Just How Are You Going To Pay Your College Loans?

By Michael Fleischner

The days of paying for college in full, without some type of loan or Federal assistance are long gone. More students are graduating college with more debt than ever before. College costs have increased significantly and the consumer's ability to pay has only changed slightly. As a result, more students owe money upon graduation.

There are a number of pays to pay off your college debt. Fortunately for those who have taken Federal loans, grace periods and deferments can help you until you find a full time job that allows you to begin making payments against your loan. Regardless of your employment situation, the responsibility of loan repayment is yours and yours alone.

When you evaluate all of your loans, you may be thinking how on earth you are going to afford your payments. Depending on your loan type, you may have a number of options for restructuring your debt and altering your payments. Whether you leverage the benefits of student loan consolidation or simply work with your lender to stretch out payments for a lower monthly amount, there is a good deal of flexibility to be had.

Some individuals who consolidate see longer repayment periods. However, a little known method of reducing your payment period is by making one extra payment towards the principle of the loan each and every year. For longer repayment periods, this reduces the amount owed and the life of the loan significantly.

You should start by speaking with your lender. Do they penalize you for early repayment? If so, what are the costs? Balance those against the longer repayment cycle and the potentially tens of thousands of dollars you must pay in interest over the life of the loan. More often than not, banks are willing to accept early payment without penalty.

What difference can an extra payment make? As I've already explained, it is significant. So make sure that when you send in the extra payment, you explicitly indicate that the payment is go towards principle, not your regularly scheduled payments. If it doesn't go towards the base amount, you've done nothing other than prepay next month's bill.

Make the extra payment method a habit. It might be difficult at first to save up that extra 50 bucks or so per month but it will pay tremendous dividends for you. To find out just how much you can save, speak to a representative at the bank. Know and understand how this method can work for you. Additionally, do your best to make saving a habit. By doing so, the burden of putting money aside becomes less difficult.

When thinking about your debt remember that you want to only focus on the monthly payments with an eye towards finishing early. Don't let a large amount of debt prevent you from restructuring today. Student loan consolidation is one option, extra principle payments are another. You can pay off your debt and lenders are willing to work with you. Take advantage of available resources and make repayment a habit.

About the Author:

0 comments:

Guides Complete