What’s the name of the game? Taming your student loan debt. Right? Perhaps you’re a new graduate or have already begun student loan repayment. Ormaybe you’re on a hiatus from school. Whatever the situation, you want to control this obligation that is significant in your life, particularly if you’re just starting out. For practical purposes, that translates to making sure your payments are manageable and steering clear of any extra interest costs or fees. You also want to make sure your credit rating doesn’t take a dip. In any case, here are some student loan tips you need to know.
Keep Track of Your Loans
Even if you’re at your wit’s end, do stay atop of the details of your loans, since they’ll involve what you can do about loan forgiveness and repayment. If you’re fuzzy about, say, how much you owe, or what your terms are, contact your lender or go to StudentLoans.gov for government loan info. If yours was a private loan, check any recent paperwork for vital info.
Besides, staying as organized as possible is good for any situation and promotes more of a feeling of control.
Is the Honeymoon Over?
In other words, do you know when your “grace period” is? That’s how much time you have after you leave school before you’ve got to come with your first payment, to be followed by your second, and, well, you know the rest.
If you know who your lender is, here’s the deal:if you have a federal Stafford loan, you’ve got six months before it comes due. You’ve got a little longer – nine months – before federal Perkins loans are due. For private student loans you’ll have to do some work to find your grace period, including checking paperwork or asking your lender. Whatever you do, you don’t want to miss that first payment.
Keep Your Lender Close
You can check with reddit student loans for tips, but everyone will tell you this: if you’re moving or switching jobs, be sure to keep your lender approved of your whereabouts and your phone number. In fact, don’t wait until you make a change before contacting them. You want your lender to be able to reach you. And if you’re behind in payments, the worst thing you can do is ignore the calls or letters.
Choose the Best Plan for You
In case you didn’t know, you need to pick a payment plan if you don’t like the standard one. Why? Because unless you’re proactive, that’s what the plan will be. If the standard payment kicks in, you can always change it later down the road. If you extend your repayment period, you can reduce your payments, but you’ll end up dropping more over the life of the loan.
Know Your Options
If unemployment, illness, or other sudden issue is causing you to experience difficulties making your payments on your federal student loans, there are things you can do, such as sign up for forbearance or a deferment. Be wary of interest that will ultimately increase your total debt, however. In short, these are solutions best suited for temporary hardships.
Do Not Ignore Your Loans
The last thing you want is to come all this way, only to become delinquent or fall into default. That’s what’ll happen if you ignore your loans, followed by major damage to your credit scores. Visit studentloanborrowerassistance.org or speak with your lender as soon as you see payment trouble brewing.
There you have it; the student loan tips you need to know. Take them to heart so that you can better control and manage your situation. If you need some expert advice, we recommend contacting Juno.