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1/3 of Student Loan Borrowers NEVER GET DEGREE!

(MoneyWatch) One out of every five adults 20 years of age or older owe money on student loans, and more than half of them are worried about this debt, according to a new study by the Urban Institute.

The exact figures for American adults: 19.6 percent have student loans and 57 percent are concerned about repayment.

A third of the debtors are not college graduates, and 9 percent of them possess only a high school degree. The high school graduates may have incurred debt by pursuing nondegree training or helping to pay for a child’s education. Some 25 percent attended college but did not graduate.

According to the study, 30 percent of college grads must pay back student loans, and 28 percent of those who earned advanced degrees had to borrow.

Amazingly, the percentage of Americans stressed about college debt is nearly identical across age groups except for individuals age 60 or older. The percentage of Americans with college debt is 57 percent, but that drops to 41 percent for those who are at least 60. Only 4 percent of these older Americans have college debt.

Hispanics and African Americans are about twice as likely to carry student-loan debt: 34 percent of blacks and 28 percent of Hispanics have it, compared with 16 percent of whites and 19 percent Asians.

Posted in Broke Desperate Stupid, Desperate, How to Eliminate Credit Card Debt, Stupid, Total Money Makeover | Comments Off on

Turn old credit cards into new guitar picks

• Guitar picks are small, and we have to admit, sometimes we lose ’em. And sometimes, you just discover you need one at the strangest times (impromptu flashmob jam sessions, raucous children’s parties, boring company meetings, etc.). Well, the good news is: if you have a DIY Guitar Pick Punch and some imagination, you’ll never be without a guitar pick again.

  Just insert the material you want a pick out of into the DIY Guitar Pick Punch, and . . . well . . . squeeze. Instant guitar pick! Make them out of expired credit cards, those grocery store club cards, plastic packaging material, and more! Hey, want to get super DIY-y? Then punch a few thin picks and glue them together into the ultimate pick of density. Keep a DIY Guitar Pick Punch in your gigbag, and you’ll never be without a pick again. Now, if only someone can invent a guitar punch for punching out fully functional guitars!

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How do I freeze/thaw my credit?

Below you’ll find instructions and links on initiating a credit freeze or thaw from each credit bureau:EQUIFAX CREDIT FREEZE – [Website]

• Credit freezes may be done online or by certified mail – return receipt requested.
• Check your state’s listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• If your PIN is late arriving, call 1-888-298-0045. They will ask you for some ID and arrange for your PIN to be sent to you in 4-7 days.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Equifax credit freeze.

EXPERIAN CREDIT FREEZE – [Website]

• Credit freezes may be done online or by certified mail – return receipt requested.
• Check your state’s listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• You can also freeze a child’s credit report. The information contained at this link is applicable for all three credit bureaus. You must first write a letter to each bureau to learn if your minor child has a credit report and if so, then you can proceed to freeze it.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Experian credit freeze.

TRANSUNION CREDIT FREEZE – [Website]

• Credit freezes may be done online, by phone or by certified mail – return receipt requested. (Some users have reported difficulty with the online method. Please try one of the other options if you too experience difficulty.)
• Check your state’s listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your TransUnion credit freeze.

Posted in Dave in the News, Genius of Dave Ramsey, Misc. | Comments Off on SWAT Team breaks down man’s door over STUDENT LOANS!

Bank of America in Wikileaks crosshairs?

It certainly appears that everyone’s favorite big bank without a soul, Bank of America, is on tap to get the Wikileaks treatment.

In a story published yesterday on Forbes.com, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is quoted as saying that the whistleblower Web site is sitting on tens of thousands,  possibly even hundreds of thousands, of sensitive internal documents from “a large U.S. bank”.

Assange said that the documents will offer a “true and representative insight into how banks behave at the executive level in a way that will stimulate investigations and reforms.”

The documents are not related toa specific incident, but highlight a systematic pattern of what he calls “Enron-like violations and unethical practices”.  As any Dave fan knows, Bank of America is scum of the earth, so this should be very entertaining.

“When Enron collapsed, through court processes, thousands and thousands of e-mails came out that were internal, and it provided a window into how the whole company was managed. It was all the little decisions that supported the flagrant violations.  This will be like that.”

Related:

• WikiLeaks sets sights on major U.S. bank, founder says
• Bank Of America Shares Fall On WikiLeaks Fears

Posted in Genius of Dave Ramsey, Oft Quoted, Total Money Makeover | Comments Off on Things we don’t need …

Dave Ramsey / Guide to Getting the Most out of Your Social Security Retirement

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