Pay Student Loan - Need Help to Pay Student Loan Balances?

Having trouble paying off those student loans? Some people feel they had more money while in school than they do when they are out with a job! Everyone faces these issues, but there is a solution to help pay student loan balances. It helps to understand what is available and how to apply it to your own situation.

If you know that you will not be able to make the payments after graduation, your first step is to contact the lender. There are several solutions to pay off student loan balances available. You just need to know what to ask. Your lender may agree to change the repayment schedule or the repayment plan. Either the lender will defer the payments, make them lower, or allow you more time. A forbearance will allow you to stop making payments to pay off student loan balances for a period of time until you can feasibly make them.

Keep in mind, the longer it takes to pay off student loan balances, the more interest you will pay. To understand how interest is calculated when you pay student loans, take the number of days in a pay period or since your last payment, multiply it by the principal balance that is outstanding, and multiply by the interest rate divided by 365.25 (# of days in a year; the .25 represents the reason we do leap year every 4 years). For example, if your principal to pay off student loan balance is $8,000.00; your payment cycle is 30 days; and your interest is 8.5%, you simply multiply 30 x $8,000 × .00023272 (.0850 divided by 365.25) = $55.85. If your payments are $150.00/month, then $55.85 goes toward interest and $94.15 toward principal to pay off the student loan balance.

Choosing the appropriate repayment plan to pay student loan balances off is important. There are a number of options available for you: Standard, Extended, Graduated, Income Based Repayment (IBR), Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), and Income Sensitive Repayment (for Federal Family Education Loans). The Standard Payment requires a minimum fixed payment of $50.00 or more per month, and it must be paid within 10 years. The Extended Payment plan involves a fixed rate per month for no more than 25 years. With the Graduated Repayment Plan, your payments start low and increase every two years for a period of ten years. The IBR caps your payment based on your income. Eligibility for this repayment program requires that this amount is less than the Standard Payment per month. ICR plan recalculates your payments per year contingent on your gross income. Income Sensitive Repayment is based solely on your yearly income.

Do not let your inability to pay student loan balances cause the loan to go into default. Defaulting on student loans will harm your credit rating, can make you ineligible for further assistance should you need it, and loan payments can be deducted from your paycheck. Be informed about what is available to you when it is time to pay off student loan balances.