Blog / 5 Tips for Paying Off Your Student Loans ASAP!

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Female student considers the enormous burden of her student debt upon graduating college

Are you sick of seeing that massive debt number when you check your student loan account? When you brave clicking through your credit report online, do you cringe at the sight of what you still owe before you can truly be debt-free?

If so, you may want to learn some strategies for reducing that amount quickly, and eventually paying it off entirely. For this week's blog, we're going to cover five tips for paying off your student loans ASAP!

1. Pay More than the Minimum

Maybe you feel relieved when you see a minimum payment amount for your student loan bill each month that falls on the low side. It definitely relieves the stress of allocating more money to your bills each month in your budget and allows more freedom to live the way you want to.

However, that minimum requirement is just that: a minimum. When you learn that it will take you 20-to-30-plus years to pay off your student loans, that figure is based on an assumption of you paying the minimum only.

In other words, you should always pay more than the minimum payment due on your student loan bill. Whatever extra money you can throw at that big, scary number, the better.

2. Make Lump-Sum Payments Whenever Possible

Just received your holiday bonus? Did a family member leave you a sizeable inheritance?

Maybe you just sold a car, your home, or some collectibles and have more money than you need to survive. No matter the case, when you come across more money than you expected to have, you should use it on paying down your student loan debt.

3. Schedule Bi-Weekly Payments

Student loans never assess prepayment penalties. In other words, paying before the bill is due can be an exceptionally wise habit. Additionally, when you pay your bill multiple times in the same billing period, you will chip away at the total a whole lot faster.

For instance, if you only paid the minimum payment each month during a year, that comes out to 12 payments. By raising that number up to 16, 20, or 24 payments, you will pay the debt down far faster. Yes, you will spend more money, but such a strategy can be seen as an investment in a debt-free future.

4. Consider a Career in Public Service

Once they leave college, many former students seek careers as teachers or other government employees. They need to meet the specific requirements of the public service loan forgiveness programs, but if they do, they can eliminate most if not all of their debt without paying a single dime.

The downside of these programs is that you have to really desire a career in public service. If you don't, you may find yourself spending 5-to-10 years in a job you never truly enjoy. But once your term is over, you are free of debt and able to seek out the career you really want with a healthy job history on your resume.

5. Refinance Your Loans

Another way to make your student debt burden simpler is to refinance the loan. This process allows you to pay off your current student loan by assuming a new loan with a significantly lower interest rate.

Remember, though, that once you refinance through a third party, you will no longer have access to income-driven repayment and student loan forgiveness programs offered by the government.

Need help making a student loan payment that catches you off guard? Or maybe your student debt burden has interrupted your regular financial flow and you need money now to handle other responsibilities. If so, consider applying online for a quick and easy personal loan from a bad credit, low credit, no credit lender like Atlas Credit today!

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