Trends and Issues

Six ways your students can save during college

Frugality is important for students, perhaps now more than ever. In these days of credit crunch and growing student debt, it makes sense that students protect and preserve their financial well-being from the moment they start college. You can help them do that by offering some general money-saving practices that will also be useful after college.

TG provides you some help with its financial literacy program, Positive+Balance™, an extended series of workshops that help educate students on the realities of debt and financial responsibility. You can offer your students training like this, but you can also supplement it with some general information and tips on being better at managing money.

The "Save" Way
Below you'll find six general ways to save during college so that students aren't necessarily overwhelmed by debt once they graduate. Following these suggested practices also sets a pattern that students can follow when they start a career.

• Share the rent: While in school, it makes sense to split large expenses like rent. Finding a roommate and living communally isn't a bad idea from a entertainment perspective either, since entertainment — going out to events, purchasing CDs, etc. — can be expensive. With roommates, you may find you don't need to go out as much for fun and distraction.
• Get an internship that pays: Find a job that provides the right balance of work and study. Better yet, make that job something that contributes to your future qualifications for competing in the job market. On-campus tutoring, just as an example, is one way to sharpen your presentation and interpersonal skills, both important for many careers.
• Freeze — no, cut up — your credit cards: They're treacherous things to have lying around during those cash-strapped college years, so eliminate them as much as possible. Also, if you need a card, shop around for the best deal in terms of interest rates and no annual fee.
• Be fashionably "second-hand": Everything from college textbooks to furniture to computers to accessories of every kind, even clothing, can be purchased second-hand — much of it through Web services like Craig's List. Buying this way cuts costs and satisfies the itch to spend.
• Take the bike, not the car: You're saving the environment and your pocketbook. It's obviously cheap, because there's no need for fuel; and you cut out the potential insurance payments, if you do without a car entirely.
• Choose the more affordable entertainment: Many Web sites offer streaming video, so your desktop or laptop can double as your entertainment center. Also, take advantage of free campus entertainment like lectures and mixers. Or get involved in ways that focus your energy if you're bored or need distraction — campus politics or other clubs and groups, for example.

To learn more
As a financial aid professional, you can help students set and follow a pattern of careful financial management. Offer your students TG's training on financial literacy — Positive+Balance. TG's Positive+Balance training equips students with valuable information on financial literacy and money management.

To find out more about Positive+Balance, contact your account executive at (800) 252-9743. You can also learn more from Rett Anderton or Joe Braxton, TG's default aversion consultants. Rett Anderton may be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4765, or by sending an e-mail message to rett.anderton@tgslc.org. Joe Braxton may be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4696, or by sending an e-mail message to joe.braxton@tgslc.org.

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Question of the week

Q.: Since the TEACH Grant program will become effective July 1, 2008, and schools are already packaging aid for next year, how will schools know if a student is interested in this program?

A.: A TEACH Grant Program question was added to the 2008-2009 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) in December 2007, and in mid-February 2008, ED's Central Processing System (CPS) began reprocessing FAFSA records for all applicants who answered "Yes" to that new question. The resulting ISIR transactions will be sent to all schools listed on the applicant's FAFSA with a new comment code, number 281, indicating that the applicant answered "Yes" to the TEACH Grant question. The reprocessing also sends FOTW applicants a new SAR, which directs them to www.teachgrant.ed.gov to learn more about the program and the next steps they should take.

Applicants who filed a paper FAFSA or whose application was generated by a school in FAA Access to CPS Online or through the EDE process, were not presented the TEACH Grant question. A second CPS reprocessing is in progress to mark these applicants' resulting SAR/ISIRs with comment code 282, indicating that the applicant was not given an opportunity to answer the TEACH Grant question. For more information, see ED's electronic announcement released on February 11, 2008, at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/021108ISIRReproc0809Feb1508.html.

Do you have a question?
If you have a question that needs an answer, feel free to Ask TG™. Ask TG is TG's online query tool for borrowers, schools, and lenders. It includes a database of frequently asked questions about financial aid, student loan processing, and TG's products and services. To submit a question to Ask TG, visit tgslc.custhelp.com.

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