November 3, 2011

Average college loans owed by the class of 2010 surged to $25,250 last year, up 5 percent from class of 2009 balances and up 35 percent from 2004, the Project on Student Debt reported today.

But let’s take a moment to thank Congress for doing something well: helping college students ward off another source of debt troubles, credit cards.

Since the federal Credit Card Act of 2009 restricted card issuers’ once-easy access to students, their credit card balances have dropped to $811, on average, from a record $3,173 in 2009, according to student lender Sallie Mae. Forty percent of college students currently have credit cards, down from 84 percent.

Sallie Mae said the 2009 and 2011 surveys were based on slightly different populations and are difficult to compare. But a downward trend is what the undersecretary of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs, Barbara Anthony, has also observed when she tours college campuses. Three years ago, a roomful of hands would go up when she asked who had a card. Today, it’s “definitely a minority,” she said.

The drop in card use “was absolutely due to the act,” she said. …Learn More

Research

October 18, 2011

Myth: I should pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first to get out of debt quickly.
Truth: You should pay off the smallest debt first to create the greatest momentum in your debt snowball.

— DaveRamsey.com

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely might agree with Dave Ramsey’s second statement: Ariely and fellow researchers for the first time have established that people do, indeed, pay off their small card balances first, because it gives them a feeling of accomplishment.

“We have a desire to close things, to feel we’re making progress,” Ariely said in a recent interview. As each card is knocked off the list, “it’s something you can count.” The strategy also dovetails with people’s natural inclination to break down overwhelming tasks into sub-goals to make the task feel more manageable.

But the mathematical truth remains that holders of multiple cards get out of debt faster and cheaper if they first pay down the cards with the highest interest rates. In other words, it’s not in a card holder’s financial best interest to pay off the small balances first, even if it does make them feel better.

The researchers’ first experiment confirmed this behavioral tendency by testing 162 undergraduates…Learn More

Behavior

September 29, 2011

We all know the feeling. While mentally savoring the appetizers on the menu, our resolve to diet slips away. That same feeling has already hit by the time we slap our credit card down on the counter at Macy’s.

It’s so common that psychologists have named it the “what the hell effect.” Once poised at the edge, we might as well leap, right? But after the leap, people who usually try to maintain a certain level of self-control in their everyday lives feel awful.

Three marketing professors have now teased out the conditions that trigger this during the act of charging something on a credit card. They have found that people spend more money if they already have a balance on their credit card. But, oddly, a high-dollar credit limit on the card can mitigate that effect and help to restrain the cardholder’s spending.

Their findings are counterintuitive and a bit difficult to grasp. Here’s how Keith Wilcox, a marketing professor at Babson College in Boston, explained them in a recent interview with Squared Away: … Learn More

September 15, 2011

With more college graduates piling up debts, an increasingly popular program on campus is trying to help them stay out of trouble.

More than 600 colleges are now enrolled in the National Endowment for Financial Education’s (NEFE) online program, so they can offer free assistance to four-year and community college students. CashCourse is a sort of private-label personal finance program: each academic institution puts its logo and school colors on NEFE’s online package of cash- and debt-management tools, tips, and workshops.

The University of California, the University of Texas, Purdue University, and State University of New York are among the schools posting NEFE’s materials to their websites or customizing financial programs to meet their students’ unique needs.

“We want every school to figure out what works for them,” said Ted Beck, NEFE’s chief executive.

Student Debt

Leticia Gradington, program director for Kansas University’s program, said it’s not unusual for students to have $20,000 to $30,000 in college loans and credit card debts.

“You’ve got students every day who are worrying about how they’re going to pay their debt back,” she said. If students can learn just how expensive the debt is before they borrow, “They pay more attention to it.” …Learn More

July 19, 2011

The austerity program millions of Americans adopted at the onset of the Great Recession is officially over: consumer debt is on the rise again.

Before we run our personal debt back up to its ceiling, it’s a good time to examine the different ways people think about their credit cards.

First, the economists. They have a clear definition of credit cards. The act of buying something on a card and adding to a balance is known as “dissaving.” The opposite is also true. Americans, for example, cut up their credit cards with a vengeance after the 2008 recession. They paid down some $180 billion in revolving credit card debt between September 2008 and April 2011. This gave a big boost to their savings, as far as economists were concerned.

But regular folks naturally link credit cards to spending. Kim Cooper, a Philadelphia financial consultant, said she used to feel that paying down a credit card meant she could buy more shoes or shop at Lord & Taylor again – with her card. This common mentality indicates just how integral credit has become to our buying habits.

The problem comes when the bill accumulates and becomes a monstrous financial obligation. And according to new data, Americans are piling up debt: in May, revolving credit – primarily credit card debt – grew by $3 billion, or 5 percent, to $793 billion (still far below the August 2008 peak of $974 billion), according to the Federal Reserve.

Overall debt also increased, for the eighth straight month. This includes revolving credit as well as auto, student, boat, and other personal loans.

Cooper eventually paid off her cards, but understands why people get into debt. “When I paid down the bills, it was never part of my thinking that a zero balance was the goal,” she said. The goal for her was being able to afford the minimum payment. “That’s not the way to think about it,” she said. …Learn More

Field Work

May 16, 2011

Forty percent of college graduates today have difficulty repaying their student loans, but few realize how many options they have to get relief by renegotiating them.

The non-profit American Student Assistance (ASA) counsels students on how to deal with onerous loan payments. When students call ASA, repayment counselors tell them their options include extending the life of the loan, which reduces the monthly payments, or making graduated payments, which increase as their paycheck increases in future years.

Some borrowers may even be able to qualify for postponing payments or canceling some of their debts.

Borrowing on college campuses has reached crisis proportions, according to ASA. Total student loans outstanding have surpassed the $900 billion mark. Rising tuitions and stagnating household incomes due to the recession have only increased American families’ reliance on debt to fund college. …Learn More