The Department of Education has recently made improvements to the PSLF process. While the requirements remain the same, they are more clear, and theres a variety of new documentation to help get you through the application process.

Employees who have worked for a qualifying public service organization for a minimum of 10 years. This does not mean your specific role at the organization needs to qualify, you simply must work for a qualifying organization.

• Federal, state, or local government organizations/agencies
• Non-Profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501© of the IRS guidelines

You must make 120 on-time monthly payments on your Direct Loans under a qualifying repayment plan.

• Ie-Based Repayment
• Ie-Contingent Repayment
• Standard, 10 year Repayment
• Any other Direct Loan Repayment Plan where monthly payments meet or exceed the amount you would have paid under Standard Repayment

The Department of Education released an Employee Certification Package.

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A V5 logbook, or log book, is the “paper work” for your car or other vehicle.  To legally transfer a car from seller to buyer the V5 logbook must change hands.  The V5 is used to register a vehicle in a person’s own name.  An up to date logbook let’s people check the history and ownership of the car.  The document is essential for motoring transactions in the UK.

Loans secured against a car are called logbook loans in reference to the fact that the lender retains the car’s logbook until full repayment has been made.  If the borrower does not pay the money then the lender can take legal action to get ownership of the car.  The borrower keeps the car while repaying the loan.

If you do not legally own your car and possess the V5 logbook then you will not be able to take out a logbook loan.  Find out if you qualify.

Disclaimer: A logbook loan is secured on your vehicle. Your vehicle is at risk if you do not keep up with repayments. CompareLogbookLoans.co.uk is not a lender and does not give financial advice. All loans are is Full Post…

Whether it is due to the lower temperatures or the shorter days, new figures demonstrate that winter is a low-point for property sales. How can you increase your chances of selling your home in winter?

NAEAs President, Wendy Evans Scott, sees the low winter sales as an opportunity, arguing that as well as there being fewer homes for sale in the winter, there are also fewer buyers “which means less competition for both parties.”

While the number of properties available remains reasonably stable, the winter months can provide an opportune moment for buyers to focus their property search.  For those willing to brave the chill, the winter market can also bring a greater sense of commitment from both sides to complete the sale,” said Scott.

Here are some considerations that winter house sellers should keep in mind;

In yesterday’s post of Tips to Save Cash we talked about how you can make some extra cash in the snow season.  In this segment I want to talk about setting up savings accounts and setting up savings for tuition for your young ones.  There are many ways to save for college and I would like to show you a few.

Each state has what is called a 529 Savings Plan.  The details differ from state to state, but all of the plans offer a non-taxable interest on the money put in.  Meaning if you put money in the account you will not be charged a tax on the interest.  There are states out there, like Arkansas, who will match the contributions to the plan up to a certain limit.  In order for me to go more into detail with how the plan works I would have to talk about all of the states, but I will say that a 529 Savings Plans is a must if you want to set something up for your children to get a further education.  There are two different 529 Savings Plans; Savings Accounts and Prepaid Tuition Plans.

In my opinion the Prepaid Tuition Plan is the better of the two.  It is safer and it gives you the freedom to reclaim the assets for any reason.  It is safer because it has a fixed interest rate.  Like I said earlier, there are differences to the plan state to state but I assure you that a 529 Savings Plan is the best way to go when saving for schools.  Check out what your state offers for the 529 plan.

People generally have savings account to save money.  Others put money in their savings account and transfer it to their checking when they need it.  There is no wrong way to manage a savings account, in my opinion.  I do personally think that a savings account is there to sort of take your mind off of the money you have.  If you take 20% of your check each week and put it in a savings account over a year’s time you will have 20% plus interest saved up.  It’s that simple!  When you need to dip into the savings account you will have funds available.  To me taking out a percentage of each check and placing it in a savings account is the best way to save money.  If you have something you would like to share we invite people to comment on our blogs…

A secured loan is a type of loan where the borrower puts an asset (such as a property or car) down as collateral. This is now a secured debt owed to the lender by the borrower. If the borrower does not repay the creditor and defaults on the loan then the creditor can sieze the asset by law, and can if they wish sell it in order to recoup the money they are owed.

The opposite of secured loans are unsecured loans. These are loans and debt that is not secured against an asset and the creditor will attempt to satisfy any debt against the borrower themselves rather than any particular asset they own.

Loans secured by an asset exist for 2 reasons. The main reason is that there is much less risk for the lender. They know that if the borrower does not repay the loan then they can seize and sell their asset to get the money back. This means that the reliability of the borrower repaying the loan on time and in full may be less important to the lender as they now have the value of the asset to fall back on.

The second main reason follows from this fact.

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Aviva insurance has revealed that December 25th is the worst day of the year for domestic fires in the home, with claims soaring by 140%.

Indeed, Christmas is a very dangerous time in regards to fire incidents. According to the Fire Kills campaign, one in six fire deaths last year occurred in December, and about 1,400 house fires were started by cooking appliances last December, resulting in more than 300 injuries.

Because of this, Fire Kills has launched a Christmas campaign aiming to warn people about the risks of fire and to give them top tips to help people celebrate safely this festive season:

• The distractions of a crowded house and celebrations can often result in festive cooking being left unattended, and this is one of the main causes of fire. Because of this, it is important never to leave cooking unattended, avoid cooking whilst drunk and always turn off kitchen appliances when you have finished cooking.
• Christmas is also a time in which more people tend to smoke. Cigarettes are also a serious risk for fires.

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