Student Loans: real-life ways to ditch your debt
Personal finance experts sound the alarm: student loans are out of control. Some even say that increasing student debt could be the next financial crisis that leads the country into a recession.
But in a delicious turn of events, some borrowers are reversing that trend, and that's leaving some lenders feeling a little cheated.
Here's where people who are having trouble paying back student loans can learn from savvy graduates who have figured out how to get out of debt faster. (See also Student Loans: Pay off your debt faster .)
Student loan refinancing
Interest rates on federal student loans currently range from 4. 29% and 6. 84%. Seeing an opportunity, online lenders such as SoFi, Darien Rowayton Bank (DRB), CommonBond and Earnest have begun marketing student loan refinancing with rates as low as 2.13%. The key to such low interest rates was to target borrowers who were most likely to pay their loans on time, so online lenders went after Ivy League graduates and high-profile schools, as well as those with advanced degrees. It certainly didn't hurt that these schools came with higher price tags, making the loans larger, and since their graduates often had higher-paying jobs, there was a low default risk.
But now it looks like the plan is backfiring on lenders – and not because graduates are defaulting. Quite the opposite. The same borrowers with their higher-paying jobs have more disposable income and have grown up in a climate that makes them leery of carrying debt. They are paying off their student debt faster, leaving a small profit for lenders.
Not only is there no prepayment penalty, interest rates are so low that borrowers can knock tens of thousands of dollars off the total cost of their loan over time. This, in turn, increased the borrower's ability to pay it off more quickly.
No six-figure job? No problem
What can the average borrower do to speed up student loan repayment if they don't have a high-paying job and a degree from a top-ranked university? That's the question we asked three different experts. Here are the strategies they recommend.
"Make your monthly loan payment a week before the due date," says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of strategy at Cappex. com. "The payment will be applied to the loan balance when it is received. So if you make it a week early, you save a week of interest on the principal portion of the loan payment. " He also advises working toward a 501 (c) (3) tax exemption for 10 years. "At the end of 10 years, as you repay your student loans on an income-driven repayment schedule, the remaining loan balance will be cancelled. This loan is tax-free under current law, " Kantrowitz says.
Consider volunteer work, says Jesse Harrison, founder and CEO of Zeus Legal Loans. "I volunteered to pay my student loans," he says. "There are many websites that facilitate this type of work. You can help businesses that need a hand, and in turn, your student loans will go until they disappear. "Take a look at websites like Sponsorchange. Org and Zerobound. com to learn more about how that works.
Avoid consolidating loans, advises Andrew Josuweit, CEO of Student Loan Hero. "Consolidation averages all interest rates together. After consolidating [with a direct consolidation loan], borrowers cannot use debt snowball or avalanche methods to address loans with the highest interest rates and/or balances with additional payments. You miss the opportunity to pay off your most expensive loans first. "
Josuweit also recommends staying away from income-driven repayment plans, as they slow down repayment. "It's pretty easy to do because payments are often reduced compared to the standard 10-year amortization schedule. These plans are designed for borrowers who need to lower monthly payments, pay off loans no faster. "
What about internet lenders who are not too happy about all the responsible borrowers? Are they worth a second look?
In any case, say some of our experts. Cutting a few points off your interest rate means huge savings, and you can still qualify for the tax benefits that come with student loans. The only catch? If you work for a nonprofit to get your loans forgiven in 10 years, don't refinance unless with government lenders.