The Wrath of Redness
Newsletter of the Lambda Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
Volume 14, Issue 4, January/February 2008
College students tend to live in the here and now instead of planning for the future, especially not their financial future. According to USAToday’s article Students suffocate under tens of thousands in loans, the average college student will be graduating with at least $25,000 is school debt and at least $3,000 in credit card debt! These numbers continue to rise as the average entry-level position’s salary is stagnant. Cost of living is also going up. Given all these factors, it almost seems as if the average college student is very far behind before they really get a good start.
Isn’t education a great start to a new beginning?This is the thinking process of many hopeful college graduates. However, with the mounting amount of debt that is incurred during the time that it may take one to complete their degree, how can an average college graduate begin their post-graduate career in today’s society? Some of the many ways in which this problem can be easily resolved is to begin by sitting down with all your bills and consolidate into 1 or 3 bills. Another major factor that graduating students need to be aware of is their credit score when they begin to start their post graduation career. A person’s credit score can be between 350 – 850. Higher scores are better because they increase a person’s chance of getting better rates for future loans, such as future mortgage loans.
A person’s past payment history, as well as, monies owed to various entities that may be in collections or even deferred loans determines credit
score ratings. All of these factors contribute to the credit score report. The monies owed to various entities may include numerous amounts of credit cards and store cards. Store Cards are 20x worst than that a regular charge card because it has almost 2x the interest that a regular credit card would have. A great example is a store card’s monthly interest would be 24.99% where a regular card may be 12%. Essentially it is more beneficial to have ONE card with one low interest rate and is used to pay for everything then to have many cards for each store because eventually you may end up paying more in interest then on the principle.
Economic Development is one Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated’s five point thrust. A program of the Economic Development thrust is Financial Fortitude. Financial Fortitude is a process that is designed to help program participants to set and define goals, develop a plan to achieve them, and to put the plan into action. The process serves as a blueprint to address all aspects of personal finances. The Lambda Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated has designed a program especially for the young adults in the local Rhode Island area to address college student’s financial woes and help give tips on how to handle them. This program will be take place during Delta Week, February 3 – February 9. We Hope to See You There!!!
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