30 Credit Cards

When I went to the meeting we had on Wednesday in the library, I learned that credit can be affected in many ways. If you have many debts to pay on credit cards, phone bills, car payments, etc. your credit score will be greatly affected.

I learned that if you have a bad credit score you cannot even buy a car, and if you are able to, you will have a higher interest on it. Also if you have a lot of credit cards, you could also end up having a bad credit score.

For example, my mom has a friend who has thirty credit cards, and almost all of them are maxed out, so therefore her friend has very bad credit. My mom on the other hand only has one card, and that is her debit/visa card. She only spends what she has in her bank account whenever she needs to and doesn’t have to worry about paying fees at the end of the month. A few years back she shredded all of her credit cards and has been happier since.

However, in my case, I don’t have anything but straight out cash that I can keep with me or in my bank account to keep it safe, which is perfectly fine with me.

Whenever I need something, I will be like my mom and use my own money, rather than borrowing it and paying it back later with extra fees.

I couldn’t imagine having to pay off as many credit cards as my mom’s friend has for example along with the extra interest rates added onto each one of her cards. The highest interest rate she has is 29.99 percent, so she is basically making the credit card companies rich just off of the interest alone.

This is why so many people find themselves in quick sand when it comes to paying off their credit cards. Most of the money goes towards interest, and very little goes to the principal.

It’s like being between a rock and a hard place when it comes to credit, because you have to take out credit in order to have a good credit score.

I think the main thing is you have got to be responsible with your credit debt and not treat it like it is money that is growing on trees, because when it gets right down to it, you will have to pay it back in the end.

- Lynda B.

Finances are Hard

The time looking for a school or financial aid is difficult. So is budgeting the money for school, including grants, loans, or scholarships.

Finances are hard to deal with when you barely know what you're doing. It takes time to deal with the management of money matters. With my finances, I would love to get a car first, go to college, get an apartment, and with whatever is left, help people.

There are a lot of things that have to do with finances or budgeting. Bills such as a car, house, cell phone, house phone, and more, need to be paid. If you have kids like me, they will need things that are very expensive.

You could give yourself a budget when you go shopping for groceries, clothes, shoes, hygiene stuff, and more. For example, you say you only want to spend $50 on this or that. That's to help you save money and stop from spending money you think you have, but don't.

- Katherine

Scholarship Time!

As a high school senior, I am preparing to go to college by filling out many different scholarship applications. I have always looked forward to receiving a higher education, but one obstacle stands in my way: I have to pay my own way.

You see, as child of parents who are in the middle class and with an older sister who is already attending a university, my parents can’t afford to send two children to college.

Currently, college scholarships are such a high priority in my life that I practically live in the career center. For the entire month of February I will be writing essays and filling out applications.

What I really need to do is find a scholarship that will give me more than a thousand dollars because most local scholarships only offer up to a thousand dollars. Although it is a substantial amount of money, college-wise this will only buy me text books.

This past week in particular has been crazy with scholarships. The worst thing about them is that even though you go through all the trouble to fill one out, you are not guaranteed any money.

The scholarship I have been most worried about is the Masonic scholarship. The one thing that had been holding me back from completing it was a personal essay that I had to write. The good thing is that the rest of the general local scholarships require that same essay, so once I have finished it I don’t have to worry about it ever again.

I am also trying to write a leadership essay so I may turn in my application for the UTSA terry scholarship. As much of a pain it will be to write this essay, this scholarship gives a minimum of 40,000 dollars to its winners. It is essential for me to complete this essay because it will also be going on my UTSA honors college application as well as a Time Warner Cable scholarship offered only to UTSA students. If I were to win these scholarships and other local ones, I might be able to graduate with little to no debt.

As of right now, I am in Denton, Texas visiting Texas Women’s University. If I happen to like it, I will need to study its cost and compare it to UTSA and Texas State University. Since Denton is so far away, I also have to consider how much it costs for me to make the drive home, because scholarships will not cover trips to and from the university. I guess it all depends on what I see tomorrow.

Currently, I am undecided as to which university I will be attending; however, scholarship money will definitely have a major influence in which one I will be choosing because my goal is to graduate from college without being in debt.

-Iris