FAFSA). I am currently considered a Freshman. I understand that as a college student this impacts my taxes and tax returns, but I’m not a tax expert and, unfortunately, neither are my parents. I paid about $ 1400 for Summer and Fall 2011 tuition combined and am paying (in payments) $ 1400 for Spring 2012 tuition. I’m 19 and my parents do not claim me, as although I live with them I pretty much pay all my own bills and even food. Based on this information, what tax credit(s) or deduction(s) am I eligible for, and would be most beneficial for me to take? Will this impact how much of the tax I paid to federal and state I actually get back? I remember working full time the year before I didn’t get everything back. What information can I (truthfully!) put down on my tax forms to maximize my tax return (I’m trying to pay my tuition now so I don’t have to take it out of my paychecks, I don’t make that much and it hurts when I need gas and food..). Will I need additional forms?

Anyone who is willing to help me out a little, I would greatly appreciate it. I haven’t gotten the info back in the mail from my employers (I had 3 this year) to file yet but I am trying to be prepared.

The question

I’ll be going to uni in September 2012 I hope…but will be applying in September 2011.

I am a Latvian national living in the UK (england) however I don’t want to study in England and want to try something else such as Norway…
I have found a perfect uni in Norway (Bodo) and they have no tuition fees, however, they ask you to have 89k kroner with you each year…could you tell me if I could get a loan for this in UK or do I have to do it through Norway or somehow else?

Thank you

The question

I am a student applying for University to start in Sept 2012, and as a result will be part of the first year of students required to pay the >£9000/year for my fees. I was wondering what the options are for me to pay this amount of money? Is the only way to do this to take out the money offered by the Government, or is there a way you can pay for fees up front directly through the university? In other words, is the money from the Government a loan or is it the only way to pay for university? I’ve heard they will penalise students who attempt to pay for their fees early (in the form of higher interest), however if the money from the Government is a loan, surely they will have no right to demand interest if I haven’t borrowed the money?
Thanks in advance,
Phil
Interesting answers so far, two different opinions. I suspected it would be such that the Government forced you to ‘take out’ the loan, however this does seem ridiculously unfair (and wasn’t quite the answer I was hoping for!). I’m luck enough to have been offered partial sponsorship through University, but as it is an individual sponsoring me, as opposed to a company affiliated with the University, the money would be collated in my bank account before being sent to the University.
I’m starting to wonder if different Universities offer different ways to pay, with some only accepting the Government ‘loan’ and some being open to ‘Self financing’ students (if this is still possible under the regulation changes). I’ll do a little more research and perhaps attend my local universities’ open day to see if they have a finance talk available.

The question

Okay so I made up a game. It’s like a financial life game but it’s really fun. What you do is you have to save money and go to college and get a house and a car and a good job. This requires a lot of thinking and logic to know how to play so I’m gonna explain it as best as I can. Okay things you need you need a IPhone/IPod then you need to go to notepad and calculator and you also need a random number generator, why? (to give random ammounts of money like expenses and job wages) so after all that. You need to write a biography. That’s step one. Then you need to make a calendar (in notepad listed under (Calender) (Don’t put any months until you start the game) after that put in your (Part time job) I say part time because you will be in college studying for your real career. You need to start college with a loan. So go to google type what college/ major you want then the cost of tuition per year there’s your tuition cost. Then open a loan and enter the APR use the calculator to determine the interest and how long it would take to pay off. You can chose to pay the loan in college or 1 year after college. Then you need to open a (Debt sheet in your notepad) to see your loans and credit cards and homes and cars. Then you need to open a savings sheet in note pad (what ever you save goes in there and is calculated as points. (after your done with the game you could restart a new life and try and bet that score) the random number genarator will tell you your expenses Each month for your salary then you could save it in savings or in CC Debt also every month you would have to put interest into your balance if you don’t pay it off. Also if you fail to pay your debt your credit score will drop every time you miss a payment and your limit will drop and you will have a higher interest rate and you will not be accepted for loans and other credit needed things. This is a sample of my life. (this very confusing but if you try you get it.

