Colleges and Student Loans: Excerpts From My Radio Show 'Pay Yourself First' by Steven Melletz CPA, CIA, CFE, CGMA CEO of Stevemel Consulting LLC

On Saturday’s radio show, Pay Yourself First, on 107.7 FM, www.1077theBronc.com, and the 1077the Bronc app, I discussed student loans. One of the topics I discussed was that we do not ever want to be late on a student loan payment.

Last night, I attended a meeting at my son’s high school where we discussed preparing for college. We discussed tuition prices and schools to consider. Some parents discussed trade schools. We were given some statistics on how much the average public college and private college costs and how much student debt there is outstanding in the country.

While the average prices are not that bad, when you take into account that some students want to attend only popular colleges, they tend to be the most expensive in the country with low acceptance rates.

With all of this in mind, this is some of what I discussed on Saturday:

• Find opportunities for obtaining scholarships.

• If you late with a payment for even one day, it will negatively impact your credit score!

• Know your student loan program. If you foresee any difficulty paying, you need to contact your lender immediately and see what you can work out. DO NOT BE LATE ON THAT LOAN!

Below are the types of loans:

• Government Loans

o Stafford Loans

 Unsubsidized – interest accrues upon disbursement

 Subsidized – interest accrues after 6 month grace period after graduation.

o PLUS loans

 Parents take out or Graduate student takes out for post graduate studies

• Private loans

o Banks, FinTech’s, nonbanks, money centers, etc.

Shop the loans around and know what the interest rates are, when they start accruing, and whether you can prepay or paydown on the principle without penalty.

Feel free to complete a form on the website www.stevemelconsulting.com if you'd like to learn more.

Thank you!