Financing College Expenses With Student Loans Or with Credit Cards?

Students always need finance to cover the expenses of daily life. Buying books, paying for rent, groceries, services, etc. can add up to considerable amounts that must be paid somehow. The easiest way is to use a credit card; credit cards are always in hand and are a very comfortable payment method.

But what happens when you will not have enough money by the next month to pay the whole balance? Or, in other words, what if you need finance to make ends meet? Is a credit card the best source of finance or are there other options that you can turn to if you need funds to cover your expenses?

All these questions will be answered in the following paragraphs. What we want to make students understand is that finance is a serious issue that should be well thought. Rushing in and choosing the easiest path can lead to unfortunate consequences that can easily be avoided by doing a bit of research and making conscious decisions.

Other Finance Sources

The truth is that when it comes to students, lenders are more flexible and a student will be able to get finance at low interest rates without too much hassle as long as he is willing to go through the process of applying for a loan.

Many people feel that using a credit card and getting finance through it is not borrowing money, but it is. There is no difference between that and applying for a loan. So, given that either way you will owe someone money, you might as well borrow money with a lower interest rate.

Federal Loans carry the lowest interest rates when it comes to student loans. The interest rate charged for a federal loan is usually below 6%. Another benefit that comes with this kind of loans is that the repayment is deferred till graduation. Moreover, you can sometimes agree a deferment of up to a year after graduation.

Regular loans on the other hand carry somewhat higher interest rates but nevertheless lower than other unsecured personal loans. Repayment can also be deferred and payment schedules can last longer than federal loans. Also, private loans provide higher loan amounts than federal loans.

Credit Cards

If you choose to finance yourself with credit cards, you must understand that costs will be a lot higher. Unless you always pay your balance in full (in which case you would not be financing) the interest rate you will be charged for credit will be as high as 20%, let alone other charges and fees like insurance, issuing costs, etc.

Not only is the interest rate a lot higher, but it is also not fixed. So variations in market conditions may increase the interest rate charged and you will end up paying a lot more than you expected. Besides you cannot defer payment, you will have to begin to pay for your purchases the following month. And if you choose to pay the minimum you will end up accumulating debt which is a dangerous thing to do as the minimum will increase every month and you will end up being unable to pay your credit card balance.