Biography 

Name: Marcie Gonzales 
Age: 20
Location: Queensland, Australia
Education: (H.S.D) 
GPA: 3.4
CCS: 640
Career: Sales Associate (Louis Vuitton) 
Salary:$ 32,400

Credit/Education

Credit Cards

Capitol One Silver Card

APR:15.00%
Fees:$ 100 
Limit:$ 1,000-$ 2,500-$ 5,000
Grace Period: Nov-Jan
-
Education/Classes

College: Academy Of Design (Australia)

Major: Fashion (Arts)
GPA:3.0
Tuition:$ 25,000 Per Year
Degree: 2-Year Bachelors 
Credits:0
Break: (July-August)
Graduation: September 2014
-
Car Loans
-
Home Loans
-
Personal Loans

Amount:$ 5,000
APR: 8%
Duration: 2 Year(s)
Payment:$ 225
Date: January, 2014
-
Student Loans

Loan Amount:$ 40,000
APR: 4.7%
Grace Period: September, 2012-March, 2015
Payment:$ 349
Duration: 10 Years

Savings

January, 2012
$ 2,700

February, 2012
$ 2,700

March, 2012
$ 3,200

April, 2012
$ 3,300

May, 2012
$ 3,800

June, 2012
$ 3,600

August, 2012
$ 3,700

September, 2012
$ 18,800

October, 2012
$ 18,600

November, 2012
$ 19,300

December, 2012
$ 20,400

January, 2013
$ 21,100

February, 2013
$ 20,800

March, 2013
$ 21,000

April,2013
$ 21,200

May, 2013
$ 21,000

June, 2013
$ 20,800

July, 2013
$ 20,600

August, 2013
$ 21,300

September, 2013
$ 22,018

October, 2013
$ 718

November, 2013
$ 436

December, 2013
$ 1,090

January, 2014
$ 1,318

February, 2014

Expenses

Home:$ 250
Utility:$ 250
Tax:$ 250
Tuition:$
Car:$
Loan:$ 225
Credit Card:$

Total:$ 975
21 minutes ago – 4 days left to answer.
Additional Details
GPA Determines what college you go to. Please use random genarator to see your GPA. There is a app you can get on the app store called (Random Number genarator)
19 minutes ago

Action Bar:stars – mark this as Interesting!

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The question

Posted by a Mom looking for a Nanny/Tutor/Assistant Mom in my area.

“I am looking to find someone by January 2012 that can help me with my son on a part-time basis. I am looking for someone who can pick him up from school, work with him on his homework and who can also offer some tutoring. He is currently in 4th grade and still struggles a little with Math and other academics. This year, I realize I need someone who can provide more one-on-one time. I would like someone who can be consistent for the rest of the school year (until June) and if possible there is an opportunity to continue, I am also in need of help around the home, but not a must, but a personal assistant would be a plus. Respond with your availability and rates. Please let me know if you are interested. Thanks!

Job Details:

Subject Areas: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Test Prep

Ideal Provider Qualifications:

Has own transportation
Non-smoker
Comfortable with pets
Attending college
Hours: 3-6pm Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs.

I more than fit all those qualifications; she mentioned in the ad that she would like to be contacted with my availability/rates, but I am not sure what would be a good rate.

The question

Suppose that you deposit $ 3,420 on January 1, 2008 in an account paying 6 and 5/8% annual interest, with interest credited to the acocunt on December 31 of each year. On January 1, 2011, the interest rate drops to 5 and 3/4%. What will the balance in your account be on January 1, 2015

my instinct is to figure out the first apr and multiply that to itself by however many years
future =p (1+apr)^years
and then do the same thing with the new apr but with the original principle
future = p(1+newapr)^years
and then add them todgether. but this isn’t right and i lose track of compounding after a certain point of trying to figure it with my head in the clouds, to put it abstractly lol

like you have to maintain the old balance and add new interest to it or something.

can someone walk me through this and show me the steps?
the answer is $ 5184.57
im way off.

me:

3,420(1.0625)^3 – (2008,2009,2010)
= $ 4,587.64
+
$ 3,420(1.075)^4 – (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
= 4,567.50
total = $ 6,669.50

