The College Investor Audio Show

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Personal Line of Credit vs. Student Loan Refinancing Sep 25, 2020

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When it comes to student debt payoff, it pays to get creative. From forgiveness programs, to employer student loan repayment, to student loan refinancing, there are lots of ways to reduce the overall cost of student loan repayment.

But would it be worth your while to pay off your student loans with a personal line of credit instead of student loan refinancing? That would certainly be an "out of the box" move. Yet some borrowers may feel like it could save them money while also providing a higher level of payment flexibility.

When it comes to a personal line of credit vs. student loan refinancing, which is best? This article explains why private student loans will generally be superior to a personal line of credit for lowering your student loan interest rate.

The 10 Best Investment Strategies for Short Term Savings Goals Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

With the stock market at all time highs, you are probably starting to wonder about short-term investments and ways to protect yourself should the market pull back.

Or, you might have short-er term goals that require short term investments. Maybe saving for a house? New car?

If you don't want to see an immediate decline in your portfolio, now's a good time to consider short term investment options. Short term investments typically don't see the growth of longer term investments, but that's because they are designed with safety and a short amount of time in mind.

Millennials and Gen Z honestly haven't experienced a prolonged bear or flat market. While the Great Recession was tough, millennials have seen their net worth's grow. However, in periods of uncertainty, it can make sense to invest in short term investments.

Also, if you may be looking at life events in the near future (such as buying a house or having a baby), having short-term investments that are much less likely to lose value could make a lot of sense.

If you're an investor looking for a place to stash some cash for the short term, here are ten of the best ways to do it.

The Most Common Student Loan Scams [And How To Avoid Them] Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

Student loan scams are surging. Policy changes, repayment restarts, and nonstop headlines give fraudsters the perfect chance to trick borrowers. Every day, fake “debt relief” companies and government impersonators are stealing money - or worse, hijacking borrower accounts.

Before you get overwhelmed, remember three things:

You never have to pay to manage federal student loans. Enrollment in student loan repayment plans or loan forgiveness programs is always free at StudentAid.gov.
Never share your FSA ID. That login is your digital signature. Handing it over is like giving someone power of attorney on your finances.
Verify everything at the source. Ignore texts, ads, or calls. Log in at StudentAid.gov or call your loan servicer using the number listed in your secure dashboard.

This guide breaks down the most common scams, the red flags to watch for, and exactly what to do if you think you’ve been targeted.

How To Become A Real Estate Investor With Just $500 Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

At the onset, real estate investing sounds like an expensive venture costing thousands of dollars in initial investment. And in the past, it used to be!

Fortunately, you don’t need six figures in the bank to be a real estate investor today. It really starts with a solid financial plan.

Many people who have reached financial independence have done so investing in real estate (in fact, it's one of the most common ways to become a millionaire). This might seem like an impossible achievement if you’re only looking at the end result, but by starting out with small steps and making continued forward progress, you can make your way to “real estate mogul” even if you only have a smaller dollar amount to start investing with.

Today we will discuss how you can get started in real estate investing without breaking the bank, even if you don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Paid Surveys: Earn Money For Giving Your Opinion Online Sep 11, 2020

Show notes

Online surveys offer ways to earn beer money for minimal effort. Offering your opinion online through online surveys is definitely an easy way to earn fast cash. But where can you find the highest paying online surveys? It's not always easy.

Taking surveys for money may not offer as high of a per-hour return as other top side hustles. But what's so nice about them is that they give you the opportunity to make money while you're waiting in line at Starbucks or sitting in the parent pickup queue at your child's school.

Sound interesting? If so, keep reading to learn how paid online surveys work, what you can expect to earn, and where to find the best-paying online surveys.

100+ Real And Honest Ways To Make Money In College Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

College is the perfect time to explore creative ways to boost your income. Whether you’re looking to cover tuition, save for the future, or just enjoy some extra spending money, there are countless ways to make money in college. The real challenge? Taking the first step.

Too many students hold themselves back with excuses like, “I don’t have time” or “I don’t know where to start.”

Well, today I'm eliminating some of those excuses. Here's my list of over 100 ideas to make money in college. You can also see our ranking of the best side hustles for college students - which is a trimmed down list focusing on the best ideas.

Seriously, I brain-dumped every idea I could think of to make money into this list. Some of them you've heard plenty of times before. Others might be new to you.

To help organize the list, here are the categories we've assigned to the different tasks. We tried to list it most lucrative to least lucrative, but all of these items have their pros and cons.

2020 Federal Tax Brackets: What Is My Tax Bracket? Sep 04, 2020

Show notes

Understanding how much you owe in federal income tax starts with knowing the tax brackets and how they’ve shifted year over year. Below you’ll find the latest IRS tax tables, standard deduction amounts, historical comparisons, and tips to estimate your withholding more precisely.

Capital Gains Tax Brackets 2020: What They Are and Rates Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

Learn about what capital gains tax brackets are and the rates associated with them. Here's a quick overview to get you started.

How To Make Money On Your Own Schedule Aug 26, 2020

Show notes

Here's how to find side hustles on your own schedule.

Average Student Loan Debt By Year (Graduating Class) Aug 18, 2020

Show notes

The amount of student loan debt in the United States continues to grow - with over $1.8 trillion in student loans outstanding. This includes both Federal and private loans. Almost 43 million Americans currently have student loan debt.

The stats around student loan debt are scary, but how do you compare? We've broken down millennial net worth by age - and today we're tackling average student loan debt by age - or rather by the year you graduated college.

While we would ideally like to hypothesize how much debt you have by age, that's near impossible. But luckily we've been able to compile statistics by the average student loan debt amounts by the year you graduated college.

Even though total student loan debt has declined for the first time ever (due to the various loan forgiveness programs that have been happening), New graduates still had to borrow to pay for school - and current college students are borrowing student loans right now. It's impossible to break the student loan debt cycle until the cost of higher education is addressed.

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