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By ALAN OLSON
Staff Writer
One common problem former students face after leaving college is the prospect of leaving school with various amounts of debt, while wanting to continue experiencing the finer parts of life -- marriage, social activites and raising a family, while still trying to save for their twilight years, decades later.
In an increasing trend, post-graduate students are finding themselves more able to handle their personal finances by living with relatives or groups of friends, sharing the burden of expenses evenly among themselves. Wheeling resident Clara Roberts bought her house, which she said is more affordable, and allows her to keep her feet on the ground.
"I bought my own house, rather than renting, which is much more affordable in this area," she said. "I have to have some money saved up for unforeseen expenses with the house, but it still costs less overall. I also live with three housemates, which lets us split my low mortgage and utilities four-ways."
Roberts added that while her student loans would require a $500 monthly payment, by applying for an income-based payment plan, she was able to reduce it to a more manageable amount.
"The loan program is through my loan services, and it will definitely take longer to pay off, but I will be able to survive instead of being crippled by the payments."
Recent graduate David Beck also lives with several roommates, and he added that the setup works best if each resident is able to support an equal share of the burden, which may not be possible in every circumstance. He also added that he's begun saving for retirement, immediately after jumping into the workforce, through the 401(k) plan offered by his job.
In addition to sharing the burden, both added that budgeting their money to last longer included largely cutting out extra expenses, such as going out to eat regularly.
"I also keep myself on a fairly strict budget, almost completely eliminating buying food at restaurants, so that I can afford to pay my student loans and other bills," Roberts said.
"I don't spend too much on luxuries and try to not spend too much when going out even if I can afford it," Beck added. "That allows me to pay off any debts I may have and build a buffer in case of financial emergencies."
Many financial institutions in the area offer counseling advice and budget management programs for their members. Karen Seever, representative from Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union, said their facility offers several programs for those struggling, including a balance program.
"There's a financial fitness program, and they do debt and budget counseling, but they also have – say you want to save for a car, and it gets to cover life stages," she said. "They'll pull your credit report, if you're having any kind of issues with not being able to get a loan or things like that.":
Seever said the financial planners available help to combat massive credit card problems, as can happen in some cases, where debts pile up and cause longstanding credit problems.
"One of the main things they can do is to pay things on time, and if they find that they're falling into that, financial counselors come into play to help them control their spending," she said. "They might just try to get whatever they need or want, without thinking of the realistic part. … Basically, budgeting would be their key."
For the first step of actually acquiring a home, many cities and counties in West Virginia offer a first-time homebuyer grant program, where a $10,000 loan is taken out and placed as a lien against the house, which, after five years of living in the same house in accordance with the program, the HOME Consortium will waive the loan, instead treating it as a grant. This program is available in Ohio, Hancock, Brooke and Marshall counties.
Other local financial institutions, such as BB&T, offer other first-time homebuyer programs as well.
Learn More:
∫ The HOME Consortium First Time Homebuyer Program may be contacted at:
∫ Ohio County 304-234-3701
∫ Weirton: 304-797-8516
∫ Hancock County: 304-797-7733
∫ Brooke County: 304-797-7733
∫ Marshall County: 304-233-0830