One of the best ways to pay down your student loan debt fast is by making more than the minimum payments. Of course, just pay more” isn’t realistic advice for most people. But hear me out on this one, Even a few one-off extra payments can have a significant impact on your student loan balance.
Not only can this make payments a little easier to manage, since most people get their paychecks every other week, but paying half every two weeks equals one extra payment made each year without even noticing the difference, paying off student loans can be a bit difficult depending on your salary, Though it won’t have the most dramatic impact on your student loan debt, signing up for automatic payments can knock off a bit of interest and help you put more cash toward the principal balance. This tactic allows your student loan servicer to automatically deduct your payment from your bank account each month.
If you have a steady income and good credit, you might qualify to refinance your student loans. Refinancing involves taking out a new loan and using the funds to pay off the old loan. Usually, people refinance their loans to achieve a new term length, a lower interest rate or both.
For instance, you might refinance a 10-year student loan to a term of seven years. It would result in higher monthly payments, but you’d pay the loan off faster and save money on interest. And if you can refinance to a lower interest rate as well, more of your money will go toward paying down the balance as fast as possible.
Finally, if you have more than one loan to tackle, it helps to follow a repayment strategy that aligns with your personality.
The debt snowball method is ideal for people who need to experience wins right away. “With this strategy, you’ll begin paying the smallest balance off first,” Anderson said. “Continue to make the minimum payments on your other accounts and put as much money as you can towards the smallest balance.” Once the smallest balance is paid off, combine the amount you were paying on that balance with the minimum payment on your next-smallest balance, and so on.
If you’re more about saving as much money as possible, you might want to give the debt avalanche a shot. “With this method, you throw the largest payment you can at your highest-interest-rate debt every month, while paying the minimum payments on your other debts.” By focusing on interest rates rather than the balances, you save more money overall.
If paying off your student loans feels way far away—or even worse, totally impossible—hold on just a minute. Yes, paying off your student loans can seem totally overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
Whether you’ll be graduating from college soon or you’ve been trying to kick those student loans to the curb for a decade, you can make a plan for paying off student loans quickly. Let’s set some expectations first. There is no magic plan for paying off your student loans. I don’t have a special trick to share or a way to help you get rid of it all in 30 days flat. It’s not going to happen overnight.
But by following these steps, you can get on a fast track to dumping your student loan debt for good. Paying off your student loans takes time, hard work, and a whole lot of sacrifice, but it’s totally doable! Let’s make it happen.
HOW TO QUICKLY PAY OFF YOUR STUDENT LOANS
- GET ON A BUDGET
If you are not on a budget then now is a good time to go on a monthly budget to cut down on your expenses and know where your money is going to, you will see that you have extra money left, throw that into your student loan debt and watch your progress.
- PAY MORE THAN THE MINIMUM PAYMENT
You’ve probably heard this one before. If you’re only paying the minimum payment each month, you’re not getting anywhere fast. You might not even be breaking even with the interest you’re piling up! By making larger payments, you’ll be able to attack the amount you owe at a quicker rate. When you pay more than the minimum monthly payment, the student loan servicers might put that extra amount onto next month’s payment. That pushes the due date back, but you won’t actually pay off your loan any faster. Tell your loan servicer to keep next month’s due date the same and to just apply the extra amount of money to your current loan balance.
- MAKE SOME FINANCIAL SACRIFICES
Look at your lifestyle. What extra stuff have you been living with that you can do without? Just think how quickly you could pay off your loans if your housing costs were cut way down.
- EXTRA INCOME
Apart from your current income, there are other things you can do by the side that can help you pay off those loans, Then toss that extra cash directly at your student loan debt! There’s a ton of side hustle options out there that can bring in extra money.
CONCLUSION
Now that you have the tools on HOW TO QUICKLY PAY OFF YOUR STUDENT LOANS, Keep in mind that as annoying as student loan debt is, it might not always be the most urgent financial matter to address. Before aggressively paying down your student loans, the returns from investing have been higher than the interest rate most people pay on student loans. So if you have most of your financial ducks in a row and your student loans are the last thing holding you back, by all means, pay them off as fast as you can.