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Author: roxanne

The all too familiar magazine offer: “Free Trial Offer. No obligation.”

Posted on by roxanne

You receive an unsolicited magazine in your mailbox stating that this is a trial offer.  Or you send in a card for a free trial offer on a magazine, and when it arrives you decide you do not like it.  It said “No obligation”, so you pitch the magazine in the trash and are surprised when a month later, another copy arrives with a bill.  Ah!!… the fine print!!  Might have looked at that more closely…  There may have been instructions about writing to cancel if you did NOT want to continue receiving the magazine.  The idea here is that you need to be proactive.  Begin the process immediately to cancel the subscription.   (You cannot wait until you have received six copies of the magazine and then try to cancel without paying).   If you have a copy of the offer or sales agreement, read it carefully and follow any instruction for cancelling the order.  Make sure to keep documentation (and copies if you can) of any correspondence.

At this point, immediately return the bill and write “Cancel Subscription” clearly across the bill.  It would also help to include a note that you wanted a trial issue only and are not interested in the magazine, requesting them to cancel the offer.  Most of the time, this will stop the order.

However if you get another copy, return everything unopened and mark very clearly on the outside, “Refused, return to sender- Cancel order immediately”.   As long as you do not open the package, the post office will return it without having to pay return postage.   If the first step did not work, this one should take care of it.

If you continue to receive a bill and magazine, I would call the company’s Customer Service number and make efforts to stop it that way.  Document who you talked to in Customer Service as well as the date and time of the call.  Explain to them what has happened so far.  Mention that at this point you will consider any magazines received as gifts.  By now they should be getting the point that you are not interested in their magazine.

You probably should not have to take it this far, but as a last resort if nothing else has worked, contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or call 877-382-4357, and ask for help getting the company to stop billing you.

Sources: General life experiences and “Solve Your Money Troubles”, Nolo Publishing.

Joel Reimer
Peer Counselor I
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Tips for Spring Break Trip Planning

Posted on by roxanne

You have finally made it to Spring Break and a much-needed reprieve from the stresses of college life.  Spring Break should be a fun time for sure, but it is important to not go overboard on spending during this week.  There are many ways to go into Spring Break financially savvy and not come out broke.  Planning your trip and expenses is essential to having a good time and not worrying about the impact your vacation will have on your finances.  Here are just a few tips on how to prepare for Spring Break financially.

Start saving early.  If you know that you want to go on a trip of any kind for Spring Break, it is a good idea to start saving up early.  A good time to start thinking about saving is once you are getting back from winter break and planning for what the spring semester is going to look like.  Any amount that you can set aside from each paycheck can help you get started.  The earlier you start this the better.  Once you have a solid idea of your Spring Break plans, then you can save accordingly.  You will be more at ease knowing your trip is paid off rather than sitting on credit card debt.

Plan travel and lodging expenses early.  The sooner that you are able to book hotels and flights the cheaper they will be.  If you plan on going somewhere for Spring Break, be sure to look up good deals as early as possible and from multiple websites or companies.  Travel and lodging are the most expensive parts of Spring Break, so it is a good idea to find any way to lessen the financial impact.

Set a limit on your spending.  Once you have your expenses covered for traveling and lodging it is also important to set a limit for yourself on how much you are going to spend during the trip.  Things like gas, air fare, and lodging are set prices but meals, souvenirs, and entertainment can also be very expensive additional costs.  Limit yourself to a certain amount of money to spend during the trip.  A good way of doing this is to have a certain amount of cash of hand specifically for the additional trip expenses.

Make your meals ahead of time.  Depending on the trip you are taking, it can be very beneficial to make meals ahead of time and bring them with you.  If meals are not included with your activities, you can make simple snacks and lunch food to have during the day so that not every meal is spent eating out.  Eating out at every meal for a week can get very expensive.

Carpool and plan out stops. If you are going with friends and not flying, why not start the fun earlier by road tripping with them.  Carpooling can save money on gas and help defray the costs between those in the car.  Also a lot of popular Spring Break locations will charge for parking and having fewer cars will make parking costs less.

Spring Break should be a great time to get away and enjoy yourself with friends, but it should not bankrupt you.  Hopefully these tips will inspire you to think of new and creative ways to  be smart about your money during Spring Break!

Adam Clement
Peer Counselor I
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc

Financial Aid Tips for the Kansas State Student

Posted on by roxanne

That time is growing near to start thinking about finances for the coming school year.  A great way to find funding is through filling out the FAFSA. Here are some useful tips and resources for deciding which type of federal funding is best for you.

You should start the process now. The amount of financial aid available is limited, meaning federal funding is based on a first come, first served basis. If you have not yet begun this process, you can get started at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. You will need to fill in the required information as prompted throughout the procedure. If a question arises while filling out the FAFSA, you can contact your Student Financial Aid Advisor in the Office of Student Financial Assistance. This office is located in 104 Fairchild Hall and can be reached at 785-532-6420. The spring deadline in Kansas for turning in the FAFSA is April 1, 2012.

Once you have filled out the FAFSA and received financial aid, the office of Student Financial Assistance will inform you and it will show up in iSIS under Self Services=>Campus Finances=>View Financial Aid. It is now your choice to decide which aid you would like to accept; your choices may consist of:

Federal Direct Subsidized loans: a need based student loan. The federal government “subsidizes” this loan by paying the interest on it provided you pass all the eligibility requirements. Interest will be subsidized by the federal government for 6 months upon graduation. You will more than likely want to choose these types of loans before accepting an unsubsidized loan

Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans: which is a non-need based student loan. Accrued interest on this loan is your responsibility even while in school. You will want to accept these loans with caution, because interest will start building up as soon as you do.

Federal Parent Plus loans: a non- need based parent loan. If you accept this loan, your parent must apply for it and pass a credit check. Your parent will be responsible for repaying this loan including all accrued interest

Federal Grants: a need-based form of federal gift aid. Grants are basically free money and should be accepted because they are the lowest-cost financial aid, along with Federal Work-study and Scholarships.

Federal Work-study: According to Kansas State University’s financial aid description, Federal Work-Study is a need-based form of federal work aid. If you accept the award and secure a part-time Federal Work-Study job, this award can assist you in paying for college expenses. To learn more about this topic, go to www.k-state.edu/sfa/jobs. Participation in this part-time employment program will provide you with a paycheck on a bi-weekly schedule. Your pay will go directly to you and will not automatically offset any University charges you might have.

Private Scholarships: Private scholarships will also show up with your financial aid and will need to be accepted.

According to a tip found on https://www.nextstudent.com/financial-aid/financial-aid-tips/, “If you’re not happy with the financial aid packages you’re offered, negotiate. School financial aid officers develop the final student aid packages, and school officials may not fully understand your financial situation. Talk to them. Ask them how they arrived at the final numbers. Help them understand your position. Each school’s financial aid package may be different, so don’t give up until you’ve tried them all.”

Even though you have earned these funds this year, never stop looking for new scholarships or grants. Your financial aid eligibility can change from year to year. Financial aid is a great way to account for the cost of school, and there are many types of loans and grants available for students.

Also, if you have questions about this process, or any other questions regarding loan decisions and management, feel free to make an appointment on the Powercat Financial Counseling website: www.ksu.edu/pfc or call us at 785-532-2889.

Jessica Stewart
Peer Counselor I
Powercat Financial Counseling
www.k-state.edu/pfc