STUDENT LOANS
The one thing that we can all agree on is that paying off student loans isn’t fun and it can also be pretty intimidating. It isn’t going to happen overnight and it is going to require some determination, but you can do it. If you want your student loan debt to disappear a little faster, then here are a few tips to help get you there.
Make more than the minimum payment
Paying more than the minimum payment is one of the easiest ways to reduce your student loan debt. You should already have a payment schedule set up, so add a little more. Anything extra that you pay in is going to go directly to your principal. The easiest way to do this is to set up automatic payments with the extra amount already added. This makes it a little harder for you to change your mind and it also reduces some of the indecision when it comes to paying out more money. Every little bit counts, so even if it’s only an extra $20 a month it will still help you out in the long run.
Consolidate and refinance
When it comes to paying off your student loans a little faster refinancing is one of the moves you can make. Decreasing your interest rates is the goal of refinancing, and that means that more of your payments are going to go towards paying off that principal. Refinancing will give you one consolidated loan with one monthly payment. This will keep you from having to pay extra on multiple student loans, which may be a little hard to swallow as a recent graduate.
Use your raises to your advantage
Hopefully your job gives yearly raises as a part of the compensation. Instead of using that raise to buy more stuff, why not put it towards paying down your student loans? You don’t even have to sacrifice your whole raise. Just take fifty percent of the raise amount and add it straight to your student loan payments. This means you’ll still get to enjoy some extra money every paycheck, and you will be getting that loan paid off even faster.
Reduce your budget
If you aren’t able to easily increase your income but you know you need some more money, decreasing your budget is an option. The key to being successful with this is reminding yourself that it’s only temporarily. Even if you are only able to handle it for a month at a time, it can still benefit your student loan repayment.
While not all of these options may work for you, following one or two can help to get those loans paid off much more quickly than you anticipated. Student loan debt is not good debt or debt that you want sticking around and hanging over your head. Following these tips and getting those loans paid off as soon as possible will make you much happier in the long run.
If you find yourself struggling with debt or would like to find out about becoming debt free, call Debthelper at 800-920-2262, or visit @ www.debthelper.com.
