My Finance Blog

Since we’re on the subject of student loans, why not go all out and discuss its subtleties and underpinnings. Taking out a student loan might make you a happy camper while you’re in school. When graduation day comes and you’re faced with the responsibility of paying them off, then you’ll probably find yourself liking it less than you had before (who ever suggested taking out a student loan in the first place? Sheez…). But, being alive (since the only way you can completely get out of debt is when you die or when you suddenly become completely disabled), you have no choice but to pay.

Here are some ways to get yourself out of student loan debt:

1. Pay Them

HA. Were you expecting something else? I told you, you have no choice but to pay your loans. You can, however, choose the type of payment you prefer. You can: pay your loans on a set amount per month which is the shortest way to pay off everything (just less than 30 years! Wow!), pay based on the gradual increase of income, pay on an income basis depending on your monthly returns, or pay the minimum amount per month which incurs the biggest interest accrued, by the way, which means you’ll be paying A LOT more than what you actually owe.

2. Ask For Loan Forgiveness

Aha. Yep, you can ask for loan forgiveness. Not everyone can actually avail of this, but it IS possible. I’d start ticking off right here but I think that its importance warrants a separate post.

3. Consolidate or Ask for Forbearance and Deferment

If you took our more than one student loan and you’re getting more than once the headache, a consolidation is possible. The downside is it takes longer to pay and the interest accrued is much larger. If you have valid reasons not to pay for quite a while, you can also ask for forbearance or deferment, depending on which one fits the bill.

Filed under: student loans