Student loan is not less than a nightmare! It’s not easy to get rid of this one without putting in extra efforts. Paying off student means you need to keep a close check on your expenses and save more. Here are 10 tips that can help you in paying your student loan:
“Needs” Over Wants
Yes, you do want to splurge on a lot of things that excite you or attract you but when you have a student loan to clear, you should choose your “needs” over wants. You need to plan a budget and stick to it strictly. Do less of weekly or monthly shopping trips, stop spending extravagantly on Starbucks and cable connection and save the money. Ensure that you get your “needs” covered first and keep the “wants” for later. Surely you want to have some fun but don’t go overboard with it. Budgeting is essential.
Be An Early Bird
There is nothing wrong with paying your loan early. Don’t wait for your due date, if you have gathered the amount then go ahead and clear off the monthly loan. The faster you pay, the faster you get done with it!
Do The Extra Work
Getting a second job is always a good idea if you need to make money faster. A job can be anything from running tutorial videos, content writing job or any other service that you can offer to people, even online services will do. Doing some extra work will definitely require hard work but will fetch you money as well that can be used for paying your student loan faster and better.
Use Those Coupons
You surely get coupons and vouchers for eateries and stores. So don’t let those emails sit there in your mailbox and make use of those coupons and vouchers and get those shopping points redeemed. Look for the deals on various stores and avail those offers. This way you save some cash that can directly go to your Student Loan jar.
Refinance Ftw!
Refinancing your loan means you get to pay off your existing loan and get a new one with decreased interest rates. When the interest rates will be low, it will be easier for you to make the loan payment.
Look For Jobs That Offer Loan Forgiveness
Yes, there are certain jobs that get your loans forgiven if you meet their needs and requirements. Certain public service jobs ensure that if you do the work they require you to do, they’ll get your student or teacher loan forgiven. Surely there are terms and conditions for every such agency who offer this service, but if you manage to do the needful, you’ll be benefited with it.
Pay More
Each loan has a minimum payment amount that has to be paid every month. Try to pay more than the minimum payment. But why would pay more? The interest amount is accrued on your principal balance, so if you pay more than the minimum amount you get to reduce your student loan amount.
Don’t Opt For Repayment Programs
Repayment might sound helpful to you but in reality, most of the federal repayment programs just increase your payment period which means that they only decrease the amount to be paid at a time just by giving you more time to pay it, hence, making it longer for you to get done with the loan.
Choose Auto-Pay
Opting for automatic student loan payment every month will help you make the payment on time and will save you from paying that late fee or from missing your payment. Also, it will not damage your credit score and save you from financial troubles.
Use The Job Perks
If your job offers yearly raises as compensation, then use them to pay your student loan payment instead of buying things that you don’t really “need”. Take out a small portion of it and save it for your student loan payment.