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Tech & Media Technology

The 8 Best Apps You’ve Never Heard Of

8 Best Apps You've Never Heard Of

You probably have all the most popular apps already installed, sure. But now and then you find an app that is just perfect for what it does, even if it is incredibly specialized. Sometimes you find one that just helps you enjoy your life activities a little more.  We’ve rifled through the depths of the app stores, and have found 8 apps that are surprisingly amazing, let’s take a look!

1.   Zombies, Run!

Running can be boring, even when you love it. You can let your playlist run on random sure, or, you can spice up your run with some wandering undead! Zombies, Run! is a great running app that not only tracks your runs but offers timed scenarios and objectives to gamify your run. You can even have your tunes in the background.

2.   iNaturalist

Machine learning is incredible. Now it’s been harnessed to help you identify plants and animals while out and about in nature. Simply enable GPS, take a picture, and upload it. The app will attempt to use your location and native species lists with photo recognition to determine what you’re looking at.

3.   What The Forecast?!!

This app is perfect in its simplicity. It takes the weather, the most boring, small talk abyss of a subject, sautes it with some sarcasm, spices it with some profanity, and serves you up a delicious helping of…well…sarcastic and profane weather. We swear it’s awesome. You can even set the intensity level to ease yourself into it if you like.

4.   Drunk Locker

If you, or someone you know (wink, wink), needs a little help controlling their communication when out having some liquid recreation, Drunk Locker is clutch. It locks out all social media, messaging, and so on, to help you, we mean your “friend”, keep their feelings from running amok while under the influence.

5.   RunPee

RunPee is a gem of an app. It tells you the best part of a movie to make a run to the facilities and can set an alert to give you advance notice. Simple, but useful.

6.   Flush

Frequently looking for a public bathroom at the most inconvenient of times? Flush give you access to the locations of nearly 200,000 public bathrooms, so that no matter where you are, you can stop in for a pit stop if you need to.

7.   Way Of Life

This is the perfect app for making positive changes in your life. Whether it’s quitting smoking, walking more, or just remembering to take lunch at work, Way Of Life will help you build or change those behaviors. Set milestones and celebrate them to bolster your progress.

8.   Wakie

I won’t sugar coat it. If you are a snooze button addict, and it’s gotten you in trouble, get this app. Now. Do it. A stranger will give you a wake-up call, without having to share your number with a stranger. Someone you don’t know, telling you it’s time to get up, is incredibly effective, and only a little bit weird, promise.

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Financial Savings

The Low Effort Ways I Earn An Extra $125 A Month

Earn Extra Income

Earning money in my spare time has always been a kind of hobby for me. I love hacking my spare time and using it to generate income, even if only in passive ways. There is nothing like being able to pay all my bills, have some spending money, and still have money left at the end of the month after budgeting for everything else.

The only problem is, I don’t generally like to stick to anything with a very rigid schedule, so any thought of a dedicated side hustle went right out the window. So after a lot of digging and some research, I found a healthy handful of ways to earn both active and passive income. Here are some ideas to help give your account some wiggle room.

Surveys and Focus Groups

This is the one that most people focus on, largely the portion of the survey since there are so many paid survey companies. The caveat of doing surveys is that there are a lot of spammy and even outright scammy survey sources. But once you find a reputable survey site, such as HiveMind or Respondent, you can spend a good portion of your free time answering questions and earn modest sums. Focus groups pay much better but are rarer and harder to do continuously.

Cashback Cards

If you can effectively manage your credit spending, be sure that you are taking advantage of a solid cash-back offer. Find one with a 1%-3% cashback deal, and use it for anything it qualifies for. Just be sure that you keep an eye on your utilization ratio if you’re concerned about your credit score.

Gig Opportunities

The gig economy is booming, and there are tons of organizations that need help on a daily, weekly, or gig basis. This could be working as an extra in a local film project or even working election polls or walking dogs. The money is modest for the hours you may work, but it’s a steady bit of income if you need it and most gigs will pay for training as well.

Selling Items

This isn’t one you can do all the time, but if you were looking to minimize some of the clutter in your life, you could use a marketplace app like Facebook, Poshmark, or LetGo to pare down your stuff. I use this method about every three months or so, just to keep up on it and make a little scratch as well.

