Have you piled up huge student debt to secure a college degree? If yes, then you indeed have reasons to worry. We all fantasize a financially secure future after school, but the raising fees of tuition, accommodation, library, commercial and research works often turns this dream into worst nightmare. The outrageous college fees often weigh on the students heavily and consequently, they rack up huge student loan debts. However, you should understand that it is not impossible to trim down student debt. In fact, if you act a little cautious and plan your finances well you can soon get a debt relief. Check out the following points and handle your student loan debt blues with greater ease.
Income Based Payment:
If you have borrowed a federal student loan to fund your college degree, it is possible for you to opt for an income based payment scheme. This payment option is especially designed to help students, who are not earning enough to repay their student loan debts. Once you opt for this scheme you would need to pay according to your current income, debts, and number of people in your household. If your monthly income is less, you would need to repay a less amount. There is no specific income limit required to be eligible for income based payments. Anyone with substantial student loan debts can apply for it. Last but not the least, if you make your future payments on time, consistently for 25 years your remaining debt (if any) will be forgiven.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program:
You can consider public service loan forgiveness program as your viable option, if you have incurred direct federal loans. According to this plan if you can manage to make 120 timely payments on your student loan debts, then your remaining college debts will be forgiven. However, to enroll in this program you need be employed with some government or non-profit organization (most preferably any military service or social service). You must be relieved to know that you can combine income based payment and public service loan forgiveness program to get rid of your student loan debts pretty fast.
Student loan consolidation:
If you have taken multiple loans to fund your College degree then consolidation can be a smart idea to minimize the debt amount. With consolidation you can merge your multiple debts and can pay it through one payment gateway. You can borrow a secured, low interest and long term loan from a bank and can use it as a consolidation loan to pay off your student loans. A home equity loan can suit this purpose well. With student loan consolidation, you can prolong your repayment period and can eventually lower your monthly payments considerably.
Negotiate student debt:
Unfortunately, student loan debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy and it is next to impossible to reduce the principal amount by negotiating with the lenders. However, you can certainly ask for a convenient repayment plan, a lower interest rate and incentives for earning good grades or making a set number of timely payments. Keep in mind that you can negotiate student debt only if you are dealing with private lenders.
To conclude, make sure you obtain a degree from an accredited college or university, which offers good career placement services in future. However, if you have already incurred student loan debts and are feeling tired of struggling with them, follow the above mentioned tips and make your life less stressful.