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Discover Offers Employees Help With College Tuition

July 24th, 2018 Posted in student debt, student finances
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Discover employees have just received a new benefit: a free college degree. The financial services company recently announced its new program, The Discover College Commitment, enabling full-time and part-time U.S. employees (minimum 30 hours per week) to obtain a college degree by helping them pay for college.

Discover Offers Employees Help With College Tuition - student graduation image

Discover will help with college tuition by covering full employee costs for books, fees, supplies, and tuition for the program. Workers are eligible for it beginning on the first day of employment and can complete their degrees on their own timeline.

Around 99 percent of Discover’s 16,500 employees will qualify with some potential appeal coming from its 7,000-plus U.S. call center workers: 70 percent don’t have a college degree, CBS News reported.

Workers can pick one of seven business or computer science degrees from three selected online universities. The degrees will include four business majors or a computer science, cybersecurity and organizational management emphasis through Brandman University, the University of Florida (via UF Online), or Wilmington University.

But there’s more to the benefit as it is also about Discover’s employee retention. The company said it has a two-fold motivation behind this perk: helping to recruit and retain good employees and “doing the right thing” by preparing workers for a broad spectrum of internal or external career opportunities.

To administer the program, Discover is partnering with Guild Education, an online education and tuition reimbursement platform that assists large employers with education benefits. Guild will offer coaching to Discover workers by assisting them through the application process and helping them determine a suitable degree.

If Guild sounds familiar, it might be from Walmart’s May employee education announcement. Guild is undertaking a similar role for the large retailer. This comes as offering education benefits to employees has been rising as the competition to obtain good workers is increasing.

More Companies Offering Education Benefits

In 2018, numerous companies have expanded tuition benefits. Besides Walmart, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and some hotel chains have joined the party, reported CNN. Also this year, Lowe’s announced a contribution of up to $2,500 for employees to receive skilled trade education while Lyft began offering education discounts to its drivers last December.

This trend comes as a recent Harvard Business School study found that tuition assistance benefits rank high on workers’ desired benefits, surpassing child-care assistance and parental leave. Many companies offer up to $5,250 annually; anything higher can be taxed as income.

Sourced from Debbie Baratz originally published at https://lendedu.com/news/discover-offers-employees-help-with-college-tuition/ http://credit-n.ru/potreb-kredit.html

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Four Reasons To Focus On Paying Off Student Debt

July 24th, 2018 Posted in learning about money, student debt, student finances
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It’s an unfortunate but inescapable fact of life that most who choose further education are now graduating and beginning life with debts. Often, they won’t be the only debts that are quickly amassed when you’re starting out in a career, trying to find an independent living situation and all the other expenses that come in this period of time. But should there be a focus on paying off tuition fee debts early, even during challenging Financial Times when you’re learning to budget? Well, the answer is yes, for these reasons…

Lower Your Debt Risk

If you already have significant amounts of student debt from tuition fees, you’ll find it harder to get lenders to give you additional money that you may desperately need for housing or setting yourself up in a job. Your debt to income ratio is an important factor in being able to access lower-cost borrowing and also frees up more of your disposable income every month, the less you have. This means that you’re more able to work towards other financial goals you may have, such as saving for a home deposit or a car.

Four Reasons To Focus On Paying Off Student Debt - graduating student image

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Minimise Inescapable Debt

If you encounter some truly unfortunate circumstances – serious illness or loss of a job – early on in life, your financial situation can quickly spiral out of control. But even declaring bankruptcy doesn’t spare your student loans – they still need to be paid back. This makes it a smart idea to pay back those loans, because you’ll still have to keep on top of them even under dire circumstances which is extremely difficult. Paying them down means you’ll be better able to deal with other money challenges in your life.

Escape Servicing Charges

It isn’t just the amount you owe on your student loans, it’s the money you lose out on over the long-term servicing that debt. Money that you spend on paying down a loan is essentially dead money – it’s not working for you. Whereas that same money invested into funds is generating a return for your future. And time compounds that situation, so as long as you’re making repayments, you’re missing out on that money working for you. Speak to a specialist service like RefinanceStudent.Loan to make sure your repayment schedule is optimised against your other financial needs and commitments. The sooner student debt is paid off the sooner you can concentrate on making your money work for you in other ways.

Live a Less Stressful Life

If there’s one thing for sure, it’s that living with debt is toxic for our stress levels. As life can be quite stressful enough when you’re just staring out trying to build a career, you want to try and minimise other sources of it. Getting focused on a debt repayment plan can help in itself – if you know there’s a way out, it can help to ease any anxieties and you know that you’re more in control of the situation and able to handle other curveballs. http://credit-n.ru/vklady.html

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3 Simple Steps To Help Students Save Money

May 23rd, 2017 Posted in student finances
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Life as a student can be a mixture of things. It can be fun, stressful, enlightening; and so on. While many student experiences differ, there is one thing a lot of people have in common; money struggles.

It’s no secret that students find it hard to save money, and often end up in massive amounts of debt thanks to the rising tuition fees and the cost of living in university. So, it’s always helpful when you can find ways to save money as a student.

Keeping that in mind, here are few simple steps to follow to save more money as you study:

3 Simple Steps To Help Students Save Money - piggy bank image

(pixabay: http://bit.ly/2rOaRPP)

Buy Food From ‘Discount’ Supermarkets

Buying food is probably the biggest expense a student has to face during their studies. It’s likely you’ll be buying food every week, and the costs can really add up. One way you can reduce the costs is by shopping at ‘discount’ supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi. These supermarkets often sell off-brand food that’s a lot cheaper than the mainstream branded stuff you find in regular supermarkets.

