College+Students+&+Singles

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=**College loans, rules and payments**= Both government and private loans are available to help pay for college, but either way they can be more harmful than helpful if you’re not careful about making your payments. Mistakes made while taking out student loans now can add problems to your personal finance later.

The different types of student loans can be seen at http://www.estudentloan.com/student-loans/student-loan-basics.html Problems with student loans and rules you should be aware about can be seen at http://www.creditloan.com/student-loans-a-debt-that-can-haunt-you.html A new program to help more students pay for college by simplifying the loan process can be found at http://www.barackobama.com/issues/pdf/CollegeAffordabilityFactSheet.pdf = **Car costs--maintenance, insurance, gas and taxes** = = = Tips on how to finance smart: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/autominiguide/free-money1.asp Tools to decide on fuel efficient cars: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ Calculate your car costs: http://www.automart.com/calculator.php ||
 * || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/edit.png width="128" height="37" caption="Edit This Page" link="http://moeller.wikispaces.com/page/edit/Car+Costs--maintenance%2Cinsurance%2Cgas+and+taxes"]] Cars, these driving machines, allow people to transport themselves from one place to another. Since we all know that, let us discuss their maintenance, insurance, gas, and taxes. Choices made about cars these days should be, smart and efficient. People can utilize several resources to decide on their proper car.

=**Credit cards and credit card debt**=

Credit cards, it's pretty obvious how they relate to personal finance. But what is a credit card? They're everywhere, and while many people think that they make life easier, 7 out of 10 Americans making the average national income are unable to pay their credit car bills every month, ([|money.howstuffworks.com]). A credit card does what it says, it extends credit. The link I just mentioned contains a simple explanation of what a credit card is and how it works.

Another great page is [|creditorweb.com]. This article is about the importance of credit card selection, but the website has other informative articles as well. [|Federal Reserve Board]-This website is great because it has a list of questions and answers about credit cards. Very helpful for people who are new to this whole credit card thing.

=**Budgeting**=

Budgeting is personal financial planning that helps balance the spending of income towards saving, expenses, and debt. Budgets should be simple, flexible, and have a purpose or goal to work towards. There are several methods and tools that one should use when creating a proper budget. Tips on budgeting and financial advice for college students can be seen at http://moneysmartlife.com/archives/budgeting/ A tutorial on how to create a budget using Excel is at http://youtube.com/watch?v=5Z3Mv6rjD0w An article on how to make a budget that works for you is at http://www.newhorizon.org/Info/how-to-create-a-monthly-budget.htm

=**Insurance needs and costs (not including auto)**=

Living alone is hard, especially if one a college student or a single parent. Not only do they have to worry about their busy, everyday schedules, but also have to handle the insurance costs themselves. In the midst of thier busy lives, the last thing they need is getting stuck in some kind of a financial trouble. They should be wise and careful, as well as logical, to get the proper insurance to cover them.

Here is a great link that gives single parents a list of things they need to make sure to do: http://www.insurance.com/quotes/article.aspx/Financial_Tips_for_Single_Parents/artid/195 Here is another page that talks about life insurance and what the single parents need to do: http://www.newyorklife.com/cda/0,3254,12075,00.html

For college students, the most necessary insurances include, aside from auto, health and renters' insurance. This link gives information about health insurance: http://www.insurance.com/quotes/article.aspx/College_Student_Health_Plans/artid/41 Here is another helpful FAQ link that covers pretty much every insurance needs for college students information: http://www.insurance.com/faqs/healthfaqdetail.aspx/index/9

Recently, UNCA required all students to have health insurance: http://youtube.com/watch?v=guhBj3KiptU Similarly, most other universities have such programs in place.