I am graduating in May of this year and I have a pretty good amount of money taken out in loans. I was wondering where I should start? I also have some credit card debt and I was wondering if I can include that with the loans and then just pay one bill a month? HELP. I hate money
2006-12-10 12:42:18 · 8 answers · asked by Denise G 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Financial Aid
When you consolidate your student loans you can only include student loan debt. The interest rate wll be calcualted using a weighted average. This means that your interest will be based on the amount and interest rate of all the loans you consolidate. You do not have to include every loan you have, so you may want to get some estimated from the lender if you have some loans that have a very different rate. Also shop around as lenders offer incentives for borrowers, for instance a rate discount for auto payment, or for making so many on time payments.
If you consolidate your rate will be fixed and the payoff time will be 20 years instead of the standard repayment with is 10 years with a variable rate capped at 8.25%. Loans disbursed after this past July1st have a fixed rate of 6.8%, just an FYI.
Check out www.finaid.org for good accurate info about all things financial aid.
2006-12-10 14:30:25 · answer #1 · answered by SZ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's typically a good idea to consolidate your student loans, although you can't mix credit card debt with them. (Technically you could do this if you got a generic loan from a bank, but the rates would be higher than a student consolidation loan).
Sallie Mae has a lot of info on their site about how consolidation works, why you should consolidate, disadvantages to consolidation, calculators so you can see what your payments are like, etc. http://www.salliemae.com/consolidation
It's probably good advice to stick with a lender you've already used for a student loan - you know they're reputable and have already seen what their service is like.
You may hate money, but you're doing a great job being responsible with it and planning ahead! Good luck.
2006-12-11 04:20:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may want to consider reading all of the fine print for loan consolidations for school debt. If you go with a private company, they can change the interest rate on you, and you could wind up paying a large monthly bill. However, if you got your loans through government school loan programs (like AES: American Education Services), they cannot go above a certain APR.
As far as the credit card debt, try cutting up the cards & throwing them away. If you do not have them, you will not use them. Also, if you used them on any websites that saved your information, go back and erase that info so you won't be tempted to use them online. Once you stop using them, I agree with one of the above answers to consider getting an additional job so that you can pay as much as possible each month to pay them off as soon as possible.
2006-12-10 14:03:36 · answer #3 · answered by anezat83 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Loan consolidation isn't a catch-all answer to debt problems. You wind up paying higher interest for the consolidation loan, and so are paying much more over the life of the loan that you would by just paying off your debts.
Speak to a credit counselor (one who isn't trying to sell you something) for ways to develop a payment schedule on your own.
2006-12-10 12:50:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The problem with loan consolidation is you get one low payment and no credit card balance , then you start using you credit card again and your back in the same boat - with more debt.
Make you min payment on the low interest loan and pay extra on the high interest debts.
I would start by getting a second job for a year.
2006-12-10 12:47:10 · answer #5 · answered by swrp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to Shopallstoresonline.com. They have a MONEY & LOAN section with a couple companies that do Student Loan consolidation. I believe they are the 3rd and 4th listed - Go to Categories first and look for it.
2006-12-10 12:46:42 · answer #6 · answered by always 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cannot add in your credit card debt, that would be unwise anyway. Call up one of the companies that your student loans are through and ask them about consolidation.
2006-12-10 12:44:27 · answer #7 · answered by WitchTwo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For Finance and credit solutions I always visit this site where you can find all the solutions. http://FINANCEANDLOANS.INFO/index.html?src=5YAyupqlHD761
RE :Can someone give me some advice about loan consolidation?
I am graduating in May of this year and I have a pretty good amount of money taken out in loans. I was wondering where I should start? I also have some credit card debt and I was wondering if I can include that with the loans and then just pay one bill a month? HELP. I hate money
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2017-04-05 17:14:15 · answer #8 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