Money Management That Works

Answers to hundreds of money management questions can be shared with your students with
EDFUND's Building Futures™—Financial Literacy.

• What's the Rule of 72?
  Find out on slide 10 of Saving 100 - Saving for Goals

• How do I explain Saving vs. Investing to my students?
  Discover the answer on slide 3 of Saving 200 - Investment Basics

• How do I help students rebuild their credit?
  Teach them in 10 easy slides using Credit 300 - Rebuilding Credit.

• What's the difference between bill-pay and automatic payments?
  See slide 15 in Budgeting 200 - Banking.

• Where can I find expense-cutting tips to share with my students?
  Slides 10 through 16 in Budgeting 100 - Making a Budget.

Credit Reports and Scores

What protective measures are you taking against identity theft? Ordering a copy of your free credit report to verify that the information is accurate is an easy place to begin. Have you ever ordered your credit report? Have you encouraged your students to do the same?

Thinking of your credit report as a financial report card may give you additional incentive to see how you fare.

There are four primary categories on a credit report:

• Personal Information                
• Credit History  
• Public Records
• Inquiries
  

Lenders disclose to credit reporting agencies your payment history, amount borrowed, credit limits, and any delinquencies on each account. Doesn’t that make you just a bit curious about what’s in your report? If you knew that 76 percent of reports contain errors, wouldn’t you be really curious? So get your head out of the sand and give yourself a free birthday present: Check your credit report once a year.

Here are a few things you may want to review:

• Name              
• Address                      
• Social Security number
• Birth date
• Accuracy of account

This is also a topic that could easily be worked in to your next counseling session with your students! You can’t help but grab their attention when you tell them that criminals steal nearly 700,000 identities a year! And just because you’ve never had your wallet stolen doesn’t mean you’re safe—these folks go through the trash and the mail to find information.

Don’t forget to pass on to your students the many advantages of having good credit: They could qualify for lower-interest loans saving thousands of dollars in the long run, or they may be able to increase their purchasing power with “no money down” offers on a new car.

Some employers even check an applicant’s credit report – wouldn’t it be a heart-breaker if someone didn’t get their dream job because of a poor credit history? For more information on our Building Futures—Financial Literacy program and all the cool tools available to help you with borrower counseling, default prevention and money management, contact your client relations manager today!

Our People Make the Difference

It is our pleasure to introduce you to some of the people who make the difference through their commitment to making EDFUND the premier service provider in the student financial service industry.

Sandy Ninemire, assistant vice president, Government Relations

Although our members of Congress work in cycles that include generous chunks of time away from Capitol Hill, there’s no slow season for folks who track Congressional activity related to higher education.

Just ask Sandy Ninemire, EDFUND’s assistant vice president of Government Relations. In just the last few years, Sandy’s seen a constant stream of legislation and new regulations affecting everything from student loan interest rates to distance learning to considerations for students who serve in the military.

“The budget process goes on all year,” says Sandy. “When you throw in final regulations and the upcoming election, I don’t see us slowing down anytime soon.”

Sandy has a strong background in higher education, starting with her work in the financial aid office at the University of Colorado at Boulder during her last two years of schooling there. “We did hand calculations, needs analysis…I was a peer counselor there, which was a good introduction to financial aid.” After working a few more years at the university and the state guaranty agency, Sandy and her husband moved to California.

In 1991 she was hired at California’s guaranty agency, and later joined EDFUND when it was created as the agency’s auxiliary. She held positions in school services and training before taking on government relations in the mid-1990s. “I told my husband I’d work at the agency for a year and then decide what I wanted to do with my career,” says Sandy with a laugh. “Government relations is what I want to do.”

For now, Sandy and her staff are closely tracking the negotiated rulemaking process, the federal budget, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and working to reinstate the ability of agencies like EDFUND to sign a Voluntary Flexible Agreement (VFA) with the U.S. Department of Education. Although the budget bill should technically be wrapped up by September 30, “it won’t get done by then,” says Sandy. “Congress wants to see how the elections go. They’ll likely push the budget for fiscal year 2009 into January when the new president is in place.”

Despite frequent travel to Washington, D.C. and to association conferences across the country, Sandy relishes her job. “I like the one-on-one contact with Congressional staff, and knowing that you can work with someone and have a beneficial outcome,” she says. “You can’t always get what you hope for because of so many other interests, but it’s nice to know you can impact the process even if only occasionally.”

Getting the Most From Your Training 

EDFUND offers a vast array of training topics to choose from in both webinar and national in-person workshops through the EDFUND INSTITUTE. See what's new and available now!

Workshops provide not just a learning opportunity, but also a time for the financial aid community to connect with one another – commonly known as “networking.” Networking can sometimes have a negative connotation if people associate it with “social climbing,” but it’s a mutually valuable device if done with sincerity and respect. It is a time to develop relationships, establish contacts and exchange information and ideas.

Nancy Lane of the University of Cambridge gives these suggestions in her presentation, The Importance of Networking and Some Tips on How to Do It:

• Don’t stand on one side of a room, waiting. Move forward and introduce yourself politely. Smiling helps.

• Find mentors and sponsors. Be a good, empathetic listener. Often times when one is working through a financial aid quandary, talking through it clarifies the situation and solution.

• Ensure a fair exchange. All relationships should be built on balance; there should be both giving and receiving.

• Follow-up and follow through. Stay in regular contact with those you meet at a workshop. Don’t be afraid to call them when you are struggling with a financial aid situation, or just to say hi. And if, at a workshop, you promise to e-mail a form you use at your school or a helpful resource, make sure to follow through on that promise once you are back in the office.

The current series of negotiated rulemaking is a result of the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA). Two Negotiating Committees were formed to discuss:

• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant
• Loan issues

The TEACH Grant Committee has completed their negotiations by coming to consensus with the Department on all proposed regulations.

Loan Issues Committee has completed three rounds of negotiations on the following topics:

• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
• Conforming the Economic Hardship Deferment with IBR
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Definition of Not-for-Profit Holder
• Harmonizing Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Waivers with other benefits provided to returning and active duty military.

A fourth round of negotiations is scheduled for April 14 and 15 in Washington D.C. The extra time is needed to discuss five issues:

• Consider payments made prior to July 1, 2009, as eligible payments for loan forgiveness under the IBR plan.
• Special Allowance Payment (SAP) calculations for loans in the IBR plan.
• Definition of a not-for-profit lender.
• Definition of qualified employment for Public Service Loan Forgiveness including the words "directly employed." Removing that verbiage would help workers who perform public service work, but are under contracts with local communities, qualify for loan forgiveness.
• Definition of public interest law services.

NASFAA Handout Helps Debunk Myths About Financial Aid Availability

NASFAA has created a generic handout that institutions can modify and distribute to students to reassure them that they will be able to get student loans this fall despite some reports in the media about the credit crunch possibly limiting access to student loans.

EDFUND's guide to higher education tax incentives including tax benefit updates for tax year 2007 is a great resource. Schools are encouraged to provide this guide to students and parents. Intended as an overview of federal tax benefits, it summarizes the following topics and programs:

• Hope Scholarship Tax Credit
• Lifetime Learning Tax Credit
• Tuition And Fees Tax Deductions
• Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
• Qualified Tuition Program
• Student Loan Interest Deduction

The publication also includes links to further information on the IRS publications Web site.
Order for free (Order Number: I-91) or download Guide to Federal Tax Benefits for Tuition and Fees — Tax Year 2007.

Also available as a one-sided summary with advice on taking advantage of Tax Credits, Tax Deductions and Saving Incentives/Tax-Free Withdrawals for financial year 2007.

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