Rebates

Rebates from shopping rebate apps are a great way to earn passive income on money you’re already spending for things you already use. Ibotta is a popular app, but there are several that all serve a similar purpose.

Selling Plasma

More profitable than blood donations, and it can be done more often as well. Many plasma centers will allow three donations per week, paying up to $50 per trip, with bonuses for those that are new to donating.

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Tech & Media Technology

Venmo vs. PayPal, which one should you use?

Venmo vs. PayPal

In our largely digital culture, we often need to send someone money or pay for something in person, when we don’t have cash on hand. Luckily, there is no shortage of digital or app-based payment options, but even with all the competition in that particular market, there are two heavyweights that most people use, Venmo and PayPal. This has evolved to the point that both brands have become a common meme verb. “Just Venmo me.”

If you are thinking about picking a new digital payment app, you might be wondering whether PayPal or Venmo is going to be right for you. You will need to consider who you will most often be exchanging funds with. Mostly friends and family? Business use? Splitting the occasional dinner tab? Some of these are certainly more suited to one app over the other, let’s take a look.

Accessibility

Both apps are available for Android and iOS, and both also feature full-featured desktop sites. While PayPal can initiate payments either via app or web, Venmo can only initiate payments on the mobile app. PayPal can also be used by a huge variety of merchants and vendors.

Sending Money

The process for sending money in both apps is more or less the same. You sync your contacts, find the username for the friend you want to pay, set the amount, and off it goes. Both apps also have functionality for sending money to those for who you only have an e,mail address for, or a mobile number, for example.

Requesting Money

Both apps allow anyone to request money from others. In most cases this is done as a reminder, since it will generate a notification and essentially, an invoice. Once the recipient receives the request, they can either act on it and pay, or deny it. In both cases, the balance hits your account nearly instantly.

Fees

Both offer free payments from bank accounts that you’ve already linked and verified, but they also allow credit or debit card payments, with a fee of about 3%. Venmo extends the no-fees to debit cards, whereas PayPal only allows free payments from linked accounts.

Limits

PayPal is a much stronger choice if you need to send larger amounts. PayPal will allow sends of up to $10k in a single payment, with daily caps around $60k, or more with further verification. Venmo’s limits are around $7k per 7-day period, with max of $5k in a day.

Business Features

PayPal is a much better bet for small busiess, or not so small business users. They have a robust array of merchant-oriented tools that can be used to sell online, and accept global payments.

Bells & Whistles

In many ways, PayPal and Venmo have a lot of similarities. There are some places where they vary a bit more. With Venmo, the focus is very much on the social side; you can check out your social feed and who is paying whom and notes sent with the payment, just not the dollar amount.

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Health & Home Recreation & Leisure

TSA Pre-Check & Global Entry: What To Know

What You Need to Know About TSA Pre-check and Global Entry

Veteran travelers leverage Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check programs to make sure they speed through security checks, get stuck for fewer screenings, and overall enjoy a less personally intrusive pre-boarding experience. Many people who do not fly much aren’t clear on the differences, or what each program entails. That’s what we’re going to break down and look at. Is one better for your personal travel style? Let’s find out.

What Is TSA Pre-Check

At its core, TSA Pre-Check is a membership program with dedicated lines in security checkpoints. Membership in the program allows approved travelers to use expedited services and deal with less personally intrusive screening methods than non-member travelers.

At security points, member travelers will go through metal detectors instead of the full-body scans that people often find uncomfortable. They get to keep their shoes and light coats on. They do not have to remove their computers or liquids from their storage area.

TSA PreCheck uses more than 200 airports across the US, with a total of 73 airlines accepting passengers with TSA PreCheck clearance. The drawback is that it is only used for domestic flights, so if you’re traveling abroad, TSA PreCheck is not going to do you any good.

What Is Global Entry

Global Entry is a membership program designed for international travelers. Not only does it grant member travelers all of the same domestic benefits of TSA PreCheck, but it also provides speedier entry to the US upon return through customs and immigration. This can make the return home from travel abroad smoother for travelers since re-entry to the US can be tedious.

