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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Student Loan Debt: The Good News

By Sabastian Cruzz


Going to college has never cost more than it does today. The average college student will take over ten years to pay off his student loan debt, according to many studies done over the last decade. College graduates face fewer challenges more difficult than paying off student loans.

Maybe it seems to you that there is no way to avoid amassing this great debt. You might think that it is unavoidable that one day you will experience some buyer's remorse regarding your education, and that paying it off is impossible. The good news is there is much you can do to avoid this cost, and paying it off is easier than it might at first seem.

Regarding student loan debt, many possibilities exist when making your plans for where, how, and when to study at a university. A great way to keep from having to pay off a huge amount later is to avoid accruing the debt today. It may seem adventurous and fun to run off to a big state school across the country from where you live, but living at home while studying saves you an enormous amount of debt to later have to pay off.

Another way to keep from building a huge debt is to rent your textbooks. Many business have online programs where you can rent your texts for 60, 90, or 120 days and then return them when the class is over. If you are inclined to keep one or two favorite texts for reading after your college days are over, that works too. But the bulk of your text books are likely to never be touched again once you graduate. If the text you are needing for class is not available for rent, buying it from a third party online is a great way to save money.

A final thought on saving college costs is to avoid paying them to begin with. The federal government provides billions of dollars every year for aid in defraying the high cost of higher education. Many private clubs and nonprofit organizations also provide scholarships to help you make it through school. A few minutes on the internet can help reduce thousands of dollars of college expense which you will not have to pay later.

After graduation, the opportunity for reducing your student loan payments continues. In your new career, you may not be making tons of money. But there are techniques that will allow you to speed up the time it takes to pay off your loans. One idea for speeding this up is to postpone other life events that also cost large amounts of money. Most people today are interested in getting married and buying a house and car. But waiting to do these things until the heft of your student loan is paid will allow you to speed up the process and avoid building up interest on your loans.

As we have seen, paying your loans off as quickly as possible is one good way to save money. There is, however, a fall back plan if you find yourself swamped in huge monthly college loan payments. You can request a deferral if you find that your monthly payments are more than you can afford. Another option is to ask for an extended payment option. Either of these will allow you to continue to at least keep making your payments and avoid late fees.

One final idea that may not immediately occur to you is staying healthy. Exercising, eating right, avoiding extremes in smoking or alcohol will help you to work hard at your new career and call in sick fewer times. This will allow you to make bigger payments on your debt faster. Then you can begin living the good life that you dreamed of back in the days you were pouring over books in the library.




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