Managing paying off your student loans
After reading some comments posted yesterday, I realized that a lot of Frugalista Files readers are grappling with paying off student loans.
Students loans may be regarded as a necessary evil to finance a brighter economic future. A lot of people don’t consider the loans to be "bad debt." Still, they can be daunting. After all, you have to pay them back. Many college students are graduating with $20,000 or more in loans.
This article and this article offer tips to pay down your student loans. If you are in a much-needed profession such as teaching or nursing, you can get some of your loans forgiven. Some public service/government type workers can get their loans forgiven also.
Also, people who volunteer can get some of their loans paid off. Americorps and Peace Corps come to mind.
If you make less than $65,000, you can deduct the interest on your loans during tax time.
If you have a student loan, how are you managing your payments?
9 Responses to Managing paying off your student loans
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Thanks for the much needed info! I wish I could have had my loans forgiven but I already consolidated them so I’m at square one. Oh well lol
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When I finished paying off my credit card, I used the amount I had been paying on it to increase my student loan payment. I was done in 3 months. Just as I was making the final loan payment, I landed a better paying job – on to other financial goals
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Unfortunately, I consolidated mine about 3 weeks before 9-11 so I have a fairly high interest rate & can’t do anything about it. I’m a stay-at-home parent. Now that we’d paid off the girls’ Florida Prepaid Funds, we will start applying income tax refunds to mine. Once I start working again, the bulk of my income will go to it. Got fingers crossed that it will be paid off in the next 5 years.
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Just Wondering/Lima- Why do they make consolidation so bittersweet?
Coco-Congrats!
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There are many type of loans available in the market. Its very important to examine all your options first before settling with your final choice. Thanks for the info!
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I think, and have always been told, that my student loans are good debt. Personally I’m not stressing over my student loans at $175 a month. The interest rate is 3% on my student loans. If anything it’s the credit card debt that causes me to lose sleep.
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I realized recently that the amount of my loan payment of $300 a month going to the principal is $3! Holy Hell! I graduated from Law School 10 years ago, and I’ve paid down $5,914.71 of my $47,000 loan. DAMN!
I apparently did everything wrong (consolidated loan, variable interest rate, etc) but I’m trying like crazy to fix it now. When i got a notice that my interest rate was dropping, and so was my payment, I asked them to reformulate my payment plan to keep paying the same amount as before the rate change, so more $$ would go to the principal. I also decided to use a year end bonus exclusively toward paying off this loan, and I’m trying to budget a little to put another $100 a month into my payment. I wish I’d taken control of this much sooner.
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[...] The student loan proposal is expected to save $65 billion over 10 years. Student loans can be a beast. [...]
JustWondering