Money Matter$

AccessLex provides resources for Financial Literacy, Budgeting and Management, and Understanding Credit for law students.

• AccessLex Institute
• Ask Edna - From admission to law school to admission to the bar, Ask EDNA!® offers insight and information at every step.
• Membership and workshops
• Student Loan Calculator - Know what you’ll to need borrow. Explore repayment plans. Identify loan consolidation and refinancing options. Determine how much you can have forgiven under PSLF. Realize the power of prepayment.

• Financial Awareness Basics - Explains the importance of reviewing, and how to access your credit report
• Mapping Your Future - Free resource for career, college, financial aid, and money management information.
• 360 Financial Literacy - Use the Life Stage navigation bar to view financial topics most relevant to the stage of your life.

Money management, or financial planning, expands upon budgeting to take a broader, more strategic view of your financial health. These links, cover topics such as investments, Roth IRAs, and retirement planning.

• National Financial Planning Support Center - Information from Financial Planning Association (FPA).
• Resources and Tools for Financial Life Events
• Take Control of Your Finances - Short videos on achieving financial independence and enabling your life dreams.

Note: These tools are only as good as the information you provide.

• AccessLex Student Loan Calculator - Know what you’ll to need borrow. Explore repayment plans. Identify loan consolidation and refinancing options. Determine how much you can have forgiven under PSLF. Realize the power of prepayment.
• Debt Snowball Calculator - showcases how an accelerated debt payoff plan impacts your financial situation.
• Financial Calculators - For various financial situations, like home buying, college financing, saving, and more.
• Income Based Repayment Calculator - Determines eligibility and calculates monthly payment.
• Loan Simulator - Department of Education tools to plan a budget and determine your loan repayment schedule.
• Pay As You Earn - Determines eligibility and calculates monthly payment.

Credit scores are important to obtaining good interest rates on educational loans and mortgages. They can even impact your job prospects. Learn more about credit, your personal credit score, and strategies to improve it.

• AnnualCreditReport.com - Request your free annual credit reports from the primary reporting agencies from the only authorized service.
• Ask Edna, AccessLex - From admission to law school to admission to the bar, Ask EDNA!® offers insight and information at every step.
• Credit Education Center - Learn how credit affects major purchases, watch videos to learn about credit scores, and post questions in the forums.
• What is Credit and Why is It Important?, Great Lakes - Learn about credit reports and scores, how credit affects you, and how student loans factor into your credit report.
• What is a FICO® Score? - Learn about F.I.C.O scores, credit (non-F.I.C.O) scores, and identity theft.
• Credit Karma - Estimate your credit score and compare it with other site users.
• Credit Score Estimator - estimates are based on answers to ten questions about credit use and payment behavior.
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling - Provides credit counseling, debt reduction services, and education for financial wellness.