I am over $20,000 in debt from two years of college, and now I have a job in the industry I went into college for. The problem is I only make 20,000 a year in my job (which i really like), and have other bills, rent, car payments, insurance, groceries etc like everyone else. Does anyone have any tips on how to pay my loan off faster? I make my monthly payments, but the way I am paying them off now it will take me over 6 years to pay. I cant afford higher payments. My job is full-time and I cant handle any more work. Does anyone have any tips or advice from their own experiences?
2007-01-24 06:27:29 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
the only tip i can give you is when you come into some money throw it all on your loan. you should get a big tax return for paying for school, use that towards your loan. thats what i did. i was only able to knock 2 years of payments off, but thats 2 years without interest.
2007-01-24 06:33:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, if you said you can't afford higher payments, you shouldn't be asking how you can pay your loans off faster since paying more is the only way to get it done faster.
Seriously, I am sure that there are ways you can save money. I highly recommend the book "The tightwad gazette". This lady saved 49,000 in 7 years while on a salary of 29,000 and she has 3 kids and a husband! There are tips in there for everyone. I also recommend the book "Your money or your life"
There are lots of tips on how to save money on groceries, insurance and other things.
As for food, rice and bean dishes will be cheap. Try getting some inspiration from some of the recipe sites online.
Also, can you move into a cheaper place? Get roommates? Do you really need your car? If so, can you use it less so you have to pay less for gas and maintenance?
As for bills, turn your heat down if you can so your heat bill will be lower. Also, do you really need a cell phone? And if you have a cell phone, do you really need the home phone?
There are lots of ways to save money if you truely try to separate your needs from your wants. Your screen name is "shopaholic" so I bet you can probably save some money by separating these two things and focusing on using your money to buy mainly the needs.
I had this same problem when I graduated until I remembered I had lived on a measly 625$/month while I was a student. It really put things into perspective for me. I chose not to buy a car, I had 2 roommates for 2 years, I made a lot of my own food rather than going out all the time etc.
I am 2 1/2 years out of school and I have 10,000 left on my 40,000$ student loan. I am pretty happy about choosing to still live like a student versus a yuppie.
Good luck.
2007-01-24 06:46:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your loans are from more than one place then you should look into consolidating them. By doing that it will lower your interest and your payments. Whenever you get extra money apply it towards the loans, and see if you can't cut back on some things such as groceries, insurance, anything. If you volunteer depending on how much you do you can get a tax write-off which would help you with your tax return at the end of each year. Beyond that you just need to continue making your payments and hope for the best.
2007-01-24 06:53:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the best advise in paying off student loans faster is to simply not take them out. If you have a savings account then why on earth are you borrowing? LOL Every time you take out a loan they charge you for it, not just interest, but fees too. Save yourself money and DON"T take out the loans if you don't need them and use what you do have saved on your tuition. If you have any left over, then use it to pay down your loans NOW because every day you are having interest charged to you.
2016-03-14 23:21:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make a full payment every 4 weeks, according to your pay periods, instead of once a month. You'll make an extra payment every year, save some interest, and you won't notice that you're paying more.
2007-01-24 06:40:48 · answer #5 · answered by kena2mi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would save up and make a double payment at the end of the year. When you make it, be sure to indicate you want the extra to go towards the principle, not the interest. That will reduce the interest that you owe. One good thing is to have a certain amount of your check deposited into a savings account. Since you never see that money, you don't miss it.
2007-01-24 06:32:03 · answer #6 · answered by leaptad 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2014-09-25 03:05:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