The question

Hey,

I am planning a trip to Brazil (study abroad) for february 2012 – July 2012.
I have never been to the country (language is not an issue to me as I am a native
spanish speaker whcih is similar to portuguese and I have also taken some Portuguese course,
planning on taking more this fall. For those who have studied abroad to Brazil or else where, how did you finance your education abroad. I am not speaking about tuition and school fees but more like personal expenses while abroad. I have a job after school, a junior in college. I am thinking 2,000 dollars wont be enough to stay in Brazil and entire semester, that’s really all I can afford. But, I may be wrong, as my program of study provides and pays for excursion trips and I am also doing a homestay. Plus my tuition abroad is less expensive than that at my home institution. Do you guys suggest I ask for another loan? Should I go for it (the study abroad program). Should I try my best to save more? If you have studied abroad how much money did you took abroad.

Any help and suggestions?

I really want to do this, it is the only year I could because my home institution requires that
I finish my senior year in it, therefore I wont be able to study abroad pass this coming year. If i cant make it this Spring 2012, I was thinking I can try going for summer and staying for one month (july-aug). But I just feel that a month is not enough and I will just miss out on all the phone

Any thoughts???

Thanks so much!
Sorryyyyyyyyyy I ment fun

The question

I purchased a condo in 2006 that, of course, has greatly depreciated. Even though I put 20% down, half of the neighborhood foreclosed and the condo value depreciated from $ 120K to about $ 40-50K! I still am underwater by about $ 30-40k.

Since then, I met and married my wife and she moved in. We would like to move out of my “bachelor pad” and start a family. We want to keep the condo to avoid selling at the bottom of the market and taking a bath, while still qualifying for a new house. I could easily rent my condo to cover most or all of the costs. We are hoping to close this fall (October 2011)

As always with these types of questions there are a lot of parameters, so I’ll lay them out for you:

Our monthly gross income is $ 8,000 – this is solid w-2 income, not self employed or any other type of income.

Our monthly debt is as follows:
Mortgage: $ 618
Association fee: $ 124
Property taxes: $ 133 (and dropping)
Car payment 1: $ 583 – 0% loan will be paid off in March, 2012
Car payment 2: $ 421 – 0% loan will be paid off in May, 2014
Student loans: $ 20

Credit: the lowest of both of our credit scores from any of the 3 bureaus is 720.

Down payment: We will have $ 47,000 available for down payment and closing costs.

Loan amount: We are interested in homes valued around $ 250-260k, so the loan amount would be around $ 210-220k depending on closing costs.

Other assets: approx $ 40K in non-liquid or retirement assets.

Doing the math, our current debt-to-income back ratio is 24%. However, if you exclude car payment 1, which will have 5 payments left by the time i apply for this, its about 16.8%. I could even use some of my cash to just pay it off if a lender wanted to include it as debt.

I think this leaves a lot of wiggle room for us to qualify for a new mortgage, even if I have to pay PMI I would love to get out of here. Note that I did not include rental income in the equation because
I do not want to rely on having a tenant 100% of the time, I want to be able to afford both payments on my own.

Short selling,strategic default, etc. are last-resort options at this time. I feel they are unethical since I can pay the bills comfortably and I do not want to ruin my credit.

So all of my math seems to point to qualifying for a loan in my desired price range, without pushing the DTI above the limits.

I plan on speaking with an advisor on this but I wanted to know before i start this process if we are likely to qualify based on this information? Sometimes it seems that honest people who save and pay their bills on time are getting screwed in this world, and I just want to make sure I’m not off base with anything.
update: thanks for the response – the insurance is rolled into the association fee, which is why it is excluded. The larger car payment can be excluded because it will be paid off.

The question

My fiance and I are planning on having a cheap wedding next April (2012). She makes about 120-130k a year depending on the bonuses she gets. I was laid off and am currently collecting unemployment while going to school because I am enrolled in a program called 599, where they pay you while going for an approved program. My question is should we just legally get married this year to save more money financially when it comes to taxes. She has 150k in student loans that she pays a lot of interest on, (1,500 a month payments) but can’t even claim because of the tax bracket she is in. She has a 401k setup, which helps somewhat. She currently claims 0 on her W-4 and it will still be cutting it close next year when she file taxes. Our combined income will be about 138k to 148k with my unemployment income. I am currently going to school, but I do not get financial aid anyway because I was just laid off. Since we are already getting married next April, why not get married now for the tax reasons and I am currently without health insurance too. We will still have our wedding ceremony and reception with family next year. Thank you for your insight.

