Consolidating Student Debt

Many students go through college not realizing how much money they’re spending. You can easily rack up a hefty amount of debt, just by charging a little here and there. Lots of students don’t take their credit card balances very seriously. They look at the minimum amount due and blow it off as just a small bill to pay. Even worse, they may not even consider this minimum amount as pressing, paying their regular utilities and other bills first. This can lead to credit card neglect. Student loans have a set amount due each month. This makes paying off the debt easier to attain.

Your credit card payment and student loan payment has to be made on time, every time. Late payments can stay on your credit report for years. Late fees are tremendous and your interest rate can go through the roof after one late payment on a credit card. Suddenly that great deal that you signed up for is gone and you’re stuck paying the maximum amount of interest and late fees on an ever-growing balance.

Keep up with your bills. Show some restraint when you need to use your credit card. Don’t use it for anything that you just want. Only use it for real emergencies and make every effort to come up with cash before you decide that you have to use your credit card. If you take out a student loan, only take out the amount that you need.

Call and set up an automatic payment plan with your creditors. Determine when you want your balance to be paid off and pay a set amount every month to achieve that goal. Student loans generally have this plan in place already.

Come up with an exact strategy to get your debt paid off. Debt consolidation could be an option if you have more than one credit card or loan out there. Basically, you combine all of your balances on to one bill. Get rid of extra credit cards so that you’re not tempted by them sitting in your wallet with a high limit of available credit.

When consolidating your debt, look for special student rates. Find a plan that has a low interest rate and the lowest fees. Once you’re debt is in one lump sum, then your payments overall can be lowered. You’ll have one amount due as well as one due date to keep up with.

Students find it very hard to have self restraint when it comes to shopping, eating out at restaurants and partying with their friends. Try to train yourself to save just a little each paycheck for times like these. Don’t turn to a life of debt and struggle just to go grab a sandwich with your friends or buy yet another pair of jeans. Become a bargain hunter and only take cash with you. You’ll reap the benefits and teach yourself some responsibility. Be proud of the money that you save and pay as much as possible to your credit card or student loan bill as often as possible. Every little bit counts when you’re getting yourself out of debt.

By : Evelyn Saunders