Finishing college is a major achievement for an individual. If you have finished college Congratulations! You have taken a major step into being an active citizen in the community. Now, instead of destroying your self esteem with the depression and sadness of student loan debt I will instead give you hope.
The steps that I will provide for you are not my own. This information can be credited towards Kathy Hopkins "7 Ways to Prepare for Student Loans" and Ryan Lane "6-Month Plan to Prepare for Student Loan Repayment". These steps are a portion of the guide that I will be following to insure the safety of my financial future.
The first step should be a no brainier, but is something that many people just simply do not do. You must track down your loans. Know who you are paying, because when the time comes that you need to start paying they will have no problem finding you. Think of your debt as if it were a war. You have six, maybe nine, months to plan for your battle, ignoring it will leave you defenseless and will cripple your future. Instead, plan the attack. Find out who you owe money by going to National Student Loan Database. This is a good start but it will only find federal loans. If you have any private loans the best way track them down is to go to your school to contact your lenders.
Make interest payments straight away. Your grace period before your payment isn't just sitting there, it is gaining interest. Once that grace period is done the interest that accumulated during it is capitalized on to your principle. This means you are paying more than you expected, and you are paying more monthly too. Doesn't seem fair, but it is life right now, all we can do is help prepare to fight it.
Looking for forgiveness programs is a sure way to help out for student debt, in the long run. The most popular is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. However, in order to receive the forgiveness you must make 120 eligible payments in a 10 year span. Missing one will nullify your chances of being forgiven. You also need to be employed at the job that provides forgiveness to be eligible. So if this isn't the life for you, you might want to start looking for something else. If it is then stay with it and be sure to never miss your payment.
I hope this will come to help someone. If you want more information click the links above to continue on your preparation.for student loans. If you have any more information on the subject matter feel free to share and help others get out of their debt.
No comments:
Post a Comment