A college degree is supposed to be a stepping stone for university students who want to get better opportunities in life, especially good-paying employment in their chosen field of expertise. For thousands of college students, this can only be feasible by acquiring student loans. Unless a college student gets full financial support from their parents while pursuing a university education, most likely, they’ll have to settle with a student loan to get started. Indeed, it is a financial burden, but it is a necessary one.
Unfortunately, for hundreds, if not thousands of student loan borrowers, a school-related debt could just be the beginning of future financial setbacks when it’s not managed properly and paid off. If this is the case and, probably, yours too, you have to manage your student loan in a much smarter way. Here are practical tips that you can pick up points from to relieve yourself from stressful student loans that you have acquired in college:
Tip No. 1: Have a Good Knowledge of Your Student Loans
Chances are that after you’ve graduated, your mind will be preoccupied with a lot of things such as applying for a job, getting a new apartment or taking a short vacation. Eventually, you might end up forgetting that you have student loans to take care of and any school debts have you acquired. You should bear in mind the loans that you have acquired and start working on settle them gradually now, rather than later. Here’s some things to remember:
- Track Down Your Loans – Retrieve a copy of your credit report that lists your multiple loans. This report would give you an idea who your lenders are and how much you owe each of them.
- Take Note of Your Loan Details –Using your credit report copy, study each loan that has been granted to you concerning the interest rate and the minimum amount to be paid. Aside from these details, you would also get to know which lender would let you have an income-based repayment plan, loan forgiveness or deferment.
- Life With What You Need Not Want – When you have student debts to pay back, try to live within your means by buying things that you need, not things that you want. In living like this for a few years it will help to give you extra funds to get your loan down and to give you some debt relief.
Tip No. 2: Look for Companies That Can Give Student Loan Forgiveness
Put your college diploma to good use, get a job. In doing so, look for companies that provide you not only a job but also student loan forgiveness programs that could help ease up such financial burden and offer some debt relief..
One of the things that you need to bear in mind in looking for a company that offers you such programs is that there are certain stipulations associated with this. One of which would be to render service to the company for a specific number of years. If you can’t stick to the agreement, then you would be required to return the total amount paid by the company to cover your student loans.
Tip No. 3: Live within Your Means
Just because you’re now working and earning a good pay from a reputable company doesn’t mean you have to, all of a sudden, live a luxurious lifestyle. Try to live within your means. As tempting as it is, you have to cut off from certain indulgences that would disrupt your monthly budget which is supposed to include your loan payments. Consider this to be just a temporary undertaking since you would be able to regain normalcy after you’ve paid off all your loans. Sooner or later, you would be able to reap the fruit of your labor – financial freedom.
Tip No. 4: Save Money Before and During College
- Before College –While you’re in your last two years of senior high school, venture into income-generating opportunities such as putting up a garage sale, working at your nearby gasoline station or picking up freelance work online. Save your money so you have it there to pay off your future student loans.
- During College – Instead of partying around and getting wasted, use your free time for income-earning employment. You can use your hard-earned money for paying off your student loans slowly and covering your daily needs.
Tip No. 5: Identify Various Payment Schemes
There are various schemes that can help lighten your burden in paying off your student loans such as Income-Based Repayment Plan, Auto-Debit or a Deferment Option. These arrangements have different guidelines and offer you options as to which one can give you more convenience and more debt relief over time.
Conclusion
College student loans can be both financial blessings and burdens. It’s up to you on which direction you want go with the loans that you’ve taken out to succeed in life. You just have to be wise enough to manage your finances to live a stress-free life before, during and after college. Are you ready to have some debt relief?