Global Entry member travelers can use their benefits at 75 US and international airports. Some international airports even allow Global Entry members to get their customs clearance prior to their initial departure, instead of once they arrive back in the States.

What You Need To Know

Global Entry and TSA PreCheck are just two of the US Department of Homeland Security Trusted Traveler programs. There are also the Canadian NEXUS program, as well as the Sentri and FAST programs of both Canada and Mexico. All of these all the prescreening of travelers in order to get expedited admission to the country of destination.

Who Is Eligible To Get TSA PreCheck Or Global Entry?

Any US citizen or permanent resident can obtain applications for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, as well as citizens of:

  • The UK
  • Taiwan
  • Switzerland
  • South Korea
  • Singapore
  • Panama
  • India
  • Germany
  • Colombia
  • Argentina

Canadian and Mexican citizens as well as residents can also apply for Global Entry benefits when applying for NEXUS.

There are some disqualifying factors that will prevent some people from being able to gain membership to the Trusted Traveler programs. These include:

  • Conviction of a criminal offense, have pending or outstanding warrants
  • Ineligible for immigration
  • Providing incorrect or inaccurate application information
  • Cannot prove low-risk status to Customs & Border Patrol
  • Previous violation of customs or immigration law
Categories
Tech & Media Technology

How to Make Your iPhone “Aesthetic” With Shortcuts

How to Make Your iPhone “Aesthetic” With Shortcuts

If you are looking to aestheticize your life, then your iPhone is a perfect place to start.

Phones are miniature portraits of modern life. You carry it around in your pocket and take it out to see what sort of day you are having or are about to have. So it is only natural that you would want your phone to be an aesthetically pleasing bearer of this message.

In March of 2021, Apple released iOS update 14, which finally, finally allows users to modify their interface. The biggest change included in this update is the ability to use different icons for apps than the ones provided.

Replacing icons is just the first step, however. Your creativity can go further than that.

These icons can also change in size. Try this for a fun experiment:

  1. Find a quote that inspires you or makes you smile.
  1. Change your apps’ icons to be the words of this quote.
  1. Organize and resize the icons to make the quote visible.

Suddenly your iPhone is inspiring you every time you open it up! Changing icons means you can make them say whatever you want, and changing their size means you can make them as visible as you want.

There are also things you can do that take a bit more precision.

Imagine you have a group photo with all your friends. You want to use it as your phone background, but you do not want it hidden behind your app icons.

The icons of iPhone apps are usually sized at 180 by 180 pixels. Knowing this, you can divide your picture into a grid, where the squares are 180 by 180 pixels big.

Then, save each square of the grid as its own image. Once you replace your apps’ icons with the squares that they are covering up, it will appear as though there is no app icon at all.

But sometimes, you don’t want a seamless image. After all, not every aesthetic is seamless. Seamlessness hides the effort that goes into creating an aesthetic. It creates the illusion that the aesthetic is natural, that all the component parts fit together.

But what if you don’t want to hide your effort? What if part of your aesthetic is showing that you made it out of disparate parts?

Here is a fun thing to do if mosaics are more your aesthetic:

  1. Get the AutoDesk Sketchbook app from the app store.
  1. Just doodle. Draw curves, loops, and whorls that appeal to you.
  1. Cut that image up into 180 by 180-pixel pieces, but don’t pay too much mind to making it a perfect grid.
  1. Replace your app icons with the images you made

The best part about this is that rather than just using your app icons to remake the same image, you can make an entirely different image out of the components you created out of the doodles.

These are just a few experiments. Hopefully, this will help you express yourself and find a way to show off your aesthetic using your shortcuts.

Categories
Career Career & Education

How To Negotiate A Really Lowball Job Offer

It happens to the best of us every now and again. You get an offer that just seems designed to insult you. You probably feel frustrated, upset, and significantly unheard and undervalued. The first step is to not jump to conclusions and to react in as neutral a way as possible initially. Then, here are some techniques to cope and negotiate.

1.   Ask For Some Time To Consider

This is a great passive tactic to implement immediately. Ask them for a couple of days to consider the offer, and give them a definite time frame in which they can expect a response. A good general idea is about 2-3 business days. This gives you time to mull and doesn’t waste their time, but also lets them know in a passive way that the offer wasn’t immediately acceptable.

