I could never have attended Purdue University had it not been for student loans. I began dating Sallie Mae right away, and it took years for me to break up with her. With that said, there are several that every student should know about student loans. Here are five of them.

1. Go to school for 4 years for a 4 year degree Or for 2 years for a 2 year degree. Not six years for a four year degree. This can have substantial financial consequences. For example, if you attend college for two years more than required for the degree, you will have to pay for two extra years of school PLUS you will forfeit the salary you could have earned during that two year period. For many people this is a $100,000 financial swing!
2. Obtain a degree that will help you repay the loan There are many people who go to prestigious private colleges to obtain a degree that is the equivalent to underwater basket-weaving. While I think that underwater basket-weaving would be amazingly cool, it probably won't help repay the loans. My mechanical engineering degree from Purdue University and MBA from Clemson University certainly helped me repay my student loans.
3. Tech or Community College for the first two years can really lower costs Most states have established programs that allow all credits earned during the first two years of community college to transfer directly to the state schools. I have seen the costs for community college. They are much lower than state or private universities. The local community college where I live is literally one-third the cost of the state school.
4. Obtain subsidized loans if possible Subsidized loans do not accrue interest while the student maintains at least half-time student status. They also do not accrue interest while the loans are in grace periods or deferment.
5. The name of the college does not matter nearly as much as the effort you put into your studies Many students fall in love with a particular college and feel that they just must attend only that institution. I have discovered that no one really cares about the fact that I went to Purdue and Clemson - all they want to know is if I can help them accomplish their stated objective.

Print this out and have a conversation about it with your student or future student. My bride and I have been talking about this with our daughter since she was six or seven. I know it might seem like boring conversation, but I promise you that it has had a positive impact on our daughter and the plans she has made for education. I have written an entire chapter on this topic in my book for high school and college students - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter The Real World - I promise you it will help financially prepare your student for the real world. You can purchase that book HERE or for your e-reader HERE. Read recent posts

Do you have a high school or college graduation coming up in the next month?  If so, the What Everyone Should Know About Money BEFORE They Enter The Real World Study Kit would make a great gift for the graduate!

Here's 5 Reasons This Makes A Great Gift:

1. Don't YOU wish you had learned more about money before you entered the real world?
2. Avoiding financial mistakes is a lot less painful than fixing them!
3. The book has chapters focused on building credit, purchasing a home, how to budget in a way that really works, how to capture the power of compound interest, and the importance of having a plan for life.
4. Most of these graduates will have had little to no formal training on HOW to manage money.
5. Credit card companies and lenders might be circling your favorite student ...

Here's an idea - Write a personal note in the book telling your favorite graduate(s) all of the reasons you wanted her/him (them) to receive this teaching. As a special offer, purchase your kit by 5/25/2012 to receive 10-percent off your group study purchase by using the gift code "graduate" in the "special code" box during checkout. View all of our resources in the I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. STORE

I was honored to be a guest on Your Carolina this morning to talk about What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter The Real World, the book I have written for high schoolers and 20-somethings - those young people who are just getting started out on their money journey. You can watch that appearance HERE. Copies of the book can be purchased HERE.

Looking for a gift for a high school or college graduate?   A copy of What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter The Real World makes a terrific gift! While this book is not glitzy, shiny, or coated in gold, the application of the tools and principles taught in this book will equip the graduate to win with the money they will soon be managing! In fact, if the graduate applies these principles, they will be able to by glitzy and shiny things - with cash!   They will also be able to give and save more than they ever thought possible. You can purchase a copy HERE.   We have a special "free shipping" offer available for purchases of five books. Read recent posts

I am blown away by the book reviews written about my new book What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. Check them out:

• Moneymonk wrote about it HERE.
• Keith Tackel wrote about it HERE.
• Cy wrote about it HERE.
• Coupon Girl Confessions wrote about it HERE.
• Tom at RusticTom wrote about it HERE.
• ProBikeWrench wrote about it HERE.

