Managing Your Student Loan Debt

Show of hands if you’ve heard this before: “Your college years are the best years of your life!” Looking back at that time – and looking ahead to life in “the real world” – you might get nostalgic, especially when those student loan payment notifications start to kick in. You may be wondering if that...

You have to spend money to make money, right? That’s certainly how it feels when you’re considering going to college or trade school. You’ve got to pay to take classes to become qualified to one day work your dream job. But where does this money come from? Your family certainly can’t be expected to pay...

Student loan debt impacts over 43 million Americans, costing over $1.7 trillion. The debt has also cost borrowers many milestones; 53% of millennials haven’t bought a home yet because their debt is either hurting their ability to qualify for a mortgage or they can’t find one they can afford. If these stats blew your mind,...

Things change when you leave school. Suddenly there are more bills to pay, including your monthly student loan payment. Meanwhile, if you want to take out a loan to buy a car, rent an apartment or get a mortgage to buy a home, you’ll need to know what your credit score is and how to...

Going to college and buying a home are both important milestones, but student loan debt might make them feel like conflicting goals. Luckily, you can pursue both higher education and homeownership by understanding how loan debt might affect your mortgage. Read on to learn how student loans factor into getting a mortgage and get some...

If you are a current college or university student, or someone striving to be one, you know that one of the greatest barriers to getting a higher education is money. That’s where financial aid comes in. Financial aid helps students pay for college, so they can stress less about how they’ll pay the next bill...

Facing a student loan default can be intimidating. Especially when terms like collections agencies, lawsuits and wage garnishment are thrown around in the same sentence (like this one). And while it is serious, it’s not the end of the world.  If your student loans are in default, you’re not alone. Education Data Initiative reports that...

An estimated 30% of American adults have incurred some kind of student loan debt, but many of them may not realize what makes up their monthly student loan bill. Student loan payments include both principal and interest. But a good chunk of your payment might be going toward interest, not the loan’s principal. Calculating your...

If you’re wondering how to pay the ever-increasing cost of college or professional programs, financial assistance may be the answer. You can get financial aid and student loans to help pay for your education – but they aren’t the same thing. We’ll cover the difference between financial aid and student loans, how to apply for...

Paying for higher education tends to be expensive. And student loans are a popular way to pay for college, graduate school and other types of education. Over 40 million people get help paying for higher education with federal student loans. Sometimes, life gets in the way of people paying back their student loans. You may...

If you have a student loan, you’re a member of a really, really big club. Over 40 million people have student loans to help with the expenses of higher education. But what does having student loan debt do to your credit score?  Student loans can make your credit score go down, but they can also...

Student loans can help you pay for your education when you aren’t able to pay for it all on your own. But just like any loan, they come with an interest rate that ultimately determines how much money you’ll pay over the life of your loan. FYI: The U.S. Department of Education extended their COVID-19...

Getting ready to continue your education after high school is exciting, but it’s the rare student – or parent or guardian of a student – who isn’t stressed over how to pay for college.  Even if you’ve already applied for grants and scholarships and you’ve filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®),...

You’ve been accepted into college and you’re excited about it! But now you have to figure out how to pay for it and you’re a little less excited about that.  You’re not alone. Most new students face the burden of college prices and may not be all that sure about what to do next. We...

When you get married, most (if not all) of your assets and debt are combined because, legally, the two of you are considered one financial entity. There are some things you can choose to keep separate – like student loans – but it can get tricky. We’ll cover what you need to know about student...

So you’re ready to continue your climb up the education ladder. Maybe you’re looking at a 4-year college or university or a training program. No matter what type of school or program you pick, getting an education costs money. To help cover the costs of your education, you’ll probably need to take out student loans. ...

If you have federal student loans, you know that payments and accruing interest have been suspended, or placed in forbearance, since March 2020 under the CARES Act. You should also know that this forbearance expires on August 31, 2022, and that’s when your loan payments will kick back in.  As of now, the Biden Administration...

While your higher education was invaluable, the residual student loan debt may feel overwhelming, haunting you like a ghost. Many student loan borrowers look for creative solutions to banish their debt – but it isn’t always easy.  Student loans eat into your budget and incur interest throughout a loan’s lifetime. And if you can’t pay...

Your education is precious and will help prepare you for a career. And whether you’re an undergraduate student, a graduate student or you’re pursuing a certification or license, higher education isn’t always affordable. Enter student loans. Think of them as superheroes that swoop in and help you pay for your education.  There are two primary...

Well, look at you investing in your future! According to the experts, that degree should pay off after graduation, but for now, you’re probably focused on figuring out how to pay for it all – tuition, books, dorm fees and everything in between.   Hopefully, you and your family were able to save for this day...

When you pay back your student loan, you pay back the amount you borrowed and a little something extra. That little something extra is what’s known as interest. Interest is the fee you pay to borrow money from a lender.  Let’s say you got a loan for $30,000 with a 3.73% fixed interest rate and...

You’ve taken the classes, and you’ve imbibed your body weight in ⭐ caffeine ⭐ while enduring sleepless nights of studying. Now that you’ve graduated, you need to figure out how to pay off your looming student loans. Before you panic-apply to every job on Indeed, just know that you do get a bit of leeway....

You finally made it through college. You graduated with a degree, a new set of friends, great memories – and probably some amount of student loan debt. How long does it take to pay off student loans, you ask? And what strategies can help you manage paying it along the way? How Long Does it...

Learn seven basic personal finance strategies, including tips for saving, budgeting and handling debt, to get your post-college life off to a good start.