In case you haven’t heard, the interest rate is about to jump. A lot. Good for investors and people who already have money. Bad for people who owe money, specifically students:

The variable rate on a common Stafford loan dipped to as low as 2.77 percent for students in the 2004-2005 school year and 3.37 percent for graduates already making repayments. Those rates rose last year to 4.7 percent for students and 5.3 percent for graduates. On Saturday, the rates will shoot up to 6.54 percent for students and 7.14 percent for graduates.

Link

This means: if you’re done with school and haven’t done so yet consolidate your loans now! Like, TODAY!

The War on Intelligence continues.

I’ve got at least one credit card with a (non-introductory) 7% interest rate. Which means my newly-minted student loans are saving me as much money as my Chase Visa. ie, the only benefit is that I don’t have to start paying them off for two years. On the bright side, I don’t think the rates can go any higher by the time I’m ready to consolidate…right? Otherwise, fuck it, I’m charging my entire education and taking the frequent flier miles and Amazon gift certificates.