How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply [Paperback]

Martha Maeda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2009

According to a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics, an estimated 65 percent of recent college graduates are burdened by student loans. Although the average debt is $19,000, loans can exceed $50,000 and may be much higher for those who attend graduate school, law school, or medical school. Many students, faced with the task of repaying such a large amount of money, become overwhelmed merely thinking about it. But, using this new book, you can learn how to eliminate your student loans and be debt free. In this exhaustively researched book, you will learn everything you need to know about student loans, including grace periods, deferment, forbearance, interest rates, co-signors, exit counseling, prepayment, discharges, cancellation, default, and much more. You will create a repayment schedule; understand the various repayment options, such as graduated repayment, level repayment, income-sensitive repayment, extended repayment, serialization, and income-contingent repayment; and be able to choose the appropriate plan for your unique situation. Additionally, you will learn how to save money through consolidation, how to secure the best interest rate, how consolidating can improve your credit score, how to use lender incentive programs to save money, and how to lower interest rates. Whether you are a current student looking to get a jumpstart on repayment or you are a recent graduate trying to wade through the letters you are receiving from your lenders and consolidation companies, How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free will be an indispensable companion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL) (November 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601382162
• ISBN-13: 978-1601382160
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is not just for students, February 4, 2010

By 

Margaret Way (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Paperback)

This book is packed with useful information, web sites, and explanations of the various types of student loans, their advantages and drawbacks. Whether they graduate or not, most students are left with debt that can run to thousands of dollars. The information on student loans provided is up-to-date and takes into account the current recession and its effect on both borrowers and lenders. Perhaps the early chapters are a little dense for a bewildered and frustrated student or recent graduate - the history and definition of all the various types of government-backed loans is an alphabet soup that only a bureaucratic society can produce. But there is a useful glossary and an index that allow the reader to find the precise information he or she needs.
While the early chapters may be more useful to a financial aid office, from Chapter 6 on the author concentrates on the advice that a student or graduate needs. Which loan is best for you, and how are you going to pay it back? Comparisons of loan terms, methods of repayment, budgeting, making decisions about your career and the impact that will have on your ability to repay debt - all aspects of the financial management of debt are covered in a sensible way that goes straight to the point, right down to the costs and time involved in preparing meals at home versus eating out, and the potential health consequences of each.
Inevitably, there is a good deal of repetition in the book. But the subject matter is so complex that repetition is helpful rather than not, and the content is enlivened by tips for the "savvy student" and anecdotes and quotes from people who have experienced the trials of student loan repayment. An appendix provides some useful worksheets, and the websites referred to throughout lead to many tools to work out your situation and the ways to pay off debt. The book does suffer from a few editorial mistakes. But the value of the book outweighs these errors, and it should be read not only by students and graduates but by anyone who struggles with debt.

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative Information for All Students, January 28, 2010

By 

Christopher Seabury - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Paperback)

In the book How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast, Martha Maeda talks about how students can be able to use students' loans to receive an education, then how to pay off the student loans as well as manage debt and establish good spending habits for the rest of your life. In the first 12 chapters, the book, talks in detail about how students loans work, what options students have as far as grants / scholarships are concerned and the overall choices as far as payment plans. The book then shifts gears, and talks about different strategies that the recent college graduates can use to find that first job, along with how to effectively manage / control debt. All of the different ideas presented in the book are useful for the person who is just entering college to working in their first job. This is because of overall depth and ideas that Maeda instills upon the reader.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource for Students & Parents Alike, December 1, 2009

By 

Ashley A. Cisneros (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Paperback)

How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply by Martha Maeda is a comprehensive must-have for all students who financed their education through loans. The book is not only useful to professionals who have already acquired the loans, but is arguably more valuable to students considering on applying for student loans. The first section, Chapters 1 though 6, offers general information on the cost of education, options for financial aid, types of loans, associated terms and more. I liked Section 1 so much that I think school districts should purchase copies to provide to their high school juniors and seniors. Maeda does an excellent job of providing these essential concepts in easy-to-grasp prose organized in a logical flow.

Maeda dedicates Section 2 to information all about strategies to help students pay back their loans. Chapter 9, "Setting Goals and Priorities" offers practical tips advice to motivate readers to take control of their finances, careers and future path. Maeda is able to accomplish this in a non-preachy way. Her inclusion of "Savvy Student Tips" sprinkled within the copy will no doubt be appreciated by readers of all ages. This book is an incredible resource.