To celebrate Financial Literacy month, schools can take advantage of the free money management tools offered by Mapping Your Future.
Schools can link to these tools from their website to help their students. These tools, which are located at mappingyourfuture.org/Money/, include a variety of services to help students manage their money before, during and after college:
- Loan consolidation calculator: Allows borrowers to estimate the repayment period, interest rate (the weighted average interest rate of the loans to be consolidated, rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of one percent, not to exceed 8.25 percent), and repayment schedule if they consolidate
- Student loan calculator: Allows borrowers to estimate payments on federal student loans, as well as determine how much salary is needed to support student loan debt
- Debt/salary wizard: Interactive calculator which helps students and parents determine how much salary is needed to support the payments on current and future student loan debt and how much the student can borrow based on future expected earnings
- Deferment navigator: Allows borrowers to determine deferment eligibility based on when their oldest outstanding loan was disbursed. Borrowers using this feature won't be confused by the entire list of student loan deferments, when they are only eligible for a few select types. There are two deferment eligibility charts for Federal Perkins Loans and three for the Federal Family Education Loan Program and Federal Direct Loan Program.
- Budget calculator: Allows users to create a monthly budget, reminding them of various expenses including transportation expenses, grocery items, and miscellaneous expenses; accompanied with information about the importance of budgeting
- Checkbook balancing tool: Enables users to reconcile their bank statements to their check register each month (without storing their information)
- Savings calculator: Allows visitors to see how valuable saving can be, estimating future value of an investment;; accompanied by information on how to save
- Basic steps to get established financially
- Advice on using credit cards wisely
- Guidance about reviewing and understanding credit reports
- Tips for preventing and detecting identity theft
- Advice for managing student loan debt
Additionally Mapping Your Future offers Show Me the Future®, (showmethefuture.org) a life skills and money management game, which helps 12-20 year olds prepare for their futures.
Based in Round Rock, Texas, Mapping Your Future is a public-service organization of the financial aid industry--bringing together the expertise of the industry to provide services online. Mapping Your Future provides information and services in a neutral and non-commercial format for the ultimate benefit of students and families. Since 1996, Mapping Your Future has received a number of awards, including recognition for its excellence in content and innovation in technology services.
Mapping Your Future (MappingYourFuture.org) provides step-by-step instructions on career, college planning and financial aid. In addition, the site offers Online Student Loan Counseling, money management information and tools and online customer service for schools and their students.
Posted 04/20/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.
