The current economic crisis may have students and families thinking that a college education is out of grasp. But before you give up on your plans to pursue a college education consider the following strategies:

1) Develop A College Funding Plan— College planning really is a family undertaking. Families should be having open and honest discussions about college plans, career interests, what the parents can reasonably contribute to college expenses and what contribution the child may be expected to make starting when their child is a high school junior. Make it clear if the child is expected to work during the summer and/or school year to pay for college or take out student loans. Will the parents be willing to assist in the repayment of those student loans? Revisit the plan annually or as circumstances change. This is particularly important in an economic environment such as we are experiencing now.

2) Meet & Greet with the Financial Aid Director—When there is a sudden change in the family’s financial situation, such as a loss of a job, foreclosure or bankruptcy, the family should make an appointment with the Financial Aid Director or Associate/Assistant Director ( the decision makers) at the college the child will be/is attending. Financial Aid Administrators have the ability to make professional judgment adjustments with documentation, which will take in to account these circumstances. Often this provides the student additional financial aid or makes a student eligible for aid who may not have originally qualified. I have many times used professional judgment for such circumstances, as a Director of Financial Aid. In the case of a job loss the family would need to provide a copy of the layoff letter and provide a copy of any anticipated unemployment benefits. When a family has experienced a foreclosure, the family would also need to provide documentation showing the foreclosure.

3) Consider Attending College In-State— Families struggling with finances whose child was planning to attend an out –of- state college, may want to work with their child to find a college that is in -state and within commuting distance, thus saving on room and board costs.

4) Strike A Deal With Your Child— In cases where the child is really determined to attend his or her first choice college, I have known parents who have worked out agreements, where the parents will pay for the tuition and require the student to take on the responsibility of paying for room and board, through financial aid, scholarship and part-time jobs. Many colleges have student employment offices that assist students in finding on-campus and off-campus employment, in addition to work-study jobs that students may be awarded as part of their financial aid package.

5) Go Public—Another option is attending a state college or university for the undergraduate degree. This is a particularly savvy financial move, when a student intends to pursue a graduate degree. Here again parents and the child may work out a plan where the parents pay for a bachelor’s degree at a state college and the child pays for the graduate degree. Keep in mind that community colleges are a great bargain and the credits are generally transferrable to a 4 year public or private college.

6) Adopt A State —Thinking of attending an out-of-state public college? If you establish legal residency in your “adopted” state by registering to vote or getting a driver’s license, you could qualify for in-state tuition. Find out from the financial aid office the in-state residency requirement to get the in-state tuition rates. Generally you need to live in the state for 6 or 12 months prior to qualifying for in-state rates. This requirement is differs in each state.

7) Read Your Employee Handbook— If a student plans to pursue a graduate degree part-time while working fulltime, a good way to fund it would be through the student’s employer. Most employers will pay for courses that relate to the employee’s career. So if you work in accounting and want to earn an MBA or pursue CPA certification, the employer would generally assist with those courses. Some employers will pay for other courses, but at a reduced rate. Most employer education benefits are paid as reimbursements once you successfully complete the class. So you would need to come up with the tuition at the beginning of the semester. Applying for a Federal Stafford Loan would be the best choice, if you did not have the funds up front. You would be reimbursed once you submit an official copy of you course grade. Check with the HR department at your company for specifics on the company’s program.

Make It a Family Affair— In some families, grandparents (or other relatives) have stepped up and assisted children with some of the college costs. I would counsel relatives in this situation to consult with their financial planner or tax consultant before pursuing this option to minimize tax liability.

9) Go Virtual— Students may also be able to reduce college costs by taking some of their courses online. Many private and public colleges are offering online courses and degree programs. In Massachusetts, the state colleges offer a variety of courses through Massachusetts Colleges Online at www.mco.org. These courses can be used towards a degree not only at Massachusetts state colleges and universities, they may be transferrable to private colleges or out-of-state public colleges. As with any transfer courses, students should check with the Registrar at the college to which they would like to transfer the credit to ensure that it would be accepted, before signing up for the course.

