How to Eliminate Student Loan Debt Now
As of 2010, the average undergraduate acquires $24,000 in student loan debt for a bachelor's degree, with monthly payments typically exceeding $200. This does not take into account additional debt that many students incur through graduate school. Debt puts a major strain on a graduate's budget, leading many grads to try to get rid of debt as quickly as possible. The two major strategies for eliminating student loan debt are to make large payments yourself and to participate in programs that offer partial or full loan forgiveness.
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Things You'll Need
- student loan information, PIN from Department of Education, social security number, school information
Instructions
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Look up your student loan debt have by logging into your online account management for private lenders or looking up federal loans on the National Student Loan Data System website (nslds.ed.gov). Add up the total to find out how much debt you need to eliminate.
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2
Look up whether your job qualifies you for any federal loan forgiveness programs. The two main programs are for teachers in schools that serve low-income areas and for employees in public service positions. If your job qualifies you, follow through with working the number of years required and filling out the application to get partial or full student loan debt forgiveness.
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Ask your employer about student loan debt forgiveness programs offered by the employer or any state agencies the employer knows of. For example, the nursing board in some states offers student loan forgiveness for nurses. If you qualify for any programs, fill out the proper application.
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Join the United States military, which offers partial loan forgiveness for many new recruits. In some cases, you get additional loan forgiveness after each year of service.
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Reduce your living expenses by living with your parents or a roommate, using public transportation instead of buying a car, and limiting your spending on clothing, entertainment, vacations and eating out. Put all of your extra money each month into an extra payment on your student loan.
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Apply your tax refunds, holiday bonuses and any other unexpected income as additional extra student loan payments.
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Tips & Warnings
The faster you pay off your student loan debt, the less interest you will pay.
