6 Ways to Slay Your Student Debt This Year

From Susie Q: I'm not as familiar with student debt as I am with the other topics on which I write, so was pleased to accept this guest post from Kate Underwood.  With Kate's permission and approval, I've interspersed some comments and numerical examples in italics to expand on a few of her points.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that we’ve got a bit of a student loan crisis on our hands. The amount currently owed by borrowers isn’t in the billions...nope, it’s actually past the $1 trillion mark!

Chances are, you don’t want to be saddled with your own student debt forever. Debt can hold you back from buying a home, starting a family, traveling the world, and other exciting parts of life. Don’t let student loans ruin your dreams – it’s time to start slaying your student debt this year.

Think it’s impossible? Check out the following ways to attack your student loans with a vengeance.

Follow A Budget

A budget is an essential financial tool that gives a job to every dollar you earn. Get yourself on track by making and following a smart budget. Be sure to account for all necessary expenses, including your student loan payments.

Balance out how much you’re earning with how much you’re spending (and don’t spend money you don’t have). When you’re stuck with student loan debt, it’s key to eliminate luxury spending. Put every spare dollar, after necessities, into paying off your loans.

While it’s tempting to overspend when you get your first “real” job, it’s a bad move. Don’t make the mistake of financing new cars or spending too much on stuff you don’t need. Living within - or below - your means could make a big dent in your student debt. Just live like a college kid for a little longer.

Susie Q adds: For a more detailed discussion of how budgets can be helpful, check out this post or start here for my week-by-week guidance on creating a budget using a spreadsheet template I’ve provided.

Trust me, it’ll be worth it! The faster you pay off your loans, the sooner you can get started building wealth and planning for your next big goal!

Start Repayment Right Away

That little grace period from your lender is appealing, but don’t hang out there too long. The sooner you can begin repayment, the better .Even during the grace period, interest accrues for many types of loans. So, while you’re allowed to postpone repayment for a time (usually 6 months), it’s prudent to begin repayment as soon as possible.

Susie Q adds: As an example, if you have a $30,000 balance on a 5% loan with 15 years left in the term and don’t defer your payments during the grace period, your payments will be $237 a month. You’ll pay a total of $12,703 in interest over the life of the loan. If you make the same payments and defer your loan, you’ll pay an extra $1,628 in interest payments and extend your loan by 13 months (6 months of grace period and 7 months of extra payments to cover the extra interest).

Pay Extra Each Month

Once you know what your minimum payment amount is every month, don’t get too comfy with it. If you push yourself to increase that amount by even $25 or $50 more each month, you could destroy those loans much faster! At the very least, round up to the nearest $10 or $50 mark. So, a minimum payment of $62 could be rounded up to $70 or $100.Just be sure that, if you’re making extra payments, they’re applied to the principal, not the interest. If you’re in doubt, talk directly to your lender or loan provider to find out how you can go about doing this.

Susie Q adds: Using the same example as above, if you don’t defer your loan for the grace period and round up to $250 a month, you’ll save over $1,000 as you’ll pay only $11,676 in interest and will pay off your loan a full year earlier.   You can include your student debt in your debt repayment strategy to figure out how much you can pre-pay each month, as discussed in this post.

Another tip: make biweekly payments rather than monthly. After one year, this simple step will add up to having slashed an extra month’s payment off your total. However you choose to set it up, paying more than the minimum will lead to student loan freedom sooner!

Refinance Your Loans

One strategy for paying off your loans faster is to refinance your student loans. The general idea is that if you refinance to a lower interest rate, you’ll end up paying less over the life of the loan. Plus, you can pay them off faster, since you won’t owe as much in interest! Win-win!

A couple of factors to beware of: you usually don’t want to refinance if your credit score has taken a recent hit. That will likely only get you a higher interest rate - you definitely don’t want that! Also, if you plan on utilizing student loan forgiveness programs, you typically need to stay away from refinancing. Most of the forgiveness programs will disqualify you if you’ve refinanced.If you’re unsure about how to go forward with refinancing, Credible is an online loan marketplace that can make that decision easier. Compare interest rates for which you may qualify with different lenders in order to make the best choice.

Susie Q adds: Using the same example as above, if you are able to re-finance your loan at 3.5% and continue to make the same $237-a-month payment, you’ll save over $5,000 as you’ll pay only $7,485 in interest and will pay off your loan almost two years earlier. This savings will be offset by any fees you need to pay when you re-finance your loan

Now, if you’re such a rock star that you plan to pay off the full balance within a really short time, like 2 or 3 years, refinancing might not be worth the trouble. Just pay those babies off and be done with them!

Start A Side Hustle

One of the best ways to pay off any debt fast is to increase your income. I’m a big proponent of side hustles. You can make extra cash to pay down debt and side hustles are often super flexible with your other responsibilities.If you’re looking to begin your own side hustle, you can check out these work-from-home jobs and see which might be a good fit. The possibilities are nearly limitless, so be creative and think about your skills and things you enjoy doing anyway.

You could start doing freelance writing or blogging from home (our favorites!). Or start selling your to-die-for cakes for special occasions. Try your hand at bookkeeping, photography, or proofreading or any number of other ways people are raising their income.

Susie Q adds: For more ideas about ways to increase income or reduce expenses to help free up money to reduce your student loan debt, check out this post. Also, if you decide to pursue a side hustle, you’ll want to make sure you don’t spend more money than you earn!

Just imagine how much extra money you could throw at your student debt by starting a side hustle!

Use Employer Benefits

Some companies are looking to build positive relationships with employees by offering student loan repayment assistance. So, before you decide to take a job, it might be beneficial to ask if it offers this option. If you’ve already signed on to work somewhere, talk to your HR department to see if it’s available.

You should also explore various government student loan forgiveness programs. Though it’s extremely important to follow all of their rules to be eligible, if you’re working in a career field that allows you loan forgiveness, you might as well go for it!

A piece of advice: save enough during your repayment period that you could pay the entire loan balance off just in case the forgiveness doesn’t come through! Most applications for forgiveness so far have been rejected, so those borrowers are still on the hook for the full balance.

Say Goodbye to Student Loans Fast

Debt sucks. You know you don’t want to keep your student loans around forever, so use any and all of these tips to slay your student debt as fast as you can!

Kate Underwood is a freelance writer and staff writer for Club Thrifty, a website dedicated to helping people dream big, spend less, and travel more.