10) Search Out Discounted Tuition— New Englanders should look into the Tuition Break program through the New England Board of Higher Education. Through this program,for example, Massachusetts students are eligible for reduced tuition at out- of -state New England state colleges and universities in 250 approved programs. These are degree programs that are not available at Massachusetts public colleges. The NEBHE website, www.nebhe,org, has a FAQ page and a list of all programs that each New England states’ residents are eligible to attend at discounted rates at the other regional state colleges. These rates are discounts on the out- state- tuition rates that would otherwise be charged. The NEBHE site states that students who have used this program have saved on average $7,000 annually.

11) Take A Sibling to College— If two or more family members attend the same college ( siblings, spouses, or parent & child) some private colleges offer family discounts for each additional family member that are enrolled in the college. Check the catalogue or with the Bursar’s Office on campus.

12) Consider A Career (Or At Least A Job) In Education— One of the advantages of working for a college is that they provide educational benefits not only for employees but for employees’ dependents (spouses & children). So if you or your child is considering attending a local college, consider a job change.

Many business owners try to finance their growing businesses by going to venture capital or angel funding groups. Although both financing options provide a great way to finance a business, they are usually hard to qualify for. And furthermore, they all require that you give up some business equity in exchange for funds. That, needless to say, can be a very steep price to pay.

There are some business financing alternatives that can allow you to finance your business, almost as effectively, without having to give up any equity. As opposed to venture funding or angel funding, these options are easy to qualify for and do not require the endless documentation and due diligence that venture money requires..

However, these can only help you if you meet the following criteria:
1. Your business is established and has commercial (not consumer) clients
2. Your business invoices between $40K and $900K per month

These alternatives will help you if:
1. You need money to meet payroll, pay rent or pay supplier
2. Your customers pay you in 15 to 60 days
3. You need (or wish) your customers to pay you sooner

Your first option is called factoring (also known as invoice factoring). Factoring is ideal for businesses that cannot afford to wait 15 to 60 days to get paid by their clients. Factoring provides you with financing that is tied to your invoicing. Basically, the more your company invoices, the more financing you qualify for. This enables you to grow your company – many times exponentially – without having to give up equity.

Your second option is called purchase order financing. It works well for re-sellers, distributors, traders and wholesalers. Purchase order financing is ideal for business owners that have a large purchase order in hand, and who cannot afford to pay their suppliers to deliver the product. PO financing enables you to get a letter of credit, backed by the financing company, to pay your suppliers. This allows you to deliver on the purchase order and effectively make the sale. Usually, very little – if any – of your money is required for the transaction.

Both alternatives are easy to qualify for, take days (or a couple of weeks at most) to set up, and when used correctly allow you to grow your company exponentially.

According to the statistics, 1 million of those people who buy the car in the United States have to apply for receiving of the loan.

During the last years people spend more and more money for the vehicle. In the US 6 million of people are looking for the second hand car. Majority of the people are ready to spend on the car from 5 000 to 24 000 pounds. Usually the main sources of the money for cars are personal savings, credits and loans. In the whole country people use about 24 billion of pounds per year.

About 17 % of the English people have a desire to buy second hand car. They are ready to spend huge money on such purchase and to apply for receiving of the loan. In Wales and East England 14 % of people are ready to make such purchase. In the Midland only 7 % of people are ready to buy second hand car.

Economists from the financial firms affirm that one fifth of the second car which was bought in the UK, are financed via special loans. There are many lenders and financial offers available, so the clients have many opportunities to choose the best and the most advantageous variant, which will meet all goals and wishes.

Very often, people apply for the getting of the loan in the case if they buy the second car. Those, who have decided to buy the car via loan, have to negotiate with the lenders and to choose the best conditions. In this case the consumers can save much of money. There are several things which the clients have to pay attention on. The main factors are: level of interests, system of repayment and system of penalties for nonpayment. Besides, the clients have to take into account not only the price of the car, but also such expenses as fuel, perking, taxes and car repairs.