How to Put an End to Your Student Loan Debt

Student loan debt can easily seem like a bottomless hole. But it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how you can put an end to your debt and pay off loans faster.

The age we live in is bittersweet when it comes to career prospects. On the one hand, there are so many more different career options available than there have been in the past.

But with the skyrocketing cost of college, most of us will land in massive student loan debt before we even start those careers.

When you’re in college and you’re adding loan after loan each year, the money feels theoretical and payments seem far away. But at graduation, those numbers are suddenly very real.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make your student loans easier to repay.

Tips for Paying Off Student Loan Debt Faster

Trying to speed up that payoff date so you can get your financial freedom back? These tips can help:

Refinance Your Loans

Your interest rate makes a tremendous difference in how quickly you can pay off your loans. Once you’re settled into a steady job, refinancing can be a smart step.

Refinancing essentially means that you’re getting a new loan to pay off an old loan, but the new loan has a lower interest rate so you can pay it off more quickly.

It’s smart to shop around with different lenders to get the best interest rate you can. They each have different policies as well, so read articles like this CommonBond review to measure the pros and cons.

It’s important to note that unlike refinancing a mortgage, there’s no cost to refinancing student loans. However, it typically takes strong credit and a consistent, high income to qualify for refinancing.

Find Little Ways to Save Money

Obviously, the less money you save elsewhere, the more you can put toward your student loans. The saving part is a challenge, but even small changes can add up to a much faster loan payoff.

Find ways to save money in many aspects of your life, like your groceries, energy bill, etc.

Add an Extra Payment

An easy way to put more money toward your student loan debt (without feeling the pain as much) is to make payments more frequently so you’re paying more each year.

For example, instead of paying your bill on the same date each month, make a payment every 20 days. Throughout the year, you’ll be making 17 payments instead of 12, which is almost a 50% increase.

Just make sure the payments still align with your cash flow correctly.

Specify That All Extra Payments Go Toward Principle

When you pay more than the minimum on your student loans, the lender will hold that money and apply it to your next payment. This means you’re paying interest on more principal than you would be if the money had been taken off the principal right away.

Be sure to specify that you want all additional funds to go toward the principal.

Live Below Your Means

One of the most common financial tips you’ll hear is to live below your means. This gives you extra flexibility with your finances, and it also lets you put that money toward your student loan debt instead. Base your budget around this goal.

Investigate Forgiveness Programs

There are a variety of student loan forgiveness programs for people who work in certain fields. The primary ones include Public Student Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness, but there are others as well.