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How did you pay off your college debt ?

After you graduated and had amassed a lot of debt, how did you pay it all off? What are some tips and tricks that you believe everyone should know? #college #money #debt

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Karen’s Answer

Hi Tiffanie --


Try to limit how much you borrow. A lot of times you can be offered more money than needed which is tempting. Be prepared to start paying as soon as you graduate (or no longer a student). Make sure you are including these payments as part of your monthly budget. If you can pay more than the minimum do it. If you are having issues paying communicate with your lender. You might be able to change payment date or reduce payment.


Often if you are employed by a 501(c)3 (charitable organization) you might be able to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The same goes for teaching in low-income schools, there is often a break if not a complete forgiveness of the loan.


Lastly, there are two programs that might be worth looking into: IBR and PAYE. IBR is Income Base Repayment and PAYE is Pay As You Earn. IBR/IDR (income driven repayment) is for federal loan programs that help keep payments affordable. The PAYE also for federal loans is a withholding tax that treats this tax as advance payments.


I wish you the best luck in your student career and future plans.


Karen

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Michelle’s Answer

Try to maximize scholarships, grants, and work study to avoid as much debt as possible.
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Tiffanie L. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you (or others who may read this response) is still helpful.

Love this question for many reasons....sometimes a bit of debt to pay for college is unavoidable. In paying off that debt, a couple of things that can be done; 1)Try to keep your personal expenses low so that you can maximize the amount you can repay each month. This includes things like rent (if you have to move to a new location for your new job), transportation expenses and, at least for a short while, consider a plan that controls how much spending you do on eating out. 2) Keep yourself organized in terms of what you are paying back. Is it possible for you to add just a little itty bitty more to your monthly loan payments? 3) Do your best not to repay late. Late fees are horrible! 4) Watch your balances get lower and lower and more of your hard earned income, from your hard earned job go back to you to enjoy ;)

Hope you find this answer helpful. Best of luck to you!
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