iGrad Financial Literacy

教育与基本需求之间的关系是明确的. You can’t focus on your 如果你负担不起基本的教育，那么对我们大多数人来说，我们需要尽最大努力 of our limited finances. 这里有一些简单的建议和个性化的资源 确保你有足够的钱来满足你的需求，并在你还活着的时候取得成功 here at 菠菜网lol正规平台.

iGrad是一个免费的在线金融知识平台，所有斯巴达人都可以使用它来学习 more about smart money choices. Whether you’re experienced with a personal budget, 或者刚开始管理你的财务，iGrad会在你所处的位置满足你，并告诉你在哪里 to go from there.

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• How much does it cost?

  • iGrad is absolutely FREE for you. 菠菜网lol正规平台 pays for all costs associated with providing this service to students.

• What’s in it for me?

  • 有了iGrad的信息和技能，你将能够增长你的财务实力 and independence.

• Why register with iGrad?

  • 虽然你不需要注册，但一旦注册，你就可以使用个性化的， 简单易懂，无压力的问卷帮助iGrad找到 正是开始你的金融学习的正确内容, and  grow your skills and knowledge from there. There’s nowhere to go but forward!

• What are current iGrad users saying?

  • “iGrad is a most helpful tool. iGrad会在那里指导你解决任何财务问题 you may have. 有了非常详细的信息，你就不会错了 你必须选择在学校取得成功和生活稳定.”

    “iGrad让我了解了很多我所拥有的个人理财的细节 从来没有听说过，我甚至还没有完成所有的课程! I am grateful 因为我不再对处理财务事务感到紧张. In fact, I'm excited!”

    “格雷格教了很多我在学校从未学过的话题. It's kind of crazy that 这些基本的话题从来没有讨论过，比如术语和如何有效地 manage money with loans and other things. iGrad really gave me the boost I needed 开始规划我的财务未来，因为我没有真正意识到它有多重要 it is and that it's never too early to start.”

Your ultimate goal is your degree. Every item in your financial aid is packaged to 帮助你获得所需的一切(出席费用). We all want 为了减少债务，但对我们许多人来说，贷款是帮助我们联系的必要工具 拥有重要的机会，比如一辆车，一所房子，或者一个体面的赚钱机会 a degree. 事实上，37%的斯巴达人使用了他们获得的财政援助贷款 to help make their education possible. Leave any of your financial aid on the table, 而且你可能会让自己比需要的更难获得学位. Note 大多数大学的紧急财政援助项目都要求你用过 你所有的经济援助贷款，然后再考虑你的危机融资.

关于贷款的战略价值，你可以考虑以下几点 in your favor:

• Loans vs. credit cards

  • 如果你用信用卡支付食物、住房和水电费等基本需求 账单，每个月还不清卡上的余额， that credit card is costing you more money than a loan. The interest charged on  undergraduate financial aid loans this year will be 3.73%. The average interest rate for new credit card holders is 18.04% (wallethub.com, 2021年8月2日)——这几乎是你的5倍 as financial aid loans! 补贴贷款甚至不收取利息 as you’re enrolled half time or more!!  Exactly how much are you willing to pay in 那额外的3000美元的利息可以帮助你维持每月的生活 coming school year? See Northwestern University’s take on credit cards vs. student loans.

    如果你的信用卡上有很大的余额，并且有未使用的学生贷款， 你应该考虑用这些贷款来偿还你的信用卡. You’ll 花更少的钱来支付经济援助贷款的利息 for the credit card’s high rate interest.

• 大多数财政援助贷款比一般的个人贷款要好得多
  • As opposed to personal loans在美国，对于大多数经济援助，你甚至不需要信用评分就可以申请——你就可以了 need to submit your FAFSA.. And as long as you stay enrolled at least half time you don’t have to start making payments. 担心毕业后找不到工作是可以理解的 你的付款条款可能会根据你毕业后的经济需求进行调整. 看看全球信用报告领导者益百利是怎么说的吧 personal vs. financial aid loans.
• Take only what you need
  • 22%的斯巴达人使用了他们援助计划中的全部贷款，而那些只使用了部分贷款的人 of their loans use on average only 15% of the total.  Nobody wants unnecessary debt. If you’ve projected your costs vs. income for the year, and you only need some of the loans you’ve been offered那么你只能取出那么多钱(比如只够付保证金) 为了租一套新房子，或者帮助你维持生计，直到你开始下一个工作 job). This will keep your debt to a minimum. Start with your subsidized loan which 只要你注册了至少一半的时间，就可以免息吗. If the unexpected 在学年的后期，你仍然可以拿出全部或部分 remaining loan balance at that time.See what iGrad has to say about Smart Borrowing.
• 为了避免贷款而多工作并不总是最明智的财务决策
  • 许多学生在上大学的时候需要工作来维持收支平衡，但是工作 too much, or too many jobs, can have a hidden cost. With finances, you should always consider your long game. 如果你工作太忙，没有足够的时间学习 如果你通过了所有的课程，那么你可能需要重新上这些课程. That means 再次支付补课的学杂费. And if it delays your 毕业后一个学期，或者一年，那么那就是4到12个月的拖欠工资了 你打算毕业后从事的专业工作. Add all that up, and 也许拿出一些学生贷款可以帮助你按时、实际地毕业 do more to increase your wealth in the long run.
• More tips for being loan savvy
  • 1. 你的经济援助贷款资金不会立即到达你的手中. Plan ahead. Depending 在学期开始的时候，可能需要几天到几周的时间 loan funds post to your account.
    2. Get your loans refunded to you faster - if you set up direct deposit [pdf] 到财务处去，你就可以不用等了 for a paper check to be printed and mailed to you.
    3. Loans pay off your remaining university balance first. If you need “extra” funds, 确保你把这笔钱算进你所借的贷款中.
    4. 知道你已经欠了多少钱可以让你对还欠多少钱更有信心 to borrow. iGrad (http://sjsu.igrad.com/) can help you track all of your educational loans in one place.