Saturday, October 13, 2012

Student Loan Debt Is Today's Challenge

By Sabastian Cruzz


The costs of higher education keep getting higher and higher. Estimates today say that it takes the average college graduate over ten years to pay off his student loans. Dealing with student loan debt is one of the biggest challenges facing college graduates today.

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.

One huge cost of going to school today is paying for your books. Finding ways to save money on textbooks is a great way to avoid costly bills later. There are dozens of online programs from many businesses that allow you to rent your textbooks for two, three, or four months and then return them when the class is over and pay a fraction of the cost of buying the book. Say the book you need for class is not available for rent - simply find a third party online who is selling their book from last year or last semester and save money that way.

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 noted, quickly paying your loans off is a terrific means of saving money, since it avoids building up interest on your loans. However, it is not always possible to pay them off as fast as you would like. If you discover that your payments are starting to get higher than you can currently afford, you might want to request a deferral. You can also ask for extended payment options to help drop your payments each month to something you can afford. You definitely do not want to begin missing your loan payments and start receiving late fees.

Believe it or not, staying healthy is a great way to get your student loan debts paid off. Avoiding extremes in alcohol or smoking, exercising, and eating right will keep you working hard. You will avoid getting sick and losing pay. Making more money by staying healthy will allow you to get your debt paid off quickly and begin enjoying a high quality of life you were dreaming of over those books while in school.




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