2.   Decide On Your Strategy

This is where you will decide if you’re going to express your disappointment outright or counter with a more reasonable offer. Many people will choose to negotiate first, in the hopes of getting a position that they really want, while making some compromises. Others will count it as a loss, but send a message expressing that disappointment and offering to consider if the conditions were improved.

3.   Determine If The Job Is Worth It

There may be cases where it just isn’t worth the hassle of going back and forth. There are some signals that your negotiations would be unsuccessful. Some of these factors include the employer insisting that the offer is the best they can do, further research indicating that the offer was fair, when you won’t be able to negotiate with a level head, or if the position simply isn’t worth the emotional strain.

4.   Counter & Know What’s Important To You

When you counter, make sure you go in with a plan that you can use for some framework. Know what’s important to you at a job, if they can’t offer more money, can they offer additional vacation time? If they can’t offer that, what can they do to make the offer more appealing? Sometimes you will be surprised at the perks they will offer that won’t end up on your paycheck.

5.   Know Your Job Market

You can’t decide what is and isn’t a fair offer if you don’t have a thorough knowledge of the salary range for the position nationwide as well as regionally and locally. Be sure you aren’t just throwing numbers at them in the hopes that they’ll bite. You may even be in the market for things like stock options or other equity in the company.

6.   Know Your Value

This is another area where research is incredibly valuable. Knowing how much you, your skills, background, experience, and so on are worth, can help you squeeze every bit of value out of a prospective offer. Even take into account how badly the company needs you, or needs to fill the position. A position with high turnover may be worth a higher bid.

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Health & Home Recreation & Leisure

8 Tips For Planning A Safe Road Trip During COVID

road trip safe during a pandemic

Now that some lockdowns have loosened, and quarantines have lifted in many locations, it could be the perfect time to get out and stretch, so to speak, and hit the open road. Carefully, of course. Let’s take a look at 8 great ways to make a road trip happen.

1.   Make A Definite Plan

Impromptu road trips are probably a thing of the past until this pandemic is more under control. This will be the most stressful and challenging part of your trip. Planning every single thing that you can plan for. This gives you a chance to plan alternates, also.

2.   Be Sure Of Cleaning Protocols Anyplace You Stay

Ask. Don’t assume, ask. This is incredibly important during the pandemic. You should be sure of their COVID cleaning protocols, just as they should. They should know exactly when things were last cleaned and sterilized, and if they don’t, stay somewhere else during your road trip.

3.   Keep Apprised Of The Cancellation Policies

Make sure any place that you are planning to travel has a good cancellation policy, that is as close to the day you leave as possible. If something changes, you will have more opportunity to regain any deposit that has been paid, or at least avoid the full charge if possible.

4.   Ready Your Ride

Make sure you keep your car sterilized and equipped for the constant task of keeping yourself clean. Make sure you have some backup masks, cleaning wipes, hand sterilizer, and maybe even some disposable gloves and mini garbage bags. This will be super helpful for your road trip.

5.   Plan Your Dining Carefully

I love to eat out, it’s one of my favorite things to do on a road trip but during a pandemic, things can get a little dicey. Be sure to research via reviews how local eateries are handling no-contact or low-contact deliveries or dining. Some restaurants are reopening as well, but you will probably find, just as I did, that there are certainly some establishments that are taking things casually despite the circumstances.

6.   Do Your Own Cleaning Job To Be Safe

I trust most housekeeping staff, but just in case they were a little overworked or spread a little thin on that shift, I’ll give the room and surroundings a quick once-over. Just with some wipes, I’m not talking about steam-sterilizing the whole floor. It will give you some peace of mind, and it will give you an extra layer of protection.

7.   Wipe Down When You’re Done

Not your surroundings, your belongings. Give a sanitizing wipe a tour around anything you have that may have been exposed, such as your shoes, laptop, suitcase, and so on. This makes sure that you aren’t bringing any pathogens with you to other destinations on your road trip.

8.   Have A Plan To Get Tested On Arrival

This probably won’t be an option or a need for everyone traveling, but in my case it was. I was going to be staying with my folks, and they’re both in their 60s and cancer survivors, so I didn’t want to take any chances. I made plans to get tested on my way into town and stayed quarantined until I heard back.