This book is helping us accomplish our mission to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances. Read recent posts

I am PUMPED to announce that my new book, What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD, began shipping today! It is hard to believe that I have been able to author ONE book - let alone TWO! It is my hope that this book helps people AVOID and PREVENT financial mistakes because it is so much more difficult to attempt to CURE them. If you were not able to pre-order your copy, you can purchase a copy HERE thru Friday and still receive it in time for Christmas! I'm PUMPED!!! Read recent posts

I am EXCITED and PUMPED about my new book for high school students, college students, and twenty-somethings - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. To celebrate the release of this book, I am sharing one of the chapters of this book (see all of the chapter titles HERE) Here is another section of the "Credit Scores" chapter: ======================================================== Everyone Should Know … A credit score is a debt management score, not a measure of your financial health. Review the items that comprise a FICO score. Did you notice that it does not include items such as:

• The amount of money in a savings/checking or retirement account?
• The amount of equity in a home?
• Paid-for items that have value (car, house, expensive jewelry, etc.)

A FICO credit score only looks at debt. One could literally have $1 million in the bank and have a credit score of ZERO because they have not used debt for a long period of time. There are people who define themselves by their credit score. My credit score is 801, they boast. I have seen many people who have extremely high credit scores who are absolutely broke. They have a high credit score because they have managed their debt well, not because they have managed their money well! There are many people who have purchased a brand new car using debt when they could have paid cash for a nice used car. They bought the new car solely to boost their credit score. It might improve their credit score, but it hurts them where it really counts - the bank account! ======================================================== Read the entire series HERE Learn more about the book and RESERVE YOUR COPY (ships 12/15!) at its dedicated website HERE Read recent posts

I am EXCITED and PUMPED about my new book for high school students, college students, and twenty-somethings - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. To celebrate the release of this book, I am sharing one of the chapters of this book (see all of the chapter titles HERE) Here is another section of the "Credit Scores" chapter: ======================================================== Everyone Should Know … What number is a good credit score? According to Fair Isaac, a credit score can range from 300 to 850. The higher the score, the lower the risk. This means you want a higher number. Companies establish their own criteria as to which credit score is a good credit score. As a general rule, any FICO score greater than 750 is an excellent credit score. Anything more than 800 is considered outstanding. As credit scores drift into the 600 range, credit might still be available, but it will come at a higher cost. Credit scores in the 500 range might prevent you from obtaining reasonable lending rates and terms. ======================================================== More from this chapter tomorrow! Read the entire series HERE Learn more about the book and RESERVE YOUR COPY (ships 12/15!) at its dedicated website HERE Read recent posts

I am EXCITED and PUMPED about my new book for high school students, college students, and twenty-somethings - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. To celebrate the release of this book, I am sharing one of the chapters of this book (see all of the chapter titles HERE) Here is another section of the "Credit Scores" chapter: ======================================================== Everyone Should Know … How to establish a credit history and build a great credit score. Many young people ask me, How do I even get a credit score? They have no credit history, which makes it difficult to obtain credit, so it appears they are in a tough no-win situation. Here are some ways to establish credit. Obtain a credit card from a local department store. Plan to spend a certain amount at that store using a written spending plan. Purchase the item at the store using the credit card. As soon as the credit card transaction is completed, tell the checkout clerk that you want to make a credit card payment. Immediately pay off the credit card. Making purchases like this once or twice each month can really lead to a great credit score. This impacts the credit score in several positive ways. The age of the credit relationship increases. Payment timeliness receives another good mark. Over time, the credit card issuer will most likely increase the credit limit because they will see that you have managed your smaller credit limit well. As a result, your percent of available credit utilized will decrease. This bodes well for your FICO score. If you do not qualify for an unsecured credit card, you can apply for a secured credit card. A secured credit card works in the following manner. The credit card company requires you to have money in an account that they provide. The credit card company prevents your use of this money by placing it on hold. If you fail to pay the credit card payments, the credit card company will use these funds to satisfy the debt. I must issue a strong warning. NONE of these credit-building techniques will work well financially if you do not apply the rest of the learnings in this book. If you obtain a credit card, run up a balance, fail to pay it off immediately, and end up paying compound interest to the bank. You might end up with a great credit score, but you will be losing financially. I have met many people who have an OUTSTANDING credit score, but they are flat broke. They have financed themselves to oblivion, but have managed to pay their payments on time. One minor event can lead to financial ruin for these individuals, and I have seen this happen hundreds of times. ======================================================== Read the entire series HERE Learn more about the book and RESERVE YOUR COPY (ships 12/15!) at its dedicated website HERE Read recent posts

