Chris Boyle graduated from Colorado State University in December 2003, and as an out-of-state student, was $50,000 in debt when he started his job teaching in Poudre School District.

He has a $120 monthly loan payment that he says isn’t too bad if it were his only monthly bill.

“But when you add my mortgage, car payment and car insurance, it’s hard,” he said. “It’s another payment that I have to make.”
continue reading "Student loan changes could help low-income professions"

DEBIT CARD USERS MIGHT NOT KNOW THEY’RE ENROLLED

Common sense dictates that the best way to avoid overdrawing your account or bouncing a check is to make sure you have money in your account in the first place.

But mistakes happen. And when they do, it can cost you.

Here’s what happens: You swipe your debit card to pay for a small purchase and the transaction is approved, but you later find out that you didn’t have the money to cover it. What you might not have realized is that the bank automatically enrolled you in its overdraft program. Rather than deny purchases because of insufficient funds, as they did a few years ago, banks now are routinely allowing such transactions to go through while charging you a hefty fee for the courtesy of covering you — even if you didn’t ask for it.
continue reading "Banks make big money from overdraft protection"