If you don’t live near any of these supermarkets, then there is an alternative. Shop at your local supermarket but avoid branded products. These are normally the most expensive products, and they rarely provide you with more than a store-branded alternative. So, stop buying branded food, and you will save a lot of money as well.

Shop Online Using Discount Codes

As a student, you need to constantly be on the lookout for online discount codes. In fact, it’s suggested you only buy yourself something when there’s a code available. As seen on https://www.vouchercodespro.co.uk, there are discount codes out there for so many popular online shops. But, as a student, you should also be on the lookout for student discount codes. These are codes offered by certain places specifically for students. They can help you get a good 10% off every order, and some even have student discounts of around 20%. These little discounts may not seem like much when you look at one purchase. However, they can soon add up to massive savings throughout your studies.

Make Good Use Of Your Student Card

Following on from that point about online student discount codes, you can also get discounts in traditional shops too. Whenever you walk into a shop, look for signs claiming there’s a student discount. Or, simply ask the cashier if they have student discounts. Often, you just need to flash your student card to get the discount and save lots of money. There are many sites like http://www.savethestudent.org that show you some of the best places that offer student discounts in their stores. You can also use student discounts at various cafes, cinemas, and restaurants as well.

Saving money really is about being smart and conscious with how you spend your cash. If you’re always looking out for voucher codes and student discounts, you’ll automatically save money. Also, by tackling a huge expense – your food shop – you can limit how much you spend every month and save so much more cash.

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Saving for School: How to Deal with Student Debt

February 3rd, 2017 Posted in Money Tips, student debt, student finances
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Education is hugely important. It provides us with the tools we need to thrive in life, arming us with knowledge and creativity. However, the higher levels of education come at a cost and one that should be planned for well in advance.

University fees are on the rise and often students leave full-time education with huge debts hanging over them. Despite the size of the figures involved, these student debts are manageable if you follow these tips.

how to deal with student debt - student loan image

Image credit: Pixabay

Plan while you can

Depending on where you went to university and what type of loan you took out, it’s quite likely that you have some form of grace period before you have to start paying it off. In the UK, this is based on your salary, while in the US it could be a fixed length of time. In either case, make use of this period of time to plan your student debt repayment.

Come up with a budget and personal repayment plan that looks at your income, outgoings and student loan contributions. By planning ahead you can manage your debt better once the repayments begin.

Don’t panic

One of the impacts of student debt that is less talked about is the mental burden that it creates. Just hearing the words, “you owe $20,000” for example can deter a lot of talented teenagers from attending higher education.

The important thing is to not panic when thinking about your student debt. No matter how much your course costs, you can manage your finances if you have a clear head and a clear plan. Education is the bedrock of society, so do not let money worries stop you from pursuing your dream.

Debt is not necessarily damaging

Although living with debt is not ideal, student debt is not the same as owing thousands to a loan shark. Paying off your loan doesn’t mean that you have to live off sawdust and hay for the next twenty years either, in fact you can still make the major purchases that you’ve always dreamed of.

Many organisations now view student debt in a more forgiving light than they used to and are willing to offer a number of financing options. Doctor loans, for example, are available to recently graduated medical students to help them purchase a home and other graduate professions are granted similar benefits.

Help yourself while helping others

If you’re based in the US, it is worth looking into volunteer programmes that offer “student loan forgiveness.” Although you’ll still have to pay off some of your debt, a portion may be written off or deferred. By signing up to a volunteer scheme like this, you get to help others while helping yourself to a debt-free future.

Another useful site in the UK is the Money Advice Service who offer free advice on how to deal with debts after you graduate.

Live within your means

A good tip for anyone, but particularly recently graduated students, is to live within your means. After leaving student life behind, it may be tempting to suddenly start living a more extravagant lifestyle, making the most of your real-world paycheck. However, make sure you don’t overdo it.

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Financial Benefits of a University Degree

April 25th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized
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Student debt levels are projected to rise to £25,000 for those starting university this year, research suggests.
So is going to University a ‘good’ investment in pure financial terms?

Official figures from the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey reveal that over the last decade university graduates have earned on average £12,000 a year more than those without a degree.

Average salaries for graduates aged 22-64 stood at £30,000, compared with £18,000 for non-graduates.

Interestingly the gap between graduate and non-graduate salaries takes time to show itself – earnings for 22-year-olds were around £15,000 regardless of whether they had a degree or not.

Non-graduate earnings increased every year until the age of 30 before leveling off and peaking at £19,400 at age 34.
Graduates saw their salaries increase faster and over a longer period – leveling off at age 35 and peaking at £34,500 age 51.

ONS statistician Jamie Jenkins explained: ‘We see a big difference based on age, with graduates’ earnings not peaking until they are in their early 50s. After this age, average wages decreased, as the higher earners leave the labour market earlier.
‘The statistics also reveal that gender differences are present in both graduate and non-graduate salaries. While male graduates could expect to earn 20 per cent more than their female peers, men without a degree made 23 per cent more than their female counterparts.

Let’s simplify things by taking a look at 2 career paths.

Graduate
Enters the workforce at 22 and retires at 64
Earns an average of £30,000 over those 42 years for a total of £1.26m. Take off the £25,000 student debt to finish with £1,235,000

Non Graduate
Enters the workforce at 18 retires at 64
Earn an average of £18,000 over 46 years for a total of £828,000

Which shows on average a graduate will earn on average an additional £407,000 over their working lives.

Of course there are a number of other factors, such as vocation, academic ability and the availability of funds up front for study. These figures are also averages, there are some very notable exceptions who dropped out of university and did very well financially, for instance, Bill Gates and Sir Richard Branson.

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