The question

I will be a freshman in community college in a few months. I want to pursue a carreer in Business/accounting. I want to recieve my bachelors, and then go on to receive my masters. But im already stressing about how i am going to afford all of this school.

I filled out my FAFSA and the report said that they would provide me with about $ 5,500 in aid for the 2011-2012 school year based in an EFC of 0. This will roughly cover most costs at community college, but what about after i transfer?

I am scared of how i am supposed to pay for the next 3 years of school.
Would they still be providing me with that much next year? or the two years after that?
Also, $ 5,500 is still not much. Tuition prices have rose to nearly $ 26,000 at a 4yr university.

Is it absolutely impossible to get a degree without taking out a student loan?

im afraid that school will put me in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, with no way to get out.
I dont want to be paying back a loan for years while i struggle to just survive.

Im seeing all this talk about how graduates of college dont even get a job in the field that they have studied so hard for, and thow students are struggling to pay back these inflated tuition prices.

How long would it take to pay back a student loan? about how much would interest have cost by the time the loan is paid off?

The question

Planning on going to SFSU in 2013.
Would have to get my own place and all that.
What are ways to afford it without living in debt!? Don’t want student loans.

The question

January 10, 2012
Fed Turns Over $ 77 Billion In Profits to the Treasury
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it contributed $ 76.9 billion in profits to the Treasury Department last year, slightly less than its record 2010 transfer but much more than in any other previous year.

The Fed is required by law to turn over its profits to the Treasury each year, a highly lucrative byproduct of the central bank’s continuing campaign to stimulate economic growth.

Almost 97 percent of the Fed’s income was generated by interest payments on its investment portfolio, including $ 2.5 trillion in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities, which it has amassed in an effort to decrease borrowing costs for businesses and consumers by reducing long-term interest rates.

Through those purchases, the central bank has become the largest single investor in federal debt and securities issued by the government-owned mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As a consequence, most of the money flowing into the Fed’s coffers comes from taxpayers.

But Fed officials note that this cycle — payments flowing from Treasury to the Fed and then back to the Treasury — still saves money for taxpayers because those interest payments otherwise would be made to other investors.

“It’s interest that the Treasury didn’t have to pay to the Chinese,” the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, half-jokingly told Congress last year.

The scale of the transfers grew rapidly after the financial crisis.

The Fed made an average annual contribution to the Treasury Department of $ 23 billion during the five years preceding the crisis. In the years since 2007, the Fed’s average contribution has more than doubled to $ 54 billion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/business/economy/fed-returns-77-billion-in-profits-to-treasury.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

The question

What ‘rate’ do insurance companies use to determine what their Fixed Deferred Annuities interest rates will be? 10 year treasurey…30 year treasurey…

I beleive that the feds will start to ease us out of this low interest rate environment in 2012, but I’m unsure what would spike Annuity rates to rise also.

The question

can someone help me with?

1. Blackfoot Company has $ 1,000,000 of salaries in its current payroll. $ 80,000 of these salaries are subject to unemployment taxes. The state rate is 5% but they have a 1% credit. The federal rate is 8%. $ 800,000 of these salaries are within the combined social security and Medicare limits. The social security rate is 6% and the Medicare rate is 1.45%.
Record the payroll tax expense entry (not the payroll entry).

2. Apache Company loaned $ 1,000,000 at 10% per year to Comanche Company. The loan is due December 31, 2010. Comanche has been able to pay the interest but has informed Apache that it cannot pay back the loan. Apache has restructured the loan by reducing it to $ 800,000 at an interest rate of 8%. The new loan will be due December 31, 2012.
a. Record the restructure of the loan on the books of Comanche on December 31, 2010.
b. Record the restructure of the loan on the books of Apache on December 31, 2010.

please and thank you!!!