In Arizona and every other U.S. state, consumers struggle with paying back student loans. In fact, even though unemployment is down across the country, student loan defaults are up. Now, on average, Arizona consumers with student loan debt owe about $38,000. Straddled with this heavy debt upon graduation, many young adults must postpone plans to buy homes and cars. In addition, if college goers in Arizona default on their student loans, they do serious harm to their credit scores. With all of this in mind, parents of Arizona teens should discuss student loans with their children. Ideally, they should have this talk before they start the college application process. This way, future college goers can make informed decisions about taking on student loan debt.
Why Affordability is a Necessary Talking Point for Arizona Parents When Discussing Student Loans with their Kids
Some Arizona parents offer financial support to their college-bound children, and others do not. Either way, you should help your future student determine a tuition budget. Obviously, some schools are more affordable than others, and choosing a less expensive college means taking on less student loan debt. For this reason, many parents in Arizona pick out several affordable college options with their children, and the kids only apply to these schools.
Some experts recommend that prospective students in Arizona research the average starting salaries for their chosen careers. Ideally, these experts claim, the total cost of college tuition should not exceed the amount of these expected salaries. Therefore, using this tactic, “affordable” colleges are those that charge tuition in the amount of a student’s first year of wages in their chosen field.
How Arizona Parents Can Get their Kids to Understand the Importance of Paying Student Loans Back in a Timely Manner
When Arizona students take out federal loans, the U.S. Department of Education requires them to enroll in an online counseling course. Parents should go through this course with their children in order to supplement the information provided with their own wisdom.
All Arizona college students who take out federal student loans should understand that repayment begins six months after they graduate. Or, if they drop out of school, they must start making payments six months after they stop taking classes. Most importantly, Arizona parents of college students should impress upon their kids that failing to keep up with student loan payments brings consequences.
For example, missing student loan payments – or, worse, defaulting – hurts credit scores. Then, unfortunately, young consumers in Arizona with low credit scores typically have trouble in several areas. They may have issues when they try to finance a car, rent an apartment, or apply for a credit card. In some cases, a damaged credit score might prevent them from getting jobs. In addition, those who find themselves in default on student loans must deal with the constant nuisance of debt collectors.
Knowing all of this should lead prospective Arizona college students to do the following.
- Choose an affordable school.
- Take out a minimal amount of student loans to cover tuition.
- Form a repayment game plan following graduation.
- Stick to a realistic budget after graduating that allows them to make student loan payments on time every month.
As mentioned, credit scores are important to young people starting their professional lives in Arizona. So, parents should discuss the necessity of regularly checking credit reports.
Why Arizona College Students and their Parents Should Regularly Check their Credit Reports
Once they start repaying student loans, young Arizona consumers should check their credit reports to ensure that the loan providers and credit bureaus report their payments correctly. They should also look for any other potential mistakes because credit report errors can damage credit scores. Of course, the same wisdom applies to their parents. Unfortunately, all consumers in Arizona are vulnerable to credit report inaccuracies.
Luckily, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) entitles consumers to error-free credit reports. Once identified, the credit bureaus must remove mistakes and inaccurate information. However, it is up to consumers in Arizona to monitor their credit reports for these types of errors.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) entitles consumers to request a free copy of their credit report from each of the major credit bureaus every twelve months. Because each report may contain different information, Arizonians should check all three. Fortunately, www.annualcreditreport.com provides credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian all on one website. In fact, this is the only free credit report website authorized by the federal government.
If, while reviewing your credit reports, you find mistakes and errors created by creditors and the credit bureaus, contact Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Arizona. The credit pros at our firm make the credit report disputing process quick and easy. Then, if we have to go the extra mile to get you clean credit reports, an experienced credit attorney will file a lawsuit on your behalf – all for free.
How to Get Better Credit Legally and for Free in Arizona
Don’t let errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (480) 771-6001 or contact us on our contact page.
For more information about Free Credit Repair, please visit https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/arizona/credit-repair/.
