Banks With No-Fee Pledges. Earlier this year, my credit union announced they’d start charging a new $35/year fee on a $10,000 deposit. But they offered me a deal: they’d waive the fee if I agreed to deposit an additional $23,000. Boy, was I mad! Actually, I didn’t even notice at the time, and I’m embellishing the story. The credit union didn’t hit me with a new fee. What do we want from our banks, anyway? He’s no Brad Pitt, but he’s mine Remember the mid-2000s, when shopping for bank deals was fun?
Now, the experience is Blade Runner-esque. The best rates on deposits are usually on reward checking accounts (often called Kasasa accounts; kudos to whoever came up with this unthreatening, sorta-ethnic name). The problem with reward checking is that banks use it to bring in new deposits, and once they’ve got you - once you’ve connected your checking account to everything else in your financial life - they can lower the rate and figure you’re too deeply embedded to switch. Me? The good guys Probably not, he says. Pay down debt faster by paying smarter.
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Anyone with eligible loans can apply to see if his or her payments will be more affordable under IBR. IBR can help you if: You have federal student loans in either the Direct or Guaranteed (FFEL) Loan program. Your loans include Stafford, Grad Plus, and federal Consolidation loans that do not include Parent PLUS loans. IBR is not available for: PLUS loans made to parents, or Consolidation loans that include Parent PLUS loans.
Several examples of borrowers eligible for IBR are available from the Project on Student Debt. All Direct Loan servicers plus several others are already in the system, and the Department of Education has said it expects to have all servicers plugged in by Spring 2013. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) You may qualify for PSLF if: PSLF is not available for: Community - Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Personal Finance: Financial Fitness Quiz.