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<\/p>\nStudent loan debt might just be the biggest financial problem facing today\u2019s 20- and 30-somethings. Got student loans you can\u2019t wait to pay off?\u00a0Welcome to the club. As of 2018,\u00a0Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion on student loans. That\u2019s more than on credit cards and auto loans combined.<\/p>\n
Education is\u00a0essential to increasing your lifetime income, so don\u2019t feel bad about borrowing for\u00a0your degree. That said,\u00a0you want to ensure\u00a0your student loan debt doesn\u2019t\u00a0crush your dreams before you\u00a0can even get started.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019ve got a lot of student loan debt \u2014\u00a0$20,000, $30,000, $50,000 or even $100,000 or more \u2014 we can help.<\/p>\n
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Student loan debt can make you feel as if\u00a0you\u2019re a slave to your lenders, but having student loans doesn\u2019t have to be a life sentence. Nor does having student loan debt means you can\u2019t have a life.<\/p>\n
The best thing you can do is to confront\u00a0your student loan debt as soon as possible and make a long-term plan for how you to pay it all off. Ideally, you would do this during the grace period after graduation during which many\u00a0federal loans do not require payment. But even if you\u2019ve already been paying on your student loans for a few years, it\u2019s never too late.<\/p>\n
Determining\u00a0how much student loan debt you have. Do you know how much you owe? If not, the first step is to make a list or spreadsheet of all of your loan balances, interest rates, monthly payments, and due dates.<\/p>\n
Decide whether you are comfortable managing multiple student loans or whether to\u00a0consolidate them into one or two larger loans. With your loan balances in front of you, it\u2019s time to determine the smartest way to pay off your student loans according to your budget and other goals.<\/p>\n
Consolidating your federal student loans can make life easier because you\u2019ll have one or two loan payments instead of a dozen. In some cases, consolidation can also lower your interest rate.<\/p>\n
If you are intending to stick it out with multiple loan payments, make sure you have your due dates organized. Most lenders will adjust your due date if you call and ask. Consider making all of your loans due on the same date or splitting them into two groups (for example, making half due on the 1st and half due on the 15th of each month).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Student loan debt might just be the biggest financial problem facing today\u2019s 20- and 30-somethings. Got student loans you can\u2019t wait to pay off?\u00a0Welcome to the club. As of 2018,\u00a0Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion on student loans. That\u2019s more than on credit cards and auto loans combined. Education is\u00a0essential to increasing your lifetime income, […]<\/p>\n