How-To Guides

  • How to Save for College

    Thanks to benefits in the tax code, saving specifically for college and other education expense can have some advantages

  • Student loan delinquencies hit new high

    MarketWatch

    Late last year, total student debt outstanding surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. Now, the problem of student loan delinquency is generating its own eye-popping numbers.

  • Wedded to Debt

    WSJ.com

    Wedding season is winding down and newlyweds now have the rest of their lives to spend with each other—and each other's debt.Young adults are carrying heavy debt loads from student loans, credit cards and even mortgages. That means new ...

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    The Disappearing College Loan; New Program Links Repayments to Income

    WSJ.com

    A new federal program should make it easier for some recent college graduates to keep their student-loan payments manageable.The new option, known as the "Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan," lets eligible borrowers sharply lower their monthly ...

  • Add Federal Student Aid to Potential Cuts

    WSJ.com

    Automatic spending cuts that are set to kick in at year-end—as part of the so-called fiscal cliff—could result in an 8% cut in federal student aid.

  • 'Crowdfunding' College Costs

    WSJ.com

    Is a college education a good investment? Warren Buffett has often quipped, before audiences of business-school students, that he would pay $100,000 for 10% of a student's future earnings.

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    New Peril for Parents: Their Kids' Student Loans

    WSJ.com

    Cyndee Marcoux already was stretched thin, thanks to the $80,000 in student loans she racked up after getting divorced and going back to school a decade ago. Her breaking point came in 2010, when her daughter defaulted on student-loan ...

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    Grads Skirt Student Loans

    WSJ.com

    Crippled by student debt, Lori Kitchen quit her government job just months after graduating from American University in 2007, figuring she would lose her security clearance once she fell behind on her loan payments.

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    Think Twice Before Co-Signing

    WSJ.com

    With college costs rising, student loans are becoming a necessity even for many upper-middle-class families.If your child asks you to co-sign for a private loan, tread carefully: That debt could become your own.

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    New Rage: Loan-Payoff Parties

    WSJ.com

    When Cherie and Brian Lowe of suburban Indianapolis threw a party last spring, 150 well-wishers came bearing casseroles.This was no birthday or anniversary bash. Mr. Lowe, a lawyer, and Ms. Lowe, a stay-at-home mom, both 36 years old, were ...

  • Now offering college loans: ‘High school funds’

    MarketWatch

    Over the next few weeks, Kim Leggett will attend financial aid nights at 20 high schools in Stark County, Ohio. But she won’t be looking for tips on how to pay for college.