How To Pay Off Student Loans

How To Pay Off Student Loans

This article aims to provide some ideas and suggestions to help you ask the right questions and take action on your student loan debt.

Published October 20, 2023

13 min read

How to start repaying student loans
How to pay off student loans quicker
Repay student loans on your terms

There’s a lot to wrap your head around if you’ve borrowed money for school. You might be wondering, what’s the best way to repay my loans? How fast should I aim to pay off the debt? Is there any way to delay payments while I get my finances in order? What about forgiveness? These are common questions, and this article aims to provide some ideas and suggestions to help you ask the right questions and take action.

How to start repaying student loans

As a borrower, when you’re confronted with your first payment, it can feel pretty overwhelming. Here are some things to consider before payment comes due:

Grace period: Your grace period is a time frame of 6-months after graduation, during which you do not have to pay back any money. Utilize your grace period to start budgeting for your upcoming loan payments. Set aside a little extra cash per month, and start to think about what your repayment plan could look like to budget accordingly.
Income status: How’s your income looking? Have you landed a job, or are you looking for work? You’ll have the 6-month grace period to think about how you’ll fund your repayments. This is a great time to get serious about planning for the upcoming payments so you can avoid forbearance (or deferment) or other repayment options that could cost you more in interest over the life of your loans. Make sure you’ve got the date for your first payment clearly marked in your calendar, and use it as means to motivate yourself and plan your budget carefully.

How to pay off student loans quicker

Once you’ve started making regular monthly payments on your loans, you might want to explore ways to pay down your debt sooner. Though it’s not for everyone, this is when you might consider refinancing, through which you can alter the terms of your loan to suit your needs. Note that if you refinance federal loans with a private lender, you lose access to government benefits, such as certain repayment and forgiveness programs. Here are a few of the most common ways to change the length of your repayment term.

Pay more

Pay more than the minimum

Faster repayment? Yes. By paying down principal at a faster rate, you reduce the overall cost of the loan and prevent additional interest charges from accruing over the life of your loan.

Pay twice a month

Faster repayment? Yes. Making payments 2x per month, if it’s manageable within your budget, can speed up the timeline and reduce the amount of total interest you pay.

Refinance to reduce overall interest

Faster repayment? Maybe. Reducing your interest by refinancing to a shorter loan term and paying more towards your principal could result in paying off your loans faster, but your monthly payments may be higher overall. On the other hand, with a lower rate, you could refinance to the same term length (e.g. 10 years) and simply pay less interest, without paying off your loans faster.

Pay less

Change the terms of your loan

Faster repayment? No. If you lengthen your loan term through refinancing, you could pay less per month, but for a longer period of time (possibly with a higher interest rate). Alternatively, if you refinance to reduce your term length, you could pay more per month in exchange for paying off your loans sooner and potentially saving on interest over the life of your loan.

Forbearance/deferment

Faster repayment? No. Forbearance or deferment offers temporary payment relief if a borrower has a qualifying reason to delay their payments, which may vary by lender. It is important to understand the type of forbearance you are requesting and how it impacts your payment schedule afterwards.

Income-Driven Repayment

Faster repayment? Maybe. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) offers payments capped at a percentage of a borrower’s discretionary income, adjusting payments based on their current income level. The programs also offer loan forgiveness after a certain future date (generally 10, 20, or 25 years). Be aware that under certain programs, there are tax implications.

Enroll in AutoPay

Faster repayment? Maybe. Enrolling in your lender’s AutoPay program could come with interest-rate discounts and will help keep you on track to make regular payments and avoid default. Many lenders offer interest rate discounts for using AutoPay, and some may apply the discount directly to principal (instead of your monthly payment) which could actually help you pay off your loans faster if you use it consistently.

Save More

Modify your budget

Faster repayment? Maybe. A few cuts in your spending here and there can go a long way towards long-term financial wellness. By putting more aside in your budget every month for student loan payments, you will have the opportunity to pay more and, as a result, pay off your loans faster.

Apply for assistance programs

Faster repayment? Maybe. Certain forgiveness and assistance programs can provide some relief towards student loan debt. These are sometimes location or career-based, such as programs specifically for nurses.

Repay student loans on your terms

There are many choices when it comes to student loan repayment, and it’s important to choose the strategy and program that is right for you. While some may explore faster repayment timelines or more favorable loan terms via refinancing, others may qualify for federal forgiveness or more efficient payment programs. . Whatever your needs, federal payment plans, budgeting strategies, and refinancing could all offer the flexibility and potential added savings that could make a real impact on your future financial health.

If you qualify for federal repayment or forgiveness programs, our student loan consultation experts can determine the best repayment plan and assist with enrollment. Get in touch today to see how we might be able to help, or check out more of our resources for all of your student loan questions.

Was this helpful?

Don't miss the latest financial resources.

Get tailored Laurel Road resources delivered to your inbox.

Copy Link
Email
Social

Search Results

Table of Contents