student loans in the united states
student loans in the united states

5 Best Student Loan Tips For Graduating

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student loans in the united states
5 Best Student Loan Tips For Graduating. Whether you have just graduated, are taking a break from school, or have started repaying your student loans, these tips will help you take control of your student loan debt. That means avoiding additional interest costs and fees, keeping your payments affordable, and protecting your credit rating. If you have trouble finding a job or following a payment, there is also important information here for you.
student loans tips

5 Best Student Loan Tips For Graduating

1. Know Your Loans

It is important to track lender status, balances, and payments for each of your student loans. These details will determine your options for repayment of loans and forgiveness. If you are unsure, ask your lender or visit StudentLoansdotgov. You can enter and see the loan amount, lender, and payment status for all your federal loans. If some of your loans are not registered, that might be a private (non-federal) loan. For them, try to find the latest billing statement and / or the original document that you signed. Contact your school if you cannot find any notes.

2. Get to know your grace period

Different loans have different grace periods. The grace period is how long you can wait after leaving school before you have to make your first payment. Six months for federal Stafford loans (sometimes called Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans), but nine months for Perkins federal loans. For federal PLUS loans, you may have access to a six-month suspension (see details here and here). The grace period for private student loans varies, so consult your documents or contact your lender to find out. Don't miss your first payment!

3. Stay in touch with your lender

Every time you move or change your telephone number or e-mail address, immediately notify your creditors. If your lender needs to contact you and your information is not up to date, it can end up with a bundle fee. Open and read each part of the letter - paper or electronic - that you receive about your student loan. If you get an unwanted call from a lender or collection agency, don't put your head on the sand - talk to your lender! Lenders should work with borrowers to solve problems, and collection agencies must follow certain rules. Ignoring bills or serious problems can cause defaults, which have severe long-term consequences (see tip 6 for more information about defaults).

4. Choose the Right Payment Options

When your federal loan is due, your loan payments will be automatically based on a standard 10-year payment plan if you have not chosen another plan. If standard payments will be difficult for you to bear, there are other options, and you can change the package on the phone if you want or need. Extending your payment period over 10 years can reduce your monthly payments, but you will eventually pay more interest - often more - during the loan period. Some important options for student loan borrowers are income-driven (IDR) payment plans such as Revised Payments Based on Your Income and Payments that limit your monthly payments to a reasonable percentage of your income each year, and forgive the remaining debt after more than 25 years (depending on plan) affordable payments. Forgiveness may be available after only 10 years of payment for borrowers in the public and nonprofit sectors (see tip 10 below). To find out more about income-based payment plans and how they work for you, visit IBRinfodotorg.

Private loans do not qualify for IDR or other federal loan repayment plans, delays, patience, or forgiveness programs. However, lenders may offer some type of patience, usually at a certain cost, or you might be able to make only interest payments for a period of time. Read your original personal loan documents carefully and then talk to the lender about what payment options you might have.

5. Don't Panic

If you have difficulty making payments due to unemployment, health problems, or other unexpected financial challenges, remember that you have the option to manage your federal student loans. There are legitimate ways to temporarily delay your federal loan payments, such as delay and patience. Suspension and patience may be the right choice for you if you experience temporary difficulties, such as short-term gaps between jobs. But be careful: interest arises on all types of loans during patience, and on certain types of loans during suspension, increase your total debt, so ask your lender about making payments only interest if you can afford it.

If you expect your income to be lower than you expected for more than a few months, see the plan for income based payments (IDR). Your payment required in IDR can be $0 when your income is very low. See tip 4 for more information about IDR and other payment options.

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