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This digital document is an article from Fairfield County Business Journal, published by Westfair Communications, Inc. on May 7, 2001. The length of the article is 1048 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Invitation to mortgage refi-fest is one hot item.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Author: Ann Perry
Publication: Fairfield County Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 7, 2001
Publisher: Westfair Communications, Inc.
Volume: 40 Issue: 19 Page: 11

Article Type: Brief Article, Statistical Data Included

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Handy Guide for Students and Parents

In the book How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast, Martha Maeda talks about how students can be able to use students' loans to receive an education, then how to pay off the student loans as well as manage debt and establish good spending habits for the rest of your life. In the first 12 chapters, the book, talks in detail about how students loans work, what options students have as far as grants / scholarships are concerned and the overall choices as far as payment plans. The book then shifts gears, and talks about different strategies that the recent college graduates can use to find that first job, along with how to effectively manage / control debt. All of the different ideas presented in the book are useful for the person who is just entering college to working in their first job. This is because of overall depth and ideas that Maeda instills upon the reader.

How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast proves a valuable resource for both the incoming college freshman and the student graduating with a degree, entering the workforce and trying to balance a budget while paying off debt. The publication positively but realistically outlines the steps students should take before, during and after college to secure loans and pay them off.

Handy "Savvy Student" sidebar tips that share hints on topics like co-signing info plus special "Case Study" sections with real-person testimonials make the book an informative, friendly read. Martha Maeda discusses everything from scholarships and the FAFSA to unique ways to try to pay off principles and smart budgeting techniques. How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and Be Debt Free Fast is a great handbook for any student to have in his or her arsenal.

Sixty-five percent of college students are expected to have some form of debt. Now, in How to Wipe Out Your Student Loans and be Debt Free, students can discover how manageable their debt really is. The book's optimistic tone and realistic view easily breaks down students' options. Whether you are a recent high school graduate preparing for the future or a young professional aiming for a blank slate, this book explains how to overcome the debt hurdle.

Author Martha Maeda openly discusses the importance of being aware of how to handle student loans, and peppers the book with savvy student tips, case studies, and other helpful tools. Maeda explains everything from loan forgiveness, the difference between Federal versus Private loans, credit scores, and interest rates in a clear, understandable language anyone can comprehend. For readers seeking a student loan repayment plan or just curious about the difference between an ICR, ISR, and an IBR, Maeda has the answers.

With Maeda's jargon-free, expansive, and well-researched how-to book, anyone struggling with financial difficulties is provided options, motivation, strategy, and most importantly, hope.

This book is packed with useful information, web sites, and explanations of the various types of student loans, their advantages and drawbacks. Whether they graduate or not, most students are left with debt that can run to thousands of dollars. The information on student loans provided is up-to-date and takes into account the current recession and its effect on both borrowers and lenders. Perhaps the early chapters are a little dense for a bewildered and frustrated student or recent graduate - the history and definition of all the various types of government-backed loans is an alphabet soup that only a bureaucratic society can produce. But there is a useful glossary and an index that allow the reader to find the precise information he or she needs.
While the early chapters may be more useful to a financial aid office, from Chapter 6 on the author concentrates on the advice that a student or graduate needs. Which loan is best for you, and how are you going to pay it back? Comparisons of loan terms, methods of repayment, budgeting, making decisions about your career and the impact that will have on your ability to repay debt - all aspects of the financial management of debt are covered in a sensible way that goes straight to the point, right down to the costs and time involved in preparing meals at home versus eating out, and the potential health consequences of each.
Inevitably, there is a good deal of repetition in the book. But the subject matter is so complex that repetition is helpful rather than not, and the content is enlivened by tips for the "savvy student" and anecdotes and quotes from people who have experienced the trials of student loan repayment. An appendix provides some useful worksheets, and the websites referred to throughout lead to many tools to work out your situation and the ways to pay off debt. The book does suffer from a few editorial mistakes. But the value of the book outweighs these errors, and it should be read not only by students and graduates but by anyone who struggles with debt.

The bestselling one-stop guide to mortgages—updated for the post–housing crisis market!

The Mortgage Encyclopedia demystifies all the various mortgage terms, features, and options by offering clear, precise explanations.

Fully updated to address the new realities introduced by the housing crisis of 2007, The Mortgage Encyclopedia provides not just a complete description, but also in-depth discussion of the issues that may affect you, whether you're a homeowner (or homeowner-to-be), real estate agent, loan provider, or attorney. With this handy, comprehensive guide on hand, you have instant access to:

• Definitions and explanations of common mortgage-related terms, as well as arcane mortgage terminology, listed alphabetically
• Expert advice on the most pressing issues, such as whether to use a mortgage brokers, the benefits of paying points versus a larger down payment, and the hazards of cosigning a loan
• The truth about common mortgage myths and misperceptions—and the pitfalls you need to avoid
• Helpful tables on affordability, interest cost of fixed-rate versus adjustable rate mortgages, and much more

So the next time you ask yourself such questions as "Is this FHA loan right for me?" or "Can I negotiate this fee?" reach for this indispensable guide and get the fast, accurate information you need!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Powerful

I was expecting a cheesy book, but boy was I wrong.
Unlike some of Clements' other books, there's no splashy, children-lead rebellions. Instead a boy from Afghanistan secretly strays from tradition as he writes letters to a girl in America. The book takes us inside their lives, and we feel their joys and sorrows.
A small, quiet point in the book is that excluding religious references from education results in an inferior education.
I don't know if the author has been to Afghanistan, but he seemed to know the culture intimately.
I listened to the audio book, and Gabra Zackman did an excellent narration.

You don't have to be a kid to read this book to appreciate it's contents. I am an English teacher so reading and writing is a huge part of the curriculum. Andrew Clements writes a solid novel about Abby Carson, an American sixth grader, who takes up writing a pen-pal in Afghanistan as an extra credit project. Then there is the boy who writes under his sister, Amira. She speaks to him in their language and he translates and writes in English. Are you still following?

The story of the pen pal relationship between a boy writing as a girl to a girl his age in America wouldn't be so acceptable. He comes from a conservative village in the mountains where boys and girls are still chaperoned and follow tradition that boys shouldn't be writing to strange girls in a foreign country.

Anyway, the story is done well and the illustrations are nice too. This book is suitable for young children and their parents to discuss two different worlds between a girl on a farm in Illinois and a boy in the mountains of Afghanistan. There have similarities and differences as well that makes it endearing. I think the book could have been more engaging. I really felt that Abby wasn't well-developed as her Afghani-counterpart. I also thought that there could be more written as well.

Abby Carson, a likeable Illinois 6th grader, is in danger of being held back unless she brings her grades up and completes a...you guessed it....EXTRA CREDIT project. It involves exchanging letters with Amira Bayat and (less directly) her brother, Sadeed, who live in Afghanistan. There is a great deal of cultural information worked into the story, and readers who struggle may lose interest. (For those readers, Clement's NO TALKING might be a better choice for pleasure reading.) The illustrations and "handwritten" letters are well done and wisely included.

Those who already enjoy reading will find this another pleasurable Clements adventure, and those who don't take to reading so easily will still find a good story(while learning about another culture in the process.)This would be a strong choice for a social studies class to partner with a non-fiction book such as Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition.