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College Loan Consolidation – Advantages and Disadvantages
College tuition is on the rise and students and parents alike are seeking additional methods to help pay for the soaring costs. Student loans, grants, scholarships and work-study are common ways to supplement or completely pay for the cost of college.
Student loans are probably the most popular of financial aid sources. It’s quite usual for a single student to take out multiple loans to cover the many expenses of a college education – tuition, transportation, dorm, books, etc.
At the end of a college student’s career, they often find themselves facing a hefty sum of financial payments which start after a six to nine month grace period post graduation.
Many students turn to College Loan Consolidation to reduce the stress of multiple, high payments, opting for the lower payments and extended terms of a student consolidation loan. While there are advantages to student loan consolidation, students should fully research and analyze all of the aspects of loan consolidation.
College Loan Consolidation – Federal vs Private
Federal loans are more popular than private loans for a few reasons. Federal loans have lower and fixed interest rates and additional benefits such as grace periods. Private loans usually have higher interest rates, and no grace periods.
When consolidating, keep the types of loans separate in order to retain the benefits of the Federal loans. Federal loans provide a cap on the interest rate, along with fixed interest rates.
College Loan Consolidation – Advantages and Disadvantages
It is important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages before applying for a student consolidation loan.
Advantages include:
A lower monthly re-payment amount
Lower interest rate, which may save you money in the long run
Organization of loans – make a single monthly payment
Disadvantages include:
Possibly paying more money over the life of the loan
Most likely paying on the loan for a longer amount of time – 10 to 30 years
There are few options to consolidate this loan later
If you decide that college student loan consolidation is for you, start by conducting extensive research. Begin with federal student loan consolidation programs such as Federal Family Education Loan Program and Direct Loan Consolidation. They offer fixed interest rates capped at 8.50%. There are also other free resources to help you choose. It is important to shop around and gather as much information as possible in order to make the best decision.
For private student loan consolidation, inquire with various lenders both offline and online. Many times, online vendors provide a lower interest rate and quick approval times.
Perform exhaustive research until you are completely comfortable making a decision, as this decision will make quite an impact on your financial future for a number of years.
Merchant Cash Advance to the Rescue
Merchant Cash Advance to the Rescue Times are tough for small business. Businesses have been closing their doors at an alarming rate. What makes this a particularly rough time for businesses is that they are getting it from both sides;
- ,li>Customers arent purchasing their goods or services like they used to.
- Banks arent lending them the working capital to get past these tough times.
This is what is known as a “double whammy”. This current financial crisis is causing a lot of sleepless nights for many small business owners. I have come into contact with people who are being forced to close their business that they have owned for over 30 years. I cant express the amount of pain that these people are going through.
For many, a business loan could have saved their business. But the banks are unwilling to loan money to any business that may show any sign of financial trouble. What is maddening is that these large banks were given our tax money to do just that; loan us money.
Fortunately, there is a business loan alternative called a merchant cash advance (or merchant loans). They arent perfect; but they come awfully close.
The advantages of a merchant cash advance
There are many advantages to a merchant cash advance. One of the most important is that they will give you money even if youve been turned down by the bank. Other advantages include;
- Good credit is not a requirement
- There is a 95% approval rate
- Approval takes about 24 hours
- You business is typically funded within 7 days
- No collateral is necessary
- Flexible payback structure
- Quick, easy application process
- You can get funded up to $500K
As you can see, there are many benefits to merchant loans. The only advantage bank loans have is that they cost less. But that doesnt do anyone any good if they cant get a loan.
One of the unique aspects of a merchant cash advance is the flexible pay back structure. Heres how it works;
In order to receive a cash advance; you need to enable your processor so that a percentage of your daily credit card sales are automatically used to pay back the merchant loan. Because they only use a percentage of your credit card sales; the payback is dependent on the amount of business you do for that day. That means you pay back less on slow days and more on busy days. They do not touch your cash sales at all. This takes a lot of stress off your business and creates an environment that is easy to pay back your advance.
Merchant cash advance providers is a growing industry. They have advanced hundreds of millions of dollars to thousands of small business.
It is always in your best interest to stay informed and to keep your options open. I have provided a link below so you can learn more about how a merchant cash advance can help your business.