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Health & Home Recreation & Leisure

6 Ways to Celebrate Your Birthday on a Budget

6 Ways to celebrate your birthday without throwing a big party

Most of us love our birthday. Particularly these days, when celebrating another solar return can be a pretty big deal. It only comes once a year, and it can feel like a personal slight not to go all out and spend a bunch of money on a party for you and a ton of people.

That’s the exact reason why learning how to pull the reigns back on your natal day spending can be a necessary evil. So you’ve got to learn some better ways to help those around you to celebrate such an important day, without spending a fiscal quarter’s worth of rent payments.

Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin

Focus on what is really important, and try to cut out a lot of the other fluff. Once you know what is going to be the important experience or purchase this year, focus on that and invest in it. The benefits are two-fold, not only are you doing or getting something that you love, but you are going all in, and not skimping at all.

Stay Within Reach Of Home

Staycations are incredibly popular right now, particularly with the pandemic. To celebrate your birthday, find a local gem that you’ve always wanted to try, or go somewhere fairly local that you love and don’t get to visit often enough. Many people forget that you can have a great vacation by pretending to be a tourist in your own nearby big city. Jetsetting can get spendy, but staying local can let you use your resources more wisely.

Trailblaze

This past year or so has been the start of a ton of new traditions, as well as the end (or hiatus) of many other time-honored customs. Take this opportunity to create a birthday tradition that is uniquely you. This should be a way that you can personally set the day apart from the rest, maybe you just treat yourself to breakfast at your favorite diner. Make it yours.

Get A Birthday Deal

If you hunt around, you can probably spend your entire birthday doing and eating things for free. Check out birthday benefits for places that have birthday clubs and give you benefits like free coffee, burgers, ice cream, and more. Make sure you sign up before the big day, however, since some don’t offer the benefits on the day you sign up, or they require some approval process.

Hide Out Or Hand Out

Lots of people want to go out and be social for their birthday, and really party it up. But there is a growing number of people that find joy in small intimate gatherings and charitable giving. Maybe a fancy charcuterie date with your partner, maybe a date helping out in a soup kitchen.

Get Whimsical For Your Birthday

Feel free to give yourself a makeover or get a little silly for your birthday. Hair color you always wanted to try?  Love those little party poppers from the grocery store? Superhero-themed cake? Twinkly lights while you build a birthday blanket fort?

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Health & Home Recreation & Leisure

Where to Travel After COVID? 25 Inspiring Escapes

Where to Travel After COVID 25 Inspiring Escapes

After being stuck at home for more than a year, things are finally starting to get better. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently stated that those that are fully vaccinated for Covid are now cleared for travel. As things are opening back up, many people are planning their first vacation following the pandemic. With so many cool places to choose from, it can be hard to narrow it down to one place. Let’s take a look at 25 of the most breathtaking destinations you can travel to this year.

1. New Orleans

The “Big Easy” is best known for creole, Mardi Gras, Voodoo, and rich Cajun history.

2. Sydney

From the iconic Opera House to yacht-fill harbor, Sydney is full of diverse entertainment.

3. New York City

There’s never a dull moment in the Big Apple. Check out Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and more.

4. Kerry, Ireland

If you’re looking for breathtaking scenery, the Lakes of Killarney and Carrantuohill are waiting for you.

5. The Maldives

Another great scenic destination is the white sand and blue water of the Maldives.

6. Edinburgh, Scotland

As the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is known for the arts and festivals.

7. Tokyo, Japan

From museums and festivals to cuisine and sports, Tokyo has something for everyone.

8. Vancouver, Canada

This is the ideal destination for the outdoor adventurer. Camping, hiking, and skiing await.

9. Santorini, Greece

The most recognizable of the Greek islands, Santorini is known for its white buildings with blue accents.

10. Singapore

Singapore is popular for its tall buildings, bright colors, and clean streets.

11. Hong Kong

From lush parks to mountains to beautiful cultural diversity, Hong Kong would be a great vacation spot.

12. London, England

From the classic red phone boxes to modern marvels, there is a ton to do in London.

13. Barbados

If you’re looking for a Caribbean getaway, check out the beautiful blue waters of Barbados.

