Ms. Chatzky, I recently heard you say on the Today Show that if someone makes 24 consecutive payments on their student loan and it is cosigned that they can get it placed under their name. Was that only for federal loans? I have a private student loan with Citibank and they have told me that 48 payments are required. If you could clarify your information that would be great. I have made 44 payments on time and think it’s about time they let me have the loan. I have been doing my part. Thanks for your time, Travis
– travandsuz
Travis, you’re right – this is going to vary by lender. I said 24 months on that Today Show segment you saw because that’s about standard. But some lenders will only require 12 months of on-time payments, some 24 or 36, and others, like yours, may require 48. More…
On Friday I spoke to 1000 (!) middle school kids in Ho-Ho-Kus and Wykoff, NJ about Not Your Parents’ Money Book.
We talked about making money, saving smartly, living on what you make — and some of the burning questions that middle schoolers asked me when I was doing my research: How much does a kid like me cost a year? If banks fail all the time how do we know our money is safe?
Oh, and we played a game show, too. If you’d like me to come to your middle school when I’m in the area, send me an email….Jean
I bought EE savings bonds to assist with the education of my children.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, we earn too much money to qualify for the tax
savings if these were used for their educational costs. I am wondering if
there is a way to transfer ownership of these bonds to the children so that
when the bonds are redeemed, the proceeds and the tax burden are theirs.
Most of these bonds have matured but are still earning interest at a rate of
4% and are safe. Thank you.
– Anita Mann
Hi Anita. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get out of this tax burden
completely. Your best bet is to have the EE savings bonds reissued to your
children, identifying them as the co-owners of the bonds. However, if you
do that, you’ll still have to pay taxes on the interest that was earned up
until the date of the reissue. That tax bill can’t be transferred, along
with the bonds, to your children. More…
On today’s Money 911…how you can be released as a cosigner from a student loan, does a debt management plan hurt your credit, and can you afford to have kids? Tune in.
This morning Bob Sullivan, author of Stop Getting Ripped Off!, and I chatted with Tamron Hall about Debt Settlement. Very important information about changes in the laws that will put a stop to up-front fees and tip consumers off to what (exactly) they’re signing up for and what they should get in return. Also, the difference between Debt Settlement and Credit Counseling and how you can settle a debt yourself. Must have been interesting — my own mother said she stopped to listen rather than checking out what I looked like. And she knows all of this from being an avid reader of my books!
Today I had the pleasure — really, it’s always so much fun — of appearing on Morning Joe to talk about Not Your Parents’ Money Book. I was waiting for Willie Geist to ask me (as he’d asked the prior guests) if I was a witch. He didn’t. And I’m not. But I am a Jeannie
This morning on Today I talked about my new book, Not Your Parents’ Money Book. I wrote it to help teach kids how to make money, save money and spend money wisely. To learn more watch the video clip below to hear what we discussed.
Last but not least, we have a few tips from the readers of PT Money, about how they’re helping their kids form smart money habits. Don’t forget to join them tonight for the National Money Night Talk. You’ll find all the information you need – including a tool kit to help you with the talk – on that website.
My tip would be to keep a notebook or Excel spreadsheet with expenses, and keep yourself on a budget. If you notice from your spreadsheet that you’re going over budget during the month, you have time to decrease your spending so you can meet your budget goal by the end of the month. More…
I taught my children to take any money they get (holidays, birthdays or paychecks/money earned) and divide it into categories and assign a percentage (i.e., church contribution, savings, specific fund like vacation money or something special they want to buy) and then no matter how big or small the amount, they are contributing to their financial goals.
Ms. Chatzky, I recently heard you say on the Today Show that if someone makes 24 consecutive payments on their student loan and it is cosigned that they can get it placed under their name. Was that only for federal loans? I have a private student loan with Citibank and they have told me that 48 payments are required. If you could clarify your information that would be great. I have made 44 payments on time and think it’s about time they let me have the loan. I have been doing my part. Thanks for your time, Travis
I bought EE savings bonds to assist with the education of my children.