I am EXCITED and PUMPED about my new book for high school students, college students, and twenty-somethings - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. To celebrate the release of this book, I am sharing one of the chapters of this book (see all of the chapter titles HERE) Here is another section of the "Credit Scores" chapter: ======================================================== Everyone Should Know … The key measurements that determine a credit score. The credit reporting agencies are secretive as to how they calculate credit scores, but it is well known that credit scores are directly impacted by the following items:

• Type of credit issued
  • Revolving debt (credit card)
  • Installment debt (anything with payments and a pay-off - car loan, boat loan, student loan, etc.)
• Age of the credit relationship
• Amount of credit one can obtain (total of all credit limits)
• Amount of credit one has consumed (percentage of total credit limit)
• Payment timeliness
• Requests for credit
• Outstanding judgments

According to FICO's publication, Understanding Your FICO Score, a FICO credit score is determined in the following way for the general population.

FICO scoring breakdown [from FICO's publication, Understanding Your Credit Score]

For people who are just establishing credit, it will be different since payment history is not yet available. ======================================================== More from this chapter tomorrow! Read the entire series HERE Learn more about the book and RESERVE YOUR COPY (ships 12/15!) at its dedicated website HERE Read recent posts

I am EXCITED and PUMPED about my new book for high school students, college students, and twenty-somethings - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD. This book has been in the works for over a year.   Over that time, I sought out feedback from YOU, from people I have taught, and from my own experience. My primary question for students was:   "What confuses/scares/intimidates you most about money?" My primary question for "older" people was:   "What do you wish you had known about money before you entered the real world?" The feedback was amazing, and I am SO EXCITED to have this resource to help us in our crusade to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances. With that introduction, I want to share a portion of one of the chapters with you.   It is about "Credit Scores". ======================================================== Everyone Should Know … Your credit score will have an impact on your life. Credit scores are a measure of one's ability to manage debt. The dominant credit scoring system which is used by most lenders was created by Fair Isaac. This system provides a measure of an individual's credit worthiness and is commonly known as a FICO Score. A credit score impacts many things. It determines whether or not you can obtain a loan. If you qualify for a loan, the credit score dictates the interest rate charged. Credit scores also impact insurability. When you obtain auto, renter's or homeowner's insurance, the credit score directly impacts the insurance cost. The lower your credit score, the higher the insurance premium will cost. I have seen insurance premiums doubled because of poor credit. Credit scores also impact the ability to obtain a cell phone contract or an apartment lease. It can affect utility connections. Utility providers usually require much larger deposits from people who have low credit scores. If you have an excellent credit score, a deposit might be waived entirely.   Credit scores can even impact your ability to obtain a job. ======================================================== More from this chapter tomorrow! Read the entire series HERE Learn more about the book and RESERVE YOUR COPY (ships 12/15!) at its dedicated website HERE Read recent posts

I am excited about the upcoming release of What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD,   my new personal finance book for high schoolers, college students, and 20-somethings!   The official release date is December 15th!!!! If you have a blog or website that you write, you have an opportunity to obtain a FREE copy of this book.   All you have to do is CONTACT US HERE and include the following information:

• Your blog address
• A name and a shipping address
• A commitment to write a blog post about the book

Thanks so much to everyone!   I can't believe I get to do this stuff for a living! Learn more about What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD HERE.

I am PUMPED that my new book, What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD, will be released on December 15th! I wrote this book because a lot of our current resources and events are focused on helping people FIX and CURE financial mistakes.   This is extremely necessary and I am PASSIONATE about helping people who are hurting and in tough financial predicaments, BUT we had very few materials to help educate young people and help PREVENT financial mistakes. So I embarked on a journey to capture all of the things I wish I had known before I entered THE REAL WORLD.   I even asked you, the readers, to contribute your thoughts - and you did! What resulted is a book that I am extremely proud of and am excited to release in December - What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD.   It will begin shipping December 15 - in plenty of time for Christmas! Cost: $12.99 Pre-order your copies below:

Discounts available for bulk purchases - contact the IWBNIN team HERE