14. Seoul, South Korea

Full of culture, Seoul is perfect for those that are into fashion, food, art, or architecture.

15. Machu Picchu, Peru

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu is both breathtaking in beauty and history.

16. Lisbon, Portugal

Full of old-world charm, Lisbon is adorned with yellow trams, steep hills, and blue and white tiles.

17. Hawaii

Whether you want to relax and unwind or go on adventures, Hawaii is a great destination.

18. Beijing, China

Beijing is a wonderful vacation spot for anyone the loves to learn about history.

19. Las Vegas

Great for visitors of all ages, there is always something fun to do in Vegas.

20. Matterhorn, Switzerland

This is one of the best places for skiers.

21. Bora Bora

This is the perfect location if you want a romantic getaway.

22. Cape Town, South Africa

Your camera will get a workout with all of the gorgeous scenery, from the Atlantic Ocean to Table Mountain.

23. Paris, France

Perfect for anyone that wants to go for a second honeymoon.

24. Los Angeles

As the entertainment capital of the world, there is never a shortage of fun in LA.

25. Bali, Indonesia

From lakes and waterfalls to mountains and flower gardens, Bali is a great destination if you love a beautiful view.

Categories
Career & Education Education Financial Loans

How Student Loans Affect Credit

How Student Loans Affect Credit

How Do They Affect Your Credit?

Student loans can have a major effect on your credit score. Taking out loans and paying them back will vastly improve your credit score, but it is detrimental when you so much as miss a payment—in fact, it can drop your score by more than 100 points!

The credit score affected is the one of the person who took the loan out; sometimes by parents and others by co-sign with parent and child. For example, if your parent took out a loan to help you pay for school, it would only affect their credit, not yours.

When You Are Missing or Behind on Payments

Most student loans are installments, which means that you pay a certain amount for an allotted time period. The good news is that your score won’t start to decrease until after the missed payment has been reported by the lender:

  • Federal student loan servicers can wait up to 90 days to report
  • Private student loan servicers can wait up to 30 days
  • They still have the option of charging immediately, however

Another consequence of missing/late payments is that it can increase your debt-to-income ratio (DTI):

  • It represents the amount of your monthly income that goes towards paying off debts (higher is worse)
  • Since the amount of debt you owe accounts for a large portion of your credit score, the DTI is a good reflection of your debt repayment status, though it does not directly change your credit score
  • Too much installment debt (ie. student loan debt), can impact your ability to take out more loans in the future because it determines whether or not you can afford their payments

In the worst-case scenario, you could end up in default:

  • Federal student loans usually consider this to begin at 270 days behind, and private at 120 days
  • This stays on your credit report for seven years
  • You will likely face collection and legal action in order to collect on the debt

If your student loan payments become unfeasible and you are becoming concerned about going into default, there are several options:

  • You may contact the lender to see if there is an alternative payment plan available. For example, extended deferment period or income-driven repayment.
    • This is based off of your current income
  • See if you are eligible for a student loan forgiveness program—this can get rid of your student loan debt
  • Look into refinancing your student loans (replacing existing debt with another lower-costing loan through a private lender)
  • This may decrease your monthly payments, but it can also extend your payment period by a number of years, which then adds to your interest costs

Student Loans and Improving Credit

Though there are many negative consequences to neglecting your student loans, there is also the potential for achieving greatness within your credit. Because most college students haven’t yet had many credit cards or loans taken out—if any—they could serve as the foundation for your credit history. Granted they are paid regularly and on time:

  • Student loans can be add to your credit mix (types of credit used) to increase eligibility for future loans—lenders like to see diversity in credit history
  • They can also add to positive payment history, which is the bulk of your credit score
    • Some lenders even allow for small payments during deferment, which is when you are not required to make payments yet
    • This is usually when you are enrolled in school and the subsequent grace period
    • However, if you choose to start paying these installments during deferment, they still show up as payments in your credit history, thus raising your score

Conclusion

As long as you make sure to pay your student loans off on time and in full, they can be an extremely beneficial asset when building a line of credit. If you neglect them, however, it will take years to recover from the damage. Making a solid plan for your future payments or reallocating your finances are the best ways to assure that your student loans work in your